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The World Bank warned Tuesday that the global economy faces the risk of dreaded "stagflation," with this combination of high inflation and low growth tipping some countries into recession.

The war in Ukraine, lockdowns in China, supply-chain disruptions, and the risk of stagflation are hammering growth. For many countries, recession will be hard to avoid, said World Bank President David Malpass.

In its updated Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank slashed its forecast for global growth this year to 2.9%, down from the 4.1% forecast it published in January.

The World Bank said most of the downgrade is attributed to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which it had not accounted for in its previous forecast. The international body said it expects essentially no rebound next year, projecting only 3% growth for the world in 2023.

The report pointed to the persistence of high energy and food prices combined with higher interest rates from central banks around the world for the gloomier outlook.

World Bank President David Malpass speaks during a news conference at the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and IMF in Washington, U.S., April 11, 2019. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan

The global outlook faces significant downside risks, including intensifying geopolitical tensions, an extended period of stagflation reminiscent of the 1970s, widespread financial stress caused by rising borrowing costs, and worsening food insecurity, the report reads.

In the United States, the World Bank downgraded growth prospects for 2022 to 2.6% from the 3.8% it expected in its January forecast.

Although the downgrade does not imply a recession, Wall Street firms have already taken note of recessionary warnings from markets. And rapid price increases are already driving conversations about recession at American dinner tables.

But the World Bank report highlights the fact that recessionary concerns are not a uniquely American phenomenon.

The World Bank called on governments around the world to avert the worst consequences of this economic slowdown.

The World Bank urged governments to cushion the blow from rising energy and food prices, ease financial burdens by expanding debt relief, and dampen the impact of the ongoing pandemic by increasing vaccinations in low-income countries.

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The report specifically discouraged governments from imposing price controls, subsidies, or export bans amid high inflation.

The World Bank also said central banks like the Federal Reserve have a role to play as well.

The Fed, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Canada are among major central banks raising short-term borrowing costs to dampen demand that may be empowering businesses to lift prices.

Communicating monetary policy decisions clearly, leveraging credible monetary policy frameworks, and protecting central bank independence can effectively anchor inflation expectations and reduce the amount of policy tightening required to achieve the desired effects on inflation and activity, said Ayhan Kose, Director of the World Banks Prospects Group.

The challenge: governments and central banks can only do so much to address supply chain disruptions.

With Chinas zero-COVID policy and a war happening in Eastern Europe, the inability of trade to flow freely around the world risks keeping prices elevated as growth slows.

The World Bank report warned that if geopolitical conditions do not lighten up, global growth could be substantially weaker.

Brian Cheung is a reporter covering the Fed, economics, and banking for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter @bcheungz.

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Recession will be 'hard to avoid' as stagflation risks rise: World Bank - Yahoo Finance

The NBAs independent investigation into allegations of misogyny, racism and toxic culture by Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Robert Sarver is getting close to the end, league commissioner Adam Silver told Yahoo Sports this week.

In November, ESPNs Baxter Holmes published a bombshell report that included more than 70 current and former team employees claims against Sarver. Among them was Sarver allegedly using the N-word repeatedly, discussing sexually explicit topics in the office and verbal tirades. Additional allegations have come out since the initial report.

Sarver has denied the allegations, including releasing a statement before the story was published.

The NBA launched an independent investigation by the Wachtell Lipton law firm into the claims. There have been no status updates about the investigation or timeline for its conclusion from the league or Suns.

No, no update other than were getting close to the end, Silver told Yahoo Sports. Theres no question about it. Its a complex investigation. There are hundreds of people who are involved and need to be interviewed. And we also want to make sure we protect the rights of everyone involved.

So these things by nature, I know what frustrates people, do seem to take a lot of time, but were certainly getting very close to the end.

Sarver reportedly was set to be interviewed by investigators in March. At that time, more than 300 people had been interviewed as part of the investigation.

After the investigation began in November, Sarvers wife, Penny, reportedly sent intimidating messages to several former Suns employees. She confirmed to ESPN that she sent the messages.

Former Suns employees were partially released from nondisclosure agreements in order to speak to investigators. However, the NDAs were still upheld outside of the investigation.

