the federal reserve hikes rates to their highest level in 16 yea rs. we look at the impact on the us economy, and beyond. plus, from pakistan to ethiopia, how the cost—of—living crisis is taking a toll on the elderly around the world. hello, and welcome to asia business report. i'm monica miller. we begin with the federal reserve�*s decision to raise interest rates for the 10th consecutive time injust over one year. america's central bank increased its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point and that is

a move that was expected. the cost of borrowing is now at its highest in 16 years, but is the fed finally done with rate hikes? the bbc�*s samir hussein reports from new york. inflation remain steadily high. to try and get the cost of living back down to more normal levels the federal reserve, america's central bank, has raised interest rates ten times in a little over a year, and now it seems it may be ready to perhaps take a pause. the committee will take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, the legs with which it lacks inflation and economic and financial developments. we will make that determination meeting by meeting. the rate rises have slowed economic growth in the united states by making it more expensive to borrow money and inflation is starting to come down, but they have been some unexpected knock—on

effects of the rate hikes. they played a part in the banking crisis, where three banks collapsed in less than two months. so far, the fed has been successful in slowing the economy and prices without plunging the country into recession. but the trickiest moment may have arrived. at some point, policymakers have to decide if they have done enough to keep inflation falling, while leaving the economy with enough monetary space to keep expanding. they didn't think they were there at this meeting, but it seems likely that they will be there soon. you have heard some error talking about the knock—on effect of the fed's aggressive tightening, particularly in the banking sector, while shares of regional banks have again come under pressure after this latest rate hike. patois stocks in particular is down 50% in trading and reports that the bank is exploring options, including a sale. earlier i spoke to chief us economist, and she told me now might be a good time for the fed to pause and consider

its options. i think today chair powell indicated this may be the last hike in this tightening cycle but still left the door open to some monetary policy flexibility going forward and that speaks to the fact that inflation remains elevated. now, one way to deal with this high and sticky inflation may be to stay with interest rates where they are now, but for longer than we are used to during tightening cycles. another one may be that if inflation remains strong and accelerates in the coming months, they could be another one or two hikes coming down the line, but i think the working assumption for the fed right now is that the hard part of the claim is done. interest rates have increased by about five percentage points since last year, and so from here onwards, i think there is some flexibility, but not a lot more tightening to be done.

we were looking at what is happening in the banking sector and certainly interest rates have played a role in all of that. this morning we see another regional bank that looks like it might be in trouble, pack west. so what do you see moving forward, is what the fed doing, are we facing a credit crunch and american banks? i think this will be the key question we need to answer for the rest of this year. as you have mentioned earlier, monetary policy works with long lags and we are seeing the interest rate sensitive sectors of the economy show that effect of tightening monetary policy at an expeditious pace last year, and so the regional banking sector is now undergoing significant stress, and i think we are going to see that in the amount of loans they are able to extend to businesses over the coming quarters, and the key is that the regional banking sector in the us is very closely tied with small and medium—sized companies, which provide about half thejobs in the us economy, so i think the effects of the credit condition tightening will be

felt in the real economy but history suggests this typically happens with a lag, so it is not something that happens immediately but it is coming down the line, and i think this is also why it is so important for the fed, now that interest rates have reached 5%, to have a look around and see how much more it needs to do. let's stick with inflation, and they are at stubborn levels of the us and other parts the international group, help page, estimates inflation has affected millions of people across the world from pakistan to ethiopia, leaving them struggling to afford food and medical care. earlier i spoke to the bbc�*s global population correspondent, and he

told me how the plight of the elderly and other vulnerable groups, has gone unnoticed. this is how experts describe this group, they are invisible when it comes to humanitarian aid to emergency help, and also to data, as normally children and those in the workforce are the main targets for these. and i've been speaking with other people in several regions, the middle east, africa, asia, latin america and also here in the uk to understand the impact on this particular group, and the stories are really strong, and i've heard stories of people having one meal a day, sometimes not even that. people skipping medical treatments, because they can't afford transport to the hospital and to pharmacies, and as you say, those interviews, they reflect this new research of help age international. they have done 1200 interviews in ten countries and the findings include an increase of up

to 70% in health care costs. people resorting to begging for the first time in their lives over 80 years old, and a growing sense of shame and humiliation, as mental health became a key issue in this crisis for older people. the former mastercard chief executive aj banker will be the world bank's next president. the bank's board of governors has elected him after he was nominated to the post by presidentjoe biden, he replaces the departing world bank chief, david malpass. spain is known for its many bars. in fact the country has 280,000 of them, according to official statistics, and such is their importance that the country's parliament has agreed to debate a proposal to make borrowers in small towns and villages eligible for special subsidies and benefits. this report from central spain. the rural heartland of central spain. after decades of migration towards cities, these vast agricultural reliant areas of the country are sparsely populated.

