One point away

US consumer prices ticked up slightly in November on increases in housing and other service-sector costs. The new data comes as Federal Reserve officials began a two-day meeting that is expected to culminate with them holding interest rates steady yet again. Chair Jerome Powell will likely reiterate he and his colleagues want to see a more sustainable pullback in price growth before cutting interest rates.

Nevertheless, the bigger picture remains bright: The central bank increasingly looks like it’s pulling 0ff a soft landing for the world’s largest economy. Powell previously said pain would be necessary to quell inflation—as is usually the case. That pain traditionally comes in the form of millions of lost jobs. But that may not happen this time. At 3.7%, the unemployment rate is about where it was when the Fed began raising rates in March 2022. Meanwhile, the pace of inflation’s fall leaves it one percentage point above the central bank’s 2% target. —David E. Rovella

US President Joe Biden criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying his right-wing government risks eroding international support for his nation’s war against Hamas by refusing to endorse a two-state solution. Biden also labeled elements of Israel’s bombing campaign as “indiscriminate.” The two-month war has killed at least 18,000 Palestinians, displaced close to 2 million and leveled much of the Gaza Strip, creating a humanitarian crisis. Hamas still holds hostages it seized after killing 1,200 Israelis in an Oct. 7 attack.

Climate negotiators in Dubai were still working early Wednesday on a draft agreement calling on nations to swiftly transition away from using fossil fuels, as they neared the end of talks meant to avert the worst consequences of global warming. The compromise text represents a more forceful assertion of the world’s commitment to cutting greenhouse gas emissions while steering clear of polarizing promises to “phase out” fossil fuels—the burning of which has caused the growing climate catastrophe. Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing nations objected to the language.

The US doubts whether Huawei Technologies can produce an advanced chip in its new smartphone at the scale or performance threshold necessary to meet market demand, a senior Commerce Department official told lawmakers Tuesday. “Neither the performance nor yields may match the market of the device,” Thea Kendler, assistant secretary for export administration, said during testimony before a House Foreign Affairs Committee oversight panel.

Ernst & Young is laying off some of its employees and delaying start dates for others across the US, the latest moves by a consulting giant to deal with an industrywide slowdown. EY and its rivals have said a growing number of clients are shelving longer-term investments. The dismissals at the firm come just weeks after it picked Janet Truncale as its next chief executive, placing the first woman atop a Big Four audit firm.

Ken Griffin’s Citadel plans to return about $7 billion to clients after double-digit gains in its hedge funds over the past two years bumped assets to $63 billion. The firm’s flagship Wellington fund gained about 15% through November after a 38% gain in 2022. Citadel and other multimanager hedge funds have experienced explosive growth over the past few years as investors sought the relative stability and steady returns these strategies aim to offer.

One of Goldman Sachs’ highest-paid executives of recent years is stepping down. Ed Emerson, who leads the commodities-trading business and will stay on to help with the transition, oversaw the resurgence of the unit—long seen as a crown jewel of the trading operation. Emerson, 47, earned roughly $100 million over the previous three years. That compares with $77.5 million awarded to Chief Executive Officer David Solomon during the same span.

Netflix has revealed what you’re watching, posting all of its viewer data for the first time. The political thriller The Night Agent was the most-watched title globally in the first half of 2023, generating 812.1 million hours of viewing. That was followed by Season 2 of the family drama Ginny & Georgia and the debut of The Glory, a South Korean series.

There’s no greater gift than the gift of travel. But the logistics of actually giving someone a trip to go on are complicated. How do you gift a vacation when the particulars can be so incredibly personal? The answers to that question vary. Gifting a trip can also be a conversation, presented as a sort of voucher that gets redeemed by its recipient when they’re ready to get packing. Or it can be a commitment for the future, to be hatched together.

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