Central Banks Frozen as Trade Tensions and Energy Shockwaves Converge

Central banks are frozen at the crossroads as a toxic cocktail of resurgent inflation, slowing growth, and geopolitical shockwaves leaves the world's most powerful monetary authorities paralyzed. US inflation edged down to 3.4% in July but the reprieve may be temporary—Brent crude has rebounded to $90 per barrel thanks to the near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to push energy costs higher across industrialized economies in the second half of...