The Bank of England raised its main interest rate Thursday to a fresh 15-year high as it tries to bring down persistently high inflation, poised to bring more pain to people who are seeing rents and mortgages rise during a cost-of-living crisis.

From a university campus to a seaside town, Pope Francis challenged young people on Thursday to make the world a more just and inclusive place, as he focused the second day of his Portugal trip on inspiring students to use their privilege to combat global warming and economic inequalities.

Francis received a warm welcome first at the Catholic University in Lisbon, one of Portugal's top institutions of higher learning. He then had a more intimate, informal encounter with young people in the former fishing village of Cascais, where he was serenaded with a mournful performance of the traditional Portuguese fado, meaning fate or destiny.

Big technology companies provided the energy for most of broader market's sharp ascent in 2023 and their latest financial reports so far justify that confidence from investors.

Microsoft and Google's parent company Alphabet reported strong profit growth that beat analysts' forecasts. Chipmaker Intel surprised Wall Street with a profit during its most recent quarter. ServiceNow, which makes software that automates technology operations, reported a surge in profit.

Adidas brought in 400 million euros ($437 million) from the first release of Yeezy sneakers left over after breaking ties with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, as the German sportswear maker tries to offload the unsold shoes and donate part of the proceeds to groups fighting antisemitism and other forms of hate.

The first batch of shoes sold in June helped the company reach an operating profit of 176 million euros in the second quarter, better than it originally planned, Adidas said in a statement Thursday.

Banks from four Arab countries are interested in investing in Lebanon's struggling banking sector, which was hard-hit by the small nation's three-year economic meltdown, a top Arab banker said Thursday.

Lebanon is in the throes of its worst economic crisis in its short and troubled history that has skyrocketed poverty and inflation, and crippled its bloated public sector and infrastructure.

The Central bank is inclined to stop funding the state completely as of Monday, MTV said, after the government and parliament failed to pass a law that would allow the government to borrow foreign currency from the central bank.

First central bank vice-governor Wassim Mansouri, who took over as BDL's acting governor on Tuesday, had urged parliament and the government to cooperate in order to legalize spending during a transitional period before the central bank stops funding the state completely.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait said Thursday they have sole ownership of a disputed gas field also claimed by Iran, in an escalating feud after Tehran threatened to pursue exploration.

The offshore field, known as Arash in Iran and Dorra in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, has long been focal point of contention between the three countries.

Lawyers for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried said Tuesday that prosecutors are wrong to seek his detention prior to trial because their arguments are built on "innuendo, speculation, and scant facts."

The written submission in Manhattan federal court was a response to the prosecution's claim last week that no bail conditions can stop the onetime cryptocurrency power broker from trying to improperly influence the potential jury pool for his October 2 trial.

Wall Street was poised to open lower Wednesday after the United States government's credit rating was cut for just the second time in history.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrials slipped 0.3% before the bell and futures for the S&P 500 tumbled 0.5%.

Drivers are in for another headache at the pump as U.S. gas prices continue to rise.

The national average for gas prices stood at about $3.78 a gallon on Tuesday — about 25 cents higher than that seen one month ago, according to motor club AAA. While today's prices at the pump remain far lower than they were last year, when energy costs soared worldwide in the months following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, experts say such a jump is unusual.