Sarver has continued to run the team as normal, attending NBA board of governors meeting in April. Silver said at that time the investigation was certainly closer to the end than the beginning, according to ESPN.

The investigation into Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Robert Sarver is "getting close to the end," NBA commissioner Adam Silver told Yahoo Sports. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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Adam Silver: Suns owner Robert Sarver investigation 'getting close to the end' - Yahoo Sports

Don't miss CoinDesk's Consensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong took to Twitter on Friday to respond to an online petition purportedly coming from one or a group of Coinbase (COIN) workers calling out the management team for numerous mistakes and demanding the exits of Chief Operating Officer Emilie Choi, Chief Product Officer Surojit Chatterjee and Chief People Officer L.J. Brock.

"If you have no confidence in the execs of CEO of a company then why are you working at that company," asked Armstrong. "Quit and find a company to work at that you believe in!" Further down the tweet thread, Armstrong said airing company dirty laundry publicly is unethical and dumb. "If you get caught you will be fired," he added.

While it has not been confirmed that the petition came from within Coinbase, Armstrong's response suggests so. "We don't have anything to add beyond Brian's tweets," said Coinbase, responding to a query from CoinDesk.

Among the issues noted in the petition were the failure of the Coinbase non-fungible token (NFT) platform, initiatives like the Dot Collector and performance review system leading to a toxic workplace culture, and the recent rescinding of job offers to new employees after just two weeks earlier promising all offers would be honored.

The final word goes to Armstrong: "In any down market, people want to start pointing fingers and find someone to blame. ... Recognize this mental trap and don't fall into it teams have to pull together and act as one company during difficult periods, not turn on each other."

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'You Will Be Fired': Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Lambastes Anonymous 'Operation Revive COIN' Petitioner - Yahoo Finance

It may not seem intuitive for someone like Jeffrey Katzenberg whose storied entertainment resume includes co-founding DreamWorks after a decade-long tenure as chairman of Disney (DIS) to leap into the life of a Silicon Valley VC. But, if you ask him, there's absolutely a throughline: Katzenberg has always loved ambitious dreamers and big ideas.

Im attracted to entrepreneurs, he told Yahoo Finance. Ive been one my whole life and though my ventures have mostly been in the entertainment business, the qualities of those people dreamers who have ideas, passion, ambition, commitment, drive its there. They have similar characteristics. Theyre similar people, and Im drawn to them.

In 2017, Katzenberg co-founded VC firm WndrCo with Silicon Valley veteran Sujay Jaswa, who was Dropbox's (DBX) first-ever chief financial officer. As Dropbox's CFO, Jaswa was deeply involved in building the company's valuation from $18 million to $10 billion. He'd joined Dropbox from time as a VC at New Enterprise Associates, where he'd invested in Cloudflare (NET) and Workday (WDAY).

"In terms of hyper-growth, there are so many different things that are being thrown at you, so you can always get distracted," said Jaswa. "So, my view is that there are really just two things that matter. One is building great products for customers, and two is hiring amazing people. If you do those two things, and you get everything else wrong, you're going to be just fine."

To be sure, Katzenberg's tech ventures haven't all been successes so far. Famously, Katzenberg's much-hyped media startup Quibi dissolved in December 2020, less than a year after its official launch. The company, which produced content in 10-minute episodes, originally raised $1.75 billion from investors, but ultimately sold its content library to Roku (ROKU) for under $100 million.

However, in the years that have followed, Katzenberg and WndrCo have bounced back, finding new mojo by focusing on areas in tech that have been growing in importance, particularly as the pandemic has re-made our world. For instance, one of the firm's key investments is in Aura, a digital safety startup founded by entrepreneur Hari Ravichandran in 2017.

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"From a consumer standpoint, [Aura] had such a clear vision of bringing together the very best features and functions that would actually give somebody a really robust, full menu of security around their personal devices," said Katzenberg. "I thought, wow, I need that and I think all of us need that."