they've become known as emptied spain. the divide between rural and urban is more pronounced here than in most european countries. 90% of spaniards inhabit larger towns and cities. the rest are here. bell nearly half of spanish towns are at risk of depopulation. among them, this one in the aragon region, population 36. as is the case in so many villages, the bar is the heart of the community. translation: it is a place for people to gather- because otherwise you wouldn't see people. it means we have a meeting place.

translation: lots of people are involved in the bar, - and its maintenance creates jobs, says this woman, so bars are needed to make sure people stay and work here. but with so few customers, many rural bars are struggling. translation: the bar| is not a viable business. we have to organise all sorts of other activities, and that's because the bar does not pay for itself. so you have to find other sources of income in order to make a profit. 0r ratherjust to break even. a political movement, representing rural spain, has been campaigning for the repopulation of areas like this, and calling for an improvement in public services. it is hoping to have an impact on the national political debate by performing well in upcoming local elections. this party wants to make bars in towns with fewer than 200 inhabitants eligible for special economic support

from the state, because of the social role they play. spain's parliament is considering the plan. translation: we are fighting to improve lives in our - villages, to improve infrastructure, have better services, better internet connections and improve our roads, which are very bad. the initiative to save bars is aimed at preventing villagers from suffering abandonment, which has already been the fate of so many. but those who live in emptied spain, know that the odds are still stacked against them. before we go, let me tell you how the british government is taking on action against some annoying unsolicited calls that we all get every once in awhile. the uk is imposing a ban on all cold calls selling financial products as part of

a national crackdown on scams. that is it for this edition of asia business report. i am monica miller. thanks for watching. putting their skills to the test. it was all about accuracy for the hopeful that this we can's discipline called auto solo. it can's discipline called auto solo. , ., .,., solo. it is that you can do on tarmac or— solo. it is that you can do on tarmac or on _ solo. it is that you can do on tarmac or on grass - solo. it is that you can do on tarmac or on grass and - solo. it is that you can do on tarmac or on grass and it - solo. it is that you can do on tarmac or on grass and it is. tarmac or on grass and it is car control, so driving around a course with cones, different challenges, against the clock, against competitors. 12 drivers took art against competitors. 12 drivers took part at — against competitors. 12 drivers took part at the _ against competitors. 12 drivers took part at the event - against competitors. 12 drivers took part at the event at - against competitors. 12 drivers took part at the event at vista | took part at the event at vista heritage the prize, two places up heritage the prize, two places up for grabs heritage the prize, two places upfor grabs to heritage the prize, two places up for grabs to race all season forfree. motorsport uk moved

to 0xfordshire in 2020 and hoping events like this can show how accessible driving can be. , ., ., , , , , be. great to see there is stuff auoin on be. great to see there is stuff going on for— be. great to see there is stuff going on for disabled - be. great to see there is stuff going on for disabled people, | going on for disabled people, getting people out and involved in showing them that they can get back into competitive sport. hi there. i'm ellis with the catch—up. tonight, a drone attack attempt in russia. can big sam save leeds? and a love island star in cancer scare. but first, climate change could dramatically reduce life in the deepest parts of our oceans that are reached by sunlight. scientists are warning that life in them could be reduced by as much as 40% by the end of the century. some other stories now.

russia says it downed to drones last night that targeted its government hq in moscow, known as the kremlin. unverified footage on social media appeared to show an object flying over before a small explosion. russia accused ukraine of attempting to kill president putin, but ukraine said it had nowt to do with it. madeleine mccann�*s parents have said she's still very much missed. today marks the 16th anniversary of her disappearance in portugal. love island star sami richie is having tests for thyroid cancer after fans spotted a lump on her neck while she was in the villa. the 23—year—old from london says even her mum didn't notice it. and big sam is back in the big league. he's been named leeds boss for the final four matches of the premier league season. the dug out veteran joins the yorkshire giants who are outside of the relegation zone on goal difference. time now to leave you with ten seconds of escape. a police officer in the us

state of virginia was inches from death as a speeding driver spun out of control, collided with another car and nearly hit them. luckily, no one was hurt, but he all caught up. bye for now. have a good evening.

hello, i'm qasa alom from the bbc sport centre. coming up on the programme: manchester city striker erling haaland breaks the record for goals in a premier league season. where next for lionel messi, as the world cup winner announces he'll leave paris st germain at the end of the season. ryder cup stars sergio garcia, ian poulter and lee westwood won't play in this year's event — find out why. manchester city striker erling haaland broke the record for goals in a premier league season as his side went back to the summit of the table by beating west ham.the norwegian scored his 35th league goal of the campaign in a 3—nil win to move past alan shearer and andrew cole's previous best of 34. haaland, in his debut season

in english football, was given a guard of honour at full time by his teammates