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CNBC
13-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Stagflation is a looming economic risk—here's what it may mean for your money
The U.S. economy is still in a "strong position" despite "heightened uncertainty," according to the Federal Reserve's latest assessment. Yet there's a looming economic risk the U.S. hasn't meaningfully faced for decades — stagflation. "The risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation appear to have risen," Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on May 7. Those two factors — along with slower economic growth — are the definition of stagflation. Stagflation is not here yet. The unemployment rate is low and inflation has come down, though it is still higher than the Fed's 2% target, Powell noted last week. Signs that the economy is in a "solid position" prompted the central bank to leave the short-term federal funds interest rate unchanged. Swiftly shifting tariff policies are the main threat prompting experts to sound stagflation warnings. Uncertainty related to tariffs is also a strong factor contributing to stagflation risks, according to Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate. "Uncertainty, in and of itself, is a drag on economic growth," McBride said. Businesses may react by not hiring, not expanding production, not making investments and otherwise waiting for the forecast to change, he said. "Even if a lot of [the tariffs] never actually come to fruition, this period of uncertainty itself is a headwind to the economy," McBride said. More from Personal Finance:How consumers are preparing for an economic hit Trump eyes tax hike on wealthyHow to land a job in 'low firing, low hiring' market Stagflation was last a major issue for the U.S. economy in the 1970s as the country contended with the economic fallout of the Vietnam War, the loss of manufacturing jobs and spikes in oil prices. While different factors are present today, stagflation is a "more pronounced risk than at any time over the past 40 years," Greg Daco, chief economist at EY Parthenon and vice president at the National Association for Business Economics, recently told Meanwhile, consumer confidence sank to its lowest reading in five years as tariffs impacted individuals' outlook and employment confidence, according to the Conference Board's April survey. Nevertheless, total retail sales were up in April, both month over month and year over year, as consumers moved up purchases in anticipation of tariffs prompting higher prices, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor. Stagflation's effects would be felt across the U.S. economy. However, there are several ways individuals can minimize their personal exposure ahead of those risks, experts say. Eliminating credit card or other high-interest debts like home equity loans can help create more room in your budget, particularly as interest rates stay put for now. "If stagflation comes to pass, you're going to need that breathing room, because inflation will be high, and prices for all your expenses will be moving higher," McBride said. Most respondents — 65% — to the May CNBC Fed Survey said they expect the Fed will lower interest rates if stagflation risks come to pass. With interest rates holding steady, cash savers still have a unique opportunity to access higher returns. Top-yielding online savings accounts are still offering interest rates that are above the rate of inflation, according to McBride. That may not always be the case if interest rates come down and the rate of inflation picks up. Having cash set aside can help prevent the accumulation of high-cost debt or the need to prematurely raid retirement accounts in the face of income disruptions, rising expenses or other unexpected costs, McBride said. Pending tariffs could mean rising prices on a variety of goods from leather goods to apparel to cars. That may tempt consumers to want to rush to buy the products they anticipate they will need, in order to save money. But buyer beware: So-called "panic buying" can mean you shell out more money than you otherwise would by purchasing more than you need.
Metro
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
The Midnight Walk review - a terrifying stop motion horror adventure
They might not be realistic but the graphics in The Midnight Walk are some of the most impressively creepy of the year, in this surreal new stop motion adventure. Although it was not without its charms, we found South Of Midnight to be one of the more disappointing releases of the year. The bland and unoriginal gameplay was the main problem, but it was a real shame that the stop motion animation, used so prominently in the advertising, was only really evident in the cut scenes. The Midnight Walk does not suffer from that problem. It's a weird coincidence that they both have midnight in their name but in terms of gameplay and story the two games have nothing in common. As the latest from the makers of the very good Lost In Random and the very nearly good Fe, The Midnight Walk is a lot less action based and its storytelling much more opaque, In gameplay terms it's essentially a stealth puzzle game, played through a first person perspective in a surreal, and often terrifying, stop motion world. We'd like to explain what's going on in terms of the plot, but you're given very little clue at the start and trying to piece things together is all part of the fun. The purposefully unclear intro describes you as The Burnt One, last survivor of the end of the world. The game is filled with references to fire, from giant boxes of matches, that you use to light giant candles, to the fact that monsters can be distracted while they eat the flames. What this all means is not immediately clear, as you explore the surreal, forbidding world that looks like A Nightmare Before Christmas turned up to 11 (with other influences from Star War alumni Phil Tippet and his film Mad God). One of the only, literal, bright spots is a friendly little creature called Potboy, who has a flame burning in his head. Potboy can be ordered to move to any nearby location, which is the basis of many of the puzzles, as you use him to light the way and interact with machinery and objects blocking your progress. The puzzles are mostly simple stuff, with switches to press and objects to collect, but there are a few clever ones and the difficulty seems appropriate given the nature of the game. The other key gameplay element is avoiding patrolling monsters. These horrible creatures aren't realistic looking but since the whole game looks like some ultra creepy children's show they're actually scarier than just another zombie or demon. You can't fight them – as a character you have no intrinsic abilities at all – so instead you distract them with fire, which only lasts a few seconds, and hide in wardrobes that are dotted about the landscape. There are obvious comparisons to be made with Alien Isolation, but The Midnight Walk is much less freeform and, especially early on, avoiding the monsters is very contrived, as you tempt them down one path, jump in a wardrobe as they pass by, and exit stage left while they're not looking. That's not to say it's not tense and exciting, but it's very obvious that the game has been made with VR in mind, and while that's