SQUAWK BOX, WEDNESDAY 18TH MAY, 2022

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell insists that the central bank will continue to raise rates as long as is needed in order to rein in inflation. However, Powell did acknowledge the potential consumer pain involved in the process. Investors pump the Nasdaq by almost 3 per cent after swooping in for recently hurting tech stocks, seemingly unconcerned by a looming recession. In retail, Wal-Mart misses earnings expectations despite positive U.S. consumer data for April. And in European banking news, the Unicredit-Commerzbank tie-up is reportedly shelved due to the uncertainty brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.