Elon Musk, Nouriel Roubini and Goldman Sachs Group have warned of a growing likelihood that the US economy will fall into recession. Their outlooks will stoke fears of a hard landing for the world’s biggest economy as the Federal Reserve jacks up interest rates to counter the fastest pace of inflation in decades. Tesla Chief Executive Officer Musk said Tuesday that a recession in the US looks likely in the near future.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday will call on Congress to suspend federal gasoline and diesel taxes for three months a move meant to ease financial pressures at the pump that also reveals the political toxicity of high gas prices in an election year. The Democratic president will also call on states to suspend their own gas taxes or provide similar relief, the White House said. At issue is the 18.4 cents-a-gallon federal tax on gas and the 24.4 cents-a-gallon federal tax on diesel fuel. If the gas savings were fully passed along to consumers, people would save roughly 3.6% at the pump when prices are averaging about $5 a gallon nationwide.

Britain’s inflation rate hit 9.1% in May, a new 40-year high and up slightly on the previous month, The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that consumer price inflation rose slightly from 9% in April, itself the highest level since 1982. Chief economist Grant Fitzner said continued steep food price rises and record high petrol (gasoline) prices were offset by clothing costs rising by less than this time last year, and a drop in often fluctuating computer games prices.

Data localisation and monetisation can hurt users’ privacy and cloud networks, said Google chief privacy officer Keith Enright on Wednesday as he urged policymakers to be “extremely circumspect”. Enright, in a select media roundtable, said anonymous data is safer for personal information but it must be defined. “Anonymous tends to mean different things in different contexts, different legal regimes have defined anonymous or anonymization differently… We need to be thoughtful and deliberate about how we define anonymous data,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a three-day visit to Germany and the United Arab Emirates beginning Sunday. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Modi will visit Germany from June 26 to June 27 to attend the G7 summit. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Schloss Elmau, Germany at the invitation of Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, for the G7 Summit under the German Presidency on June 26 and 27,” the MEA said in a statement on Wednesday.

South Korean electronics maker Samsung on Wednesday launched in India the Galaxy F13 smartphone. Starting June 29, it will be available in waterfall blue, sunrise copper, and nightsky green colours on Samsung online store, Flipkart, and select retail stores. The Galaxy F13 will be available in 4GB+64GB and 4GB+128GB configurations priced at Rs 11,999 and Rs 12,999, respectively. “Continuing the Samsung legacy of bringing meaningful innovations, we are pleased to launch the all-new Galaxy F13 — the perfect partner for uninterrupted entertainment. This stylish device has been designed to cater to the evolving needs of Gen MZ. Galaxy F13 features a Full HD+ display for an immersive viewing experience, a massive 6000mAh battery, and segment-first Auto Data Switching for uninterrupted connectivity,” said Aditya Babbar, Senior Director and Head, Product Marketing, Samsung India.

Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has shut half of its crude processing capacity at its 240,000 barrels per day (bpd) Mumbai refinery in western India since June 10 to carry out maintenance, a company spokesman said. The state-run refiner has shut a 120,000 bpd crude unit and some secondary units including diesel hydro desulfuriser and hydrogen generation units for 20 to 25 days, the spokesman said. Other units are functioning as normal, he said.

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Sanjeev Khanna, ex-husband of Indrani Mukerjea, arrested in the Sheena Bora murder case. Khanna was recently granted bail by the Supreme Court. He was allegedly involved in Sheena Bora’s murder case and was in custody since August 2015. Last month, Indrani Mukerjea, the prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, was granted bail by the Supreme Court.

Amid a political turmoil in Maharashtra that has put up a question mark on the survival of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has called a State Cabinet meeting at 1 pm on Wednesday. This comes as speculation is rife that Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde along with other MLAs might join the BJP in a bid to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.