U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says he recognises the pain of rising interest rates but insisted that the central bank needs to maintain its independence to successfully make difficult policy decisions. The Hang Seng leads Asian markets into the green as China continues to reopen follow. The World Bank cuts its global growth forecast almost by half warning that the economy is on pace for its weakest growth in 30 years. President David Malpass tells CNBC that despite the gloom, China’s reopening is a ‘key variable’. Airbus remains well ahead of Boeing as the world’s top plane maker with 2022 deliveries climbing by 8 per cent. And in France, a nationwide strike is announced for next week following the government’s move to extend the retirement age from 62 years to 64 in order to avoid a major structural deficit.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.