Turkey's central bank raised its key interest rate by another 2.5 percentage points on Thursday, pressing ahead with a series of hikes aimed at combating inflation that reached nearly 65% in December.

The bank brought its benchmark rate to 45%. It's the eighth interest rate hike since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has abandoned his unconventional economic policies that economists say helped trigger a currency crisis and drove up the cost of living. Many households were left struggling to afford basic goods.

The European Central Bank left its key interest rate untouched at a record-high 4% on Thursday, keeping credit expensive for businesses and consumers as it tries to make sure inflation is firmly under control before cutting borrowing costs — a move expected later this year.

The question is, how much later this year. Financial markets are expecting a rate cut as early as April, while ECB President Christine Lagarde has indicated it likely would happen this summer.

U.S. economic growth was stronger than expected in the final months of 2023, government data showed Thursday, capping a resilient year as President Joe Biden's reelection campaign picks up pace.

The world's biggest economy expanded 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter, boosted by a resilient jobs market and consumer spending, bringing full-year growth to 2.5 percent, said the Commerce Department.

China, the world's biggest exporter, says it is deeply concerned about tensions in the Red Sea that have upended global trade by forcing many shippers to avoid the Suez Canal.

China has been in "close communication with all parties concerned and making positive efforts to de-escalate" the situation in which Iran-backed Houthi rebels have attacked international ships with missiles, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily briefing on Wednesday.

Qatar's liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries may be delayed by attacks in the Red Sea, QatarEnergy warned on Wednesday, stressing that production had not been impacted.

The state-owned giant said "ongoing developments in the Red Sea area may impact the scheduling of some deliveries as they take alternative routes", adding that shipments "are being managed with our valued buyers".

The U.S. has hit Iraqi airline Fly Baghdad and its CEO with sanctions, alleging assistance to Iran's military wing, and imposed a fifth round of sanctions on the militant group Hamas for abuse of cryptocurrency since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

The sanctions come as Israel's bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip continues — killing 25,000 Palestinians so far, according to the Gaza Strip Healthy Ministry — and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq launch regular strikes against bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria.

Tens of thousands of public sector workers walked off the job across Northern Ireland on Thursday to protest political deadlock that has left them without pay increases, and the region without a functioning government.

Schools were closed, hospitals offered a skeleton service and authorities warned people not to travel unless it was essential as road-gritting crews joined the strike in the middle of a bitterly cold snap.

Global shares traded mixed Thursday as pessimism spread among investors about any imminent interest rate cut in the United States.

France's CAC 40 added 0.2% to 7,334.46 in early trading. Germany's DAX was little changed, declining less than 0.1% to 16,431.08. Britain's FTSE 100 declined nearly 0.1% to 7,440.86. U.S. shares were set to be mixed with Dow futures inching down less than 0.1% to 37,444.00, while S&P 500 futures edged up nearly 0.1% to 4,773.50.

It's been nearly two years since the United States and its allies froze hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian foreign holdings in retaliation for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. That roughly $300 billion in Russian Central Bank money has been sitting untapped as the war grinds on, while officials from multiple countries have debated the legality of sending the money to Ukraine.

The idea of using Russia's frozen assets is gaining new traction lately as continued allied funding for Ukraine becomes more uncertain and the U.S. Congress is in a stalemate over providing more support. But there are tradeoffs since the weaponization of global finance could harm the U.S. dollar's standing as the world's dominant currency.

Inflation across the United Kingdom increased unexpectedly last month as a result of sharp hikes in tobacco and alcohol prices, according to official figures released Wednesday.

Economists said it was unlikely to prompt concern at the Bank of England, which recently ended nearly two years of interest rate increases.