LBJ tried jawboning. Richard Nixon issued a presidential edict. The Ford administration printed buttons exhorting Americans to "Whip Inflation Now.''

Over the years, American presidents have tried, and mostly floundered, in their efforts to quell the economic and political menace of consumer inflation.

The Turkish currency weakened by nearly 10% against the U.S. dollar Tuesday, a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted there would be no turning back from his unconventional policy of cutting interest rates despite high inflation.

The lira plunged to a record low of 12.51 against the dollar — down 9.9% from Monday's close. The currency was trading at 14.08 against the euro. The lira has lost some 40% of its value since the start of the year.

Europe's main stock markets slipped Tuesday, as the spreading Covid crisis took the shine off upbeat survey data. 

Countries must prepare for future "shocks" to their agricultural and food systems from droughts, floods or diseases following the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, a U.N. agency said Tuesday.

Italy's antitrust watchdog has fined Apple and Amazon more than 200 million euros ($225 million) for cooperating to restrict competition in the sale of Apple and Beats branded products in violation of European Union rules.

An investigation found that provisions in a 2018 agreement between the U.S. tech giants limited access to Italy's Amazon marketplace to selected resellers, the Italian Competition Authority said Tuesday.

Stocks wobbled in morning trading on Wall Street Friday and major indexes were on track for a mixed finish to a choppy week.

The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% as of 10:16 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 247 points, or 0.7%, to 35,630 and the Nasdaq rose 0.5%.

Thousands of farmers in central Iran joined a protest on Friday demanding authorities open a dam to relieve drought-stricken areas, state TV reported.

Several prominent actors and athletes have taken part in the peaceful demonstrations in the city of Isfahan, urging the government to intervene to aid famers increasingly suffering from droughts that have worsened over the years. The demonstrations began earlier this month.

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh on Friday met with Prime Minister Najib Miqati and said he handed him “a report prepared by the BDO, Semaan, Gholam & Co auditing company.”

“The report was prepared at my request and it includes an auditing of my personal bank accounts and the accounts that have been mentioned in the press for the past year and a half and are the subject of judicial investigations,” Salameh said after the meeting.

Ahead of Christmas, a towering wooden screen — once blackened with soot from millions of worshippers' candles — is being restored to its gilded glory in the Church of the Nativity, built at the site where many believe Jesus was born.

But few visitors are expected to see it during the upcoming Christmas holiday season.

Global shares were mixed Thursday after stock indexes shuffled lower on Wall Street.

France's CAC 40 edged up nearly 0.2% in early trading to 7,167.47. Germany's DAX gained 0.2% to 16,275.17. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.2% to 7,277.41. The future for the Dow industrials was trading 0.2% higher, while the future for the S&P 500 added 0.3%.