The People's Bank of China said Thursday that it cut its five-year loan prime rate, a benchmark for medium- and longer-term loans including mortgages, to 4.60% from 4.65%-the first such cut since April 2020. The Chinese central bank also lowered the one-year loan prime rate by 10 basis points to 3.70%, the second cut to that rate in as many months.
As Inflation Bites, Power Lies Higher Up the Food Chain
The food companies with the best shot at beating inflation are those that investors are least likely to know.
As costs rise along the global food-supply chain, shoppers are paying more for groceries on both sides of the Atlantic. Britain's food-price inflation hit 4.5% in December 2021 compared with the same month of 2020, according to data released Wednesday by the U.K. Office for National Statistics. In the U.S., prices for food consumed in the home rose 6.5% year over year in December, while the eurozone's measure was up 4.6%.
North Korea Considers Restarting Long-Range and Nuclear-Weapons Tests
SEOUL-North Korea suggested it might consider restarting long-range and nuclear-weapons tests, promising to take "practical action" as it says the U.S. threat to the country can no longer be ignored.
The Kim Jong Un regime for more than four years hasn't launched an intercontinental ballistic missile or conducted a nuclear test-major provocations that have previously drawn recrimination even from close allies in Beijing and Moscow.
Novak Djokovic's Australian Visa Challenge Failed Due to Antivaccine Stance
ADELAIDE, Australia-Novak Djokovic's last-ditch effort to defend his Australian Open title by having his visa reinstated failed because a court accepted that people, especially youngsters, could emulate the tennis icon's opposition to being vaccinated.
On Thursday, a panel of three judges at Australia's federal court said they upheld a decision by immigration minister Alex Hawke to cancel the visa of the men's tournament's top seed partly because Djokovic's presence in Australia had already created unrest, including a Jan. 11 protest involving the player's supporters.
Tonga's Disaster Preparedness Likely Limited Tsunami Death Toll
WELLINGTON, New Zealand-The deafening boom that followed the violent eruption of an undersea volcano near Tonga acted like a warning bell for island residents to flee inland, a response that likely reduced the death toll when tsunami waves crashed the coastline not long after.
Tongan officials said the Pacific nation's practice of running tsunami drills had also played a part in saving lives, even as the island archipelago sustained extensive damage to property, with the majority of houses on some islands being completely destroyed. The confirmed death toll from Saturday's explosion and tsunami, which was felt as far away as the U.S. West Coast and Japan, so far is three.
Democrats Fail in Push to Change Senate Filibuster, Sinking Elections Bill
WASHINGTON-Democrats failed in their effort to change the Senate's filibuster procedures to muscle through blocked elections legislation, dealing a setback to President Biden and party leaders on what they have termed their top domestic policy priority.
With Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona siding with all Republicans in the evenly split Senate, 52 lawmakers opposed the rule change, while 48 were in favor, shy of the majority required.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-20-22 0628ET
