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The exterior of the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building is seen in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 14, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve officials were divided over the need for more interest rate hikes at the U.S. central bank's July 25-26 meeting, with "some participants" citing the risks to the economy of pushing rates too far even as "most" policymakers continued to prioritize the battle against inflation, according to minutes of the session that were released on Wednesday."Participants remained resolute in their...

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Rating agency Fitch on Tuesday downgraded the U.S. government's top credit rating, a move that drew an angry response from the White House and surprised investors, coming despite the resolution of the debt ceiling crisis two months ago.Fitch downgraded the United States to AA+ from AAA, citing fiscal deterioration over the next three years and repeated down-the-wire debt ceiling negotiations that threaten the government’s ability to pay its bills.Fitch had first flagged the possibility of a downgrade in May, then maintained that position in June after...

LONDON/FRANKFURT, July 28 (Reuters) - Three banks from the European Union failed to meet binding capital requirements in a stress test that saw a theoretical 496 billion euros ($546 billion) wiped from their buffers, the bloc's banking watchdog said on Friday.Bank stress tests became a feature in Europe and the United States after the 2008 global financial crisis when taxpayers had to bail out some undercapitalised lenders. They are now part of routine supervision to ensure banks can still support the economy even in times of stressed markets.The European Banking...

No steps on spending needed to contain deficit for now-VargaBut gov't will review in Sept and act if necessaryVarga says he'd like to leave 3.9% deficit target intactStable forint crucial for economic players to plan-ministerCEE states can again be fastest growing EU region-VargaBUDAPEST, July 20 (Reuters) - Hungary's annual inflation will slow to 7-8% by December from 20.1% in June, helping the economy rebound, Finance Minister Mihaly Varga told Reuters, adding that no further measures were needed to contain the budget deficit for now.Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government is struggling...