News in Brief
Europe urged to move faster on energy transition
AFP – Europe must invest more quickly and massively in its energy transition if it wants to remain a global industrial power, top policymakers warned on Friday.
The plea was made at a conference on the clean energy transition hosted by the International Energy Agency, the European Central Bank and the European Investment Bank in Paris.
The leaders said private sector investment faces barriers including policy uncertainty, bureaucratic red tape that delays projects, and higher energy costs.
Key US inflation measure ticks up
CNBC – The key US inflation measure used by the Federal Reserve to set interest rates ticked up again in August, fueled by rising energy prices, according to government data published Friday.
The Fed has raised interest rates 11 times since March 2022 in a bid to tame inflation and bring it firmly down to its long-term target of two percent.
Brazil tighten cryptocurrency regulation
REUTERS – Brazil’s central bank governor Roberto Campos Neto said policymakers are aiming to tighten cryptocurrency regulation and subject brokerages to their supervision.
Speaking during a hearing in Congress, Campos Neto emphasized regulators will scrutinize the backing of cryptocurrencies and associated activities, given the significant surge in cryptocurrency imports by Brazilians.
Data released by the central bank this week revealed cryptocurrency imports jumped by 44.2% from January to August compared to the same period last year, totaling $7.4 billion.