SUN VALLEY, IDAHO - JULY 07: Producer Jeffrey Katzenberg speaks to the media at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 07, 2021 in Sun Valley, Idaho. After a year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the worlds most wealthy and powerful businesspeople from the media, finance, and technology worlds will converge at the Sun Valley Resort for the exclusive weeklong conference. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The firm's recent investments have been diverse, ranging from internet infrastructure provider Meter to Web3-focused Tally Labs. However, as they look at deals these days, WndrCo is primarily focused on the future of work and cybersecurity, the pair told Yahoo Finance.

"Those are really the two lanes in which probably 80% of our interests, our investments, and our efforts are being made," said Katzenberg.

A headshot of WndrCo co-founder Sujay Jaswa, provided by the firm.

The investments that WndrCo makes fall into a few different categories; the firm has a seed-specific fund, and also invests in growth-stage startups that have already pinned down a "product-market fit," according to Jaswa. There's also a category that Katzenberg and Jaswa call "build investments."

"This is where we're really rolling up our sleeves, and we're sort of behaving like the founders behind the founders," said Jaswa. "In many cases, we'll dive in operationally if the founder wants us to, or we'll do a bunch of other things. Honestly, those are the most rewarding in a sense."

Allie Garfinkle is a senior tech reporter at Yahoo Finance. Find her on twitter @agarfinks.

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Why Hollywood heavyweight Jeffrey Katzenberg jumped to tech - Yahoo Finance

(Bloomberg) -- US stocks could drop another 30% if spiking energy costs spark an economic contraction, according to Evercore ISI strategist Julian Emanuel.

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Emanuel revised his 2022 target for the S&P 500 index to 4,300 from 4,800 but also outlined a more bearish scenario where the gauge falls to 2,900 -- a level last seen in 2020 in the early part of recovery from the pandemic rout. The US stock gauge closed near 4,115 Wednesday.

What we havent seen is that fundamental catalyst, and we all know that the biggest fundamental catalyst is falling energy prices, Evercores chief equity and quantitative strategist told Bloomberg Television Thursday. We look for it everyday and it is not happening.

Higher oil prices have a history of increasing the probability of a recession, he wrote in a note Wednesday, adding the average recession bear market in the past century is a slide of about 41%.

Stock market prognostication has rarely been so fraught, encompassing the highest inflation in a generation, sharp interest-rate hikes, war in Europe and Chinas embrace of Covid lockdowns at great economic cost.

The S&P 500 is down almost 14% so far this year and a bounce that began in mid-May has fizzled as warnings about the economic outlook and shrinking corporate profit margins become ever more shrill.

People are starting to worry about whether we are going to see some more lowering of guidance before the earnings season starts in July and then maybe even further once it starts, Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co., said on Bloomberg Television. People are definitely getting more defensive again.

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Emanuel has a bullish scenario of 4,800 if investors get some relief from price pressures -- a big if given that US inflation is expected to stay above 8% in a report due Friday. If you get that break in inflation and you get consumer spending to hold in there, thats where we get the upside, he said.

Technical indicators, meanwhile, show a bearish bias, according to Katie Stockton of Fairlead Strategies. The relief rally has done nothing to improve long-term downside momentum behind the major indices, she wrote in a note.

(Updates with Emanuel comments from Bloomberg Television interview)

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2022 Bloomberg L.P.

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One Strategists Bear Case Sees S&P 500 Sinking Another 30% - Yahoo Finance

Ivanka Trump, the daughter of former President Donald Trump and a senior adviser in his administration, told the Jan. 6 select committee that she accepted former Attorney General William Barrs assessment that there was no evidence of sufficient fraud in the 2020 election that could have overturned the results.

In Thursday evenings hearing, committee co-chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., played video of Barr testifying to the Jan. 6 committee, as well as public comments he made, in which he recounted telling Trump that his claims that fraud explained his loss to Joe Biden amounted to bulls***.

I repeatedly told the president in no uncertain terms that I did not see evidence of fraud that would have affected the outcome of the election, Barr said in one clip. And, frankly, a year-and-a-half later, I have seen anything to change my mind on that.

Testimony given by Ivanka Trump is screened during the Select committee hearing on Thursday night. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Cheney then pivoted to what Ivanka Trump told the committee.

Many of President Trumps White House staff also recognized that the evidence did not support the claims President Trump was making, Cheney said. This is the presidents daughter commenting on Bill Barrs statement that the department found no fraud sufficient to overturn the election.

