US job growth unexpectedly accelerated in July, lifting the level of employment above its pre-pandemic level and pouring cold water on fears the economy was in recession.

US manufacturing activity slowed less than expected in July and there were signs that supply constraints are easing, with a measure of prices paid for inputs by factories falling to a two-year low, suggesting inflation has probably peaked.

US crypto firm Nomad has been hit by a $190 million theft, blockchain researchers said on Tuesday, the latest such heist to hit the digital asset sector this year.

The Russian economy has been deeply damaged by sanctions and the exit of international business since the country invaded Ukraine, according to a new report by Yale University business experts and economists.

The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on Chinese and other firms it said helped to sell tens of millions of dollars’ in Iranian oil and petrochemical products to East Asia as it seeks to raise pressure on Tehran to curb its nuclear programme.

The United States is considering limiting shipments of American chipmaking equipment to memory chip makers in China including Yangtze Memory Technologies Co Ltd (YMTC), according to four people familiar with the matter, part of a bid to halt China’s semiconductor sector advances and protect US companies.

As high inflation forces Americans to spend more on gas and bills, young and low-income consumers are starting to feel financial pressure.

Oil prices settled up more than $2 a barrel on Friday as attention turned to next week’s OPEC+ meeting and dimming expectations that the producer group will imminently boost supply.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said this week he’s looking for compelling signs that inflation is cooling before the US central bank will let up on what’s so far been its most aggressive set of interest rate hikes in decades.

Investors are gauging whether the US Federal Reserve has reached the peak of its aggressiveness in hiking rates, with some saying they’re ready to up risky positions again.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine shocked the world, forced Western countries to respond, and is driving up the cost of energy and food across the globe.

President Joe Biden said Monday he does not expect the United States suffer an economic downturn, although GDP figures due later this week may show the economy shrinking for a second consecutive quarter.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday that US economic growth is slowing and she acknowledged the risk of a recession, but she said a downturn was not inevitable.

US central bankers face an increasingly difficult balancing act as they struggle to douse scorching inflation while still keeping the economy growing, though they have made it clear they are willing to risk a recession.

The US Treasury issued a special waiver on Friday to allow investors with insurance against a Russian default, known as Credit Default Swaps, to receive their payouts.

Wheat prices tumbled Friday, retreating to levels last seen prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine following a landmark agreement to unblock Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports.

US crude prices settled below $95 a barrel for the first time since April in choppy trading on Friday after the European Union said it would allow Russian state-owned companies to ship oil to third countries under an adjustment of sanctions agreed by member states this week.

Twitter blamed disappointing results Friday on  “headwinds,” including the uncertainty imposed on the company by Elon Musk’s chaotic buyout bid.

The global economy looks increasingly likely to be heading into a serious slowdown, just as the highest inflation in a generation prompts central banks to aggressively reverse the ultra-loose monetary policy adopted during the pandemic to support growth, data showed on Friday.

The United States called Friday on Russia to let out Ukrainian grain quickly and voiced hope that a Turkish-brokered deal was well-structured enough to monitor compliance.