It’s reported that a blast of arctic conditions is expected in Texas. It’s worth noting that severe frosts left millions of homes and factories in the state without electricity two years ago.

Political disputes over an unprecedented intervention to curb the effects of the energy crisis have been going on for many months.

On Thursday, the US dollar rose sharply. The greenback's growth was triggered by investors’ concern about the coming recession in view of the Fed's announcement on raising interest rates next year.

An exceptionally low level of consumer confidence has been registered in Great Britain over eight successive months. In a 50-year long history of the GfK survey, this is the longest period of gloom in the country.

According to a corporate survey released on Friday, manufacturing activity in Japan contracted at the fastest pace in December. This downward trend was recorded for the first time in more than two years due to weak demand and persistent price pressure.

According to the forecasts of Danske Bank economists, the euro/dollar pair is expected to fall next year.

According to the Department of Labor, the number of initial jobless claims decreased to 211,000. Economists supposed that their number will be 230,000.

The Bank of England raised its key rate by 0.5% to 3.5%, while Great Britain is preparing for a prolonged recession.

Expectations of specialists and market participants came true — the Bank of England increased Bank Rate by 50 basis points to the level of 3.50%. Thus, the pound sterling is left without much support from the British central bank, according to a report by TD Securities economists.

Last month in Mexico there was a significant drop in inflation. Currently, the central bank of Latin America's second-largest economy slowed the pace of interest rate increases.