Video was then played of a question put to Ivanka Trump by committee staff.

How did that affect your perspective about the election, when Attorney General Barr made that statement? the staff member asked.

It affected my perspective. I respect Attorney General Barr, so I accepted what he was saying, Ivanka Trump answered.

On Wednesday, the New York Times published a story that detailed the effort made by Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, to wash their hands of the former presidents effort to try to overturn the 2020 election results.

Jared Kushner as seen in select committee video testimony. (House TV via Reuters Video)

Thursdays video, however, was the first public airing of Ivanka Trumps assessment of the election results and their legitimacy.

Cheney played another video clip of her questioning Kushner about threats by former White House counsel Patrick Cippollone to tender his resignation over Trumps relentless campaign to block the certification of Bidens victory.

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I know he and the team, he was always saying, Oh, were going to resign. Were not going to be here if this happens, if that happens, Kushner testified. And so, I kind of just took it up to be whining, to be honest with you.

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Ivanka Trump told Jan. 6 committee that she accepted that her father lost election - Yahoo News

The University of Cincinnati, the University of Houston and the University of Central Florida will officially leave the American Athletic Conference for the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2023, the AAC announced Friday morning.

It has been a privilege for our universities to compete at the highest level in the American Athletic Conference where our programs have grown and flourished, both athletically and academically," UCF president Alexander Cartwright, Cincinnati President Neville Pinto and Houston President Renu Khator said in a statement. "To be part of The Americans climb to national prominence in recent years is something well always look back on with great pride. We are especially grateful to Commissioner Aresco and his staff for their efforts during this process and look forward to an outstanding year of competition in 2022-23.

BYU will also join the Big 12 in 2023.

This news was originally announced this past September when the Big 12 invited all four schools to join the conference. But Cincinnati, Houston and UCF needed to come to an agreement with the AAC before they could officially join the Big 12. The three schools will reportedly each pay the AAC $18 million over a 14-year period to leave the conference early, according to The Athletic's Sam Khan and Justin Williams. As an FBS independent, BYU will only have to pay $500,000 to leave the West Coast Conference for other sports, according to The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach.

The Big 12 needed more schools after Texas and Oklahoma were invited to join the SEC in 2021 following the schools' decision not to renew their grants of media rights after 2025. That move create a seismic shift in the Power Five, one that the Big 12 quickly tried to resolve by inviting the quartet of Cincinnati, Houston, UCF and BYU. The Big 12 will field 14 teams in 2023 before shrinking back to 12 in 2025 (or earlier, if an exit is negotiated) when Texas and Oklahoma inevitably leave.

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With the departures of Cincinnati, Houston and UCF, six schools will now officially join the AAC on July 1, 2023 from Conference USA Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA. That bumps the total number of schools in the conference to 15 starting in 2023.

Conference USA will also add four schools in 2023: Jacksonville State, Liberty, New Mexico State and Sam Houston State.

The University of Cincinnati and two other AAC schools will join the Big 12 conference in 2023. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

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Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to officially join Big 12 in 2023 - Yahoo Sports

Even though there's no World Cup this summer, with the tournament taking place in November and December for the first time ever, fans in the United States will still get to enjoy big-name men's international soccer.

AEG announced a new event on Friday, Soccer Champions Tour, set to take place between July 22-30 in Las Vegas, San Francisco, Dallas and Los Angeles. Reigning Champions League and La Liga winners Real Madrid headline the list of teams that will compete in the games, along with Barcelona, Italian giants Juventus and Liga MXs Club America and Chivas Guadalajara round out the squads.

Following several years without seeing some of these teams in the United States, we are thrilled to provide the opportunity for soccer fans in the U.S. to once again watch their favorite European and Mexican clubs play in person, said Tom Braun, AEG Senior Vice President of Soccer & Business Operations and Business Development.

