Business Highlights | Roundup of top economy stories

BEIJING - Fears that a Chinese real estate developer's possible default on multibillion-dollar debts might send shockwaves through global financial markets appear to be easing as creditors wait to see how much they might recover. Shares of Evergrande Group, one of China's biggest private sector conglomerates, rose 18% in Hong Kong after the company said it would pay interest to bondholders in China. The company gave no sign whether it would make a payment due Thursday on a separate bond abroad. As details of Evergrande's $310 billion in debt became clearer, economists said despite likely losses for Chinese banks and other creditors it appears a default would not feed through to financial markets abroad.

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled Wednesday that the Fed plans to announce as early as November that it will start withdrawing the extraordinary support it unleased after the coronavirus paralyzed the economy 18 months ago. Powell said that if the job market maintained its steady improvement, the Fed would likely begin slowing the pace of its monthly bond purchases. At the same time, the Fed's policymaking committee indicated Wednesday that it expects to start raising its benchmark interest rate sometime next year - earlier than the members envisioned three months ago and a sign that they are concerned that high inflation pressures may persist.

Bill and Melinda Gates' private foundation announced Thursday it will spend more than $900 million over the next five years to curb global malnutrition. It's one of several pledges private donors have announced this week as world leaders gather in New York for the annual U.N. General Assembly. On Wednesday, a coalition of nine foundations said they would collectively spend $5 billion by 2030 to protect at least 30% of the planet's land and sea. Foundations have played a prominent role in supporting the U.N.'s 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

LONDON - The Bank of England kept its main interest rate at the record low of 0.1% but warned that inflation is set to be double its target rate by the end of this year largely as a result of a sharp spike in energy prices. The decision Thursday from the central bank's nine-member Monetary Policy Committee was unanimous, though two members voted to start reining in a stimulus program intended to keep borrowing rates low in financial markets. The panel said in its meeting minutes that developments over the past month had "strengthened" the case for some tightening of monetary policy in order to meet the bank's 2% inflation target sustainably in the medium term.

WASHINGTON - Average long-term mortgage rates rose slightly this week continuing a months-long trend of little movement. They remain under 3%. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reports that the average rate for a 30-year mortgage edged up to 2.88% from 2.86% last week. The rate for a 15-year loan increased to 2.15% from 2.12% last week. Amid anxiety that the highly contagious delta variant could cause the economic recovery from the pandemic to stall, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday signaled its belief that the economy has recovered sufficiently from the recession for it to soon begin dialing back emergency aid.

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