OECD inflation hits 25-year high, as Fed’s Powell vows to stop it becoming ‘entrenched’ – as it happened

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is appearing for a confirmation hearing at the Senate, as prices across the OECD jump at the fastest pace since 1996

• Latest: Powell vows to stop inflation becoming entrenched
• OECD inflation highest since 1996
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• New Bundesbank chief wants vigilance over eurozone inflation
• Heathrow: at least 600,000 passengers cancelled flights in December

Bloomberg points out that Heathrow's long-distance passenger numbers were hit particularly hard in 2021, pulling down total passenger traffic by 12% year-on-year.

The U.K. hub, the busiest in Europe in normal times, catered to 19.4 million passengers in 2021, it said Tuesday in a statement. Long-distance services were particularly hard-hit, with passenger counts falling 40% to the Asia-Pacific region, where Covid-zero policies have led to extended lockdowns.

The emergence of the omicron variant and ensuing patchwork of border restrictions drove away at least 600,000 passengers in December, the airport said. While travel got a boost after the U.K. eased some curbs last week, passenger counts last year were less than one-quarter of 2019 levels and below 2020.