Economy

Fed chief: Appropriate to lower interest rates once this year

It would be appropriate to cut the US policy rate once or twice this year, but first more evidence is needed that inflation is moving towards the target. That is according to Federal Reserve Philadelphia head Patrick Harker, according to Bloomberg.

- If inflation falls for several months in a row, we can start considering lowering the interest rate.

During last week's policy meeting, the Fed left the key interest rate unchanged. At the same time, the central bank lowered

 the forecast for the number of reductions this year from three to one.

******************

Swedish interest rates
SEB: Forget the June reduction – the next chance is August

SEB expects the Riksbank to keep the policy rate unchanged at 3.75 percent next week.

"The probability of a June reduction is close to zero," write strategists Amanda Sundström and Olle Holmgren.

They point out that the Riksbank has previously signaled that a reduction in June is unlikely. And the odds do not seem to have been improved by the fact that the CPI figures for May came in higher than expected.

At the same time, SEB is sticking to its forecast of three further interest rate cuts this year.

"June inflation will be of great importance for the timing of the next reduction; we see August as the most likely scenario.”

******************

Apple's disputes
EU Commissioner: Apple has several serious problems

The tech giant Apple has "very serious problems" with the EU's regulations for digital markets. This is what Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager says, reports CNBC.

Apple, Alphabet and Meta are already under review this year by the EU. The investigation is about the companies not releasing information to users when certain services and products can be bought cheaper than on the companies' own platforms.

- We have a number of Apple problems that I think are very serious, says Margrethe Vestager in an interview with CNBC.

*******************

NATO's future
NATO invests 11 billion in new tech fund

AI, robots and space technology are some of the areas that NATO's new innovation fund will focus on. This is now confirmed by a consortium of NATO countries that includes Sweden and Finland, reports Reuters.

- Opening up strategic technologies is the key to securing a safe future for the NATO alliance's one billion inhabitants, says the fund's manager Andrea Traversone in a comment.

The fund has raised around SEK 11 billion and has so far invested in four companies, namely the British chip manufacturer Fractile AI, the startup companies icomat and Space Forge and German Arx Robotics.

Boluarte took power in late 2022. The following year, Peru went through a recession.

***********************

Novo Nordisk's CEO is to be grilled in the Senate for "hutless" prices

Novo Nordisk's CEO Lars Jørgensen will be grilled in the US Senate about the company's prices after the summer, writes Business Insider.

Democrat Bernie Sanders has flagged that the hearing will focus on "the exorbitant costs" of Ozempic and Wegovy. Both preparations have become very popular as weight loss agents.

According to Sanders, Americans pay $1,349 per month for Wegovy, while the price in Germany is $140.

- The committee looks forward to Mr. Jørgensen explaining why Americans pay up to 10 or 15 times more for these medications than people in other countries, says Sanders.