welcome, given how little support the PlayStation VR2 has had, the narrow paths, linear progression, and slow movement speed all point to a game that has been calibrated for VR rather than normal play – even though the majority of people are only going to experience the latter. This never becomes a serious problem, but the game does feel a little constrained by trying to be two things at once. If you do have PlayStation VR2 though it works an absolute treat and even uses eye-tracking to tell when your eyes are closed, which is a recurring theme as you close your eyes, either literally or at the press of a button, to open many of the closed doors before you or make objects appear. Everything in the game was moulded in clay first and then scanned in to become a 3D object, and it shows. The art style is more abstract than South Of Midnight but the general effect is much more interesting and unpredictable, as it rides that uncanny line between cartoonish fantasy and nightmarish vision. More Trending The setting may be left purposefully obscure at first, but the five main stories are fairly straightforward. They're as bleak as the art style but while occasionally touching they're not as profound as perhaps the developer imagined, so while they and the character of Potboy are engaging they don't elevate the game in quite the manner they needed to. It is probably only a coincidence that two titles using stop motion have been released in such quick succession, but it's an excellent way for games to stand out and a large part of the appeal is that The Midnight Walk doesn't look like anything else around, including South Of Midnight. Good graphics don't make for good games, and The Midnight Walk certainly would be a lot less interesting if it had a more realistic style, but it doesn't. So while it's overly expensive for an eight hour adventure you can still add this to the year's encouragingly long list of high quality and fiercely unusual indie oddities. In Short: One of the most visually distinctive games of the year, that proves you don't need realism or gore to be scary – in this enjoyable mix of stealth, puzzle-solving, and surreal horror. Pros: The visual style is consistently great and often genuinely scary. Some clever puzzles and the stealth elements are extremely tense. Excellent use of VR, if you have it. Cons: It's a bit too obvious the game was designed with VR in mind, with very narrow paths and uncomplicated layouts. Stealth gameplay doesn't evolve much over the course of the game. Not very long. Score: 7/10 Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed) and PCPrice: £32.99Publisher: Fast Travel GamesDeveloper: MoonHoodRelease Date: 8th May 2026 Age Rating: 16 Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: GTA 6 Trailer 2 was watched more than any movie trailer in history says Rockstar MORE: Empyreal review – more than just Dark Souls with guns MORE: Games Inbox: Is GTA 6 the most anticipated video game ever?
Observer
15-04-2025
- Observer
Never fall for an online scam
From scams to digital house arrests, the Internet and cyberspace are teeming with fraudsters. Not a day goes by without newspaper headlines or stories shared by victims about their experiences with scams. Recently, a 70-year-old retiree posted on Facebook after losing all his hard-earned savings, 'It makes me mad. I'm mad at the scammer, but I'm also mad at myself for believing the scammer.' It all began in January when he received a web of lies through a WhatsApp call, seemingly from men posing as officials from the crime department. The scammers' attire convinced him that they were real officers. They accused him of serious financial misappropriation and informed him that he was under 'house arrest". The scammers promised to release him within 24 hours and claimed he could avoid jail time by complying with their demands. They instructed him to transfer money to the accounts they provided and did not permit him to consult his relatives. Terrified by escalating threats, he transferred $21,000. 'I had to let it go because it almost drove me to consider suicide until I realised it was just money. My life would be so much better if I still had it, but it is gone. I feel ruined,' he wrote in his note. This is not an isolated incident. Recently, there has been a surge in digital arrest scams, where fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officials during video calls, threaten victims with arrest over fabricated charges, and pressure them to transfer large sums of money. This trend has been particularly prevalent in India. 'Digital arrest is one of the most horrendous forms of scams, as fraudsters remotely place victims under false arrest and extort large sums of money based on fictitious charges. Investment schemes, shopping scams and cryptocurrency fraud have also emerged as prevalent methods for defrauding individuals in India this year,' reported the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre. According to the Veriff Fraud Report 2025, impersonation fraud continues to be the most common form of online fraud, representing 82.47 per cent of all fraud cases in 2024. This method entails using stolen or falsified identity information to impersonate another individual, often aided by counterfeit documents. "Although impersonation fraud experienced a slight decline compared to 2022, it remains a significant threat. Businesses must continue to invest in robust identity verification systems that can detect document tampering, synthetic identities and suspicious patterns," the report states. In its 2024 Global State of Scams report, the Global Anti-Scam Alliance revealed that scammers have siphoned over $1.03 trillion globally in the past year - a figure that rivals the GDP of some nations. 'Despite relentless efforts to combat scam activity through awareness campaigns, scams continue to pose a significant and growing threat, with nearly half of global consumers experiencing a scam attempt at least once a week,' stated the report prepared in collaboration with Feedzai. In its annual report to shareholders, FirstBank stated that although phishing has long been a favourite tool for cybercriminals, in 2024, attackers elevated their tactics by incorporating artificial intelligence. "AI-driven phishing scams became more convincing; with criminals leveraging machine learning algorithms to generate e-mails, texts and voice messages that closely mimicked the writing style and tone of individuals the victim knew. These highly personalised attacks often deceived even the most vigilant recipients, leading to significant financial losses and data breaches," the bank revealed. NatWest's research, which combines industry data with a national survey of 2,000 British adults, highlights the emerging and evolving types of scams in 2024. A total of £570 million was reported stolen by scammers in the first half of 2024. According to the research, young adults aged between 18 and 24 were the most targeted this year, with 55 per cent approached by scammers in the last 12 months and 60 per cent either experiencing financial loss themselves or knowing someone who has. In contrast, among those over 65, only 15 per cent are aware of either themselves or someone they know losing money to a scam. The writer is a freelance journalist and author who worked in Oman and India
