World shares are mixed ahead of a decision by the Federal Reserve on its final interest rate hike for the year.

London, Paris and Frankfurt declined while shares in Asia were higher. U.S. futures edged lower and oil prices also fell.

U.K. inflation remained close to a 40-year high in November, piling pressure on employers to boost wages as the nation faces a wave of strikes and economists expect the Bank of England to approve a ninth consecutive interest rate increase on Thursday.

While annual consumer price inflation dipped to 10.7% in November from 11.1% the previous month, inflation remains at levels last seen in the 1970s and early 1980s, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday.

With frost biting outside European Union headquarters, energy ministers again sought to overcome deep differences Tuesday on a natural gas price cap that many hope would make utility bills cheaper so people can stay a little warmer during harsh winter days — if not this year, then later.

EU energy ministers have been forced into five emergency meetings because they cannot come to agreement on a maximum ceiling to pay for gas because of fear that global suppliers will simply bypass Europe when others offer more money.

Inflation in the United States slowed again last month in the latest sign that price increases are gradually cooling despite the pressures they continue to inflict on American households.

Consumer prices rose 7.1% in November from a year ago, the government said Tuesday. That was down from 7.7% in October and a recent peak of 9.1% in June. It was the fifth straight slowdown.

The joint parliamentary committees convened Tuesday to resume discussing the capital control draft law.

"We have specifically modified the needed exemptions in the capital control," Bou Saab said after the meeting.

With dozens of African leaders descending on Washington this week, the Biden administration is offering a not-so-subtle pitch in its economic competition with China on the continent: The U.S. offers a better option to African partners.

Ahead of Tuesday's start of the three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves acknowledged that the U.S. has fallen behind as China has surged past American foreign direct investment in Africa but argued that the U.S. remains the "partner of choice" in Africa.

One in five cars on Norway's roads are electric, a share that has doubled in less than three years, the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association said Monday.

The Joint Parliamentary Committees have agreed to “put the capital control law aside after approving it pending the adoption of the rest of the laws that are related to the recovery plan,” Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab announced on Monday.

“We passed Article 4 of the capital control law and the discussions are now limited to exemptions,” Bou Saad said after a parliamentary committees session.

Qatar is still bustling with life just days before the end of the first World Cup in the Middle East.

At Katara beach in Doha, children play soccer on the golden sand during the day, while others go for a swim at night in waters lit by the capital's glimmering skyline.

TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné said Monday that the French energy giant has mobilized the teams in charge of drilling operations in Lebanon's Block 9, as he met with caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayyad.

TotalEnergies said that it has launched a call for tenders to select a vendor for a new drilling rig in the first quarter of 2023.