The competition marks the first time Real Madrid and Barcelona will play in the states since 2019. They are set to face off in a preseason El Clsico on July 23 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Here's the full Soccer Champions Tour schedule:

Juventus vs. Chivas Guadalajara at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas

Real Madrid vs. Barcelona at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas

Real Madrid vs. Club Amrica at Oracle Park, San Francisco

Barcelona vs. Juventus at Cotton Bowl Stadium, Dallas

Real Madrid vs. Juventus at Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles

Real Madrid and Barcelona will play in the United States for the first time since 2019 this summer. (REUTERS/Nacho Doce)

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Real Madrid, Barcelona set to play in United States for first time since 2019 as part of newly announced event - Yahoo Sports

It's a scene that every child of the 80s knows by heart: Riding through the California wilderness with his extra-terrestrial pal, E.T., riding shotgun or, more accurately, riding shot-basket young Elliott's bicycle lifts off from the forest floor and ascends into the sky until the two are silhouetted against the full moon. That image didn't just define Steven Spielberg's 1982 blockbuster it also became the signature logo for his production company, Amblin Entertainment, gracing hundreds of beloved films and TV series. While that scene defines movie magic for audiences in the theater, for the film's young star, Henry Thomas, it was just another day on the job.

"That was me on a bike on a crane arm on a soundstage with a blue screen behind me," the now-50-year-old actor tells Yahoo Entertainment ahead of E.T.'s fortieth anniversary. "I was just up and doing going 'Woo-hoo! Wow! Amazing!' Of course, in the theaters, you see it with the rear projection and it's this beautiful Redwood forest floating beneath you." (Watch our interview above.)

While he didn't get to experience the magic in the moment, Thomas does understand why that scene in particular captured moviegoers's imaginations. "That was probably the most favorite fan question for at least 10 years: How did they make the bikes fly?" he recalls. "Back then, special effects weren't as publicized as they are now. A lot people didn't have a clue about how they were done. It was just movie magic, which is kind of interesting because it wrapped the whole industry in a little bit of an enigmatic thing, and that was part of the fun of seeing films."

E.T. and Elliott take flight in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. (Photo: Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection)

Thomas was 9 years old when he first auditioned for the role that would define his career, and famously moved Spielberg to tears. "Honestly, I think I had the part before I went into the audition," he says now. "They created a scenario, and I did an improvisation and I got very emotional. And then at the end of the audition, you hear someone say: 'OK kid, you got the job.' That was Spielberg."

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E.T. was a passion project for the filmmaker, who rocketed to fame with action-heavy blockbusters like Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Released on June 11, 1982, the modestly-budgeted film ended up outgrossing all of Spielberg's other movies at the time, and it remains his second-most successful release behind 1993's Jurassic Park. Thomas remembers the director being a whirlwind of activity on set as he translated the personal story he had in his head to the big screen.

"He wanted to be able to do every job on set," the actor recalls. "That was the impression I got. If he could have done the whole thing by himself, he would have. He had that kind of energy, like, 'Let's do this!' or 'That's an interesting idea, let's go with that.'"

One of the things that Spielberg insisted upon was that the movie present an authentic depiction of childhood, which meant including scenes and language that weren't sanitized for young viewers. Case in point: In one early scene, Elliott angrily calls his older brother, Michael (Robert MacNaughton), "penis breath" a scene that you probably wouldn't see today. Ditto for another moment where E.T. chugs a beer while Elliott's at school, and their psychic link renders the kid slightly tipsy.

Elliott and E.T. say goodbye in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. (Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection)

"I remember that was a priority of Steven's and [screenwriter] and Melissa Mathison," Thomas says now. "To try to infuse the dialogue with as much modern and topical slang as possible. Whatever your personal opinion about whether kids should be saying this or doing this, these moments were referenced from real interactions with kids. If Steven liked it, it made it in the movie. It was a different time it was 1981. I worry about this, because if artists are constantly worried about how they're going to be perceived [later on], what kind of art are we going to have?"

Fortunately, after 40 years we still have E.T. and while Spielberg has made sequels to some of his other blockbusters, that film remains a singular story. (A sequel book, E.T.: The Book of the Green Planet was published in 1985, and mainly focuses on E.T. with only brief appearances from Elliott.) Three years ago, though, Thomas did reunite with his old friend in a holiday commercial for the Xfinity cable company.

Asked whether that ad was the first step towards a second film, Thomas who has gone on to a successful career in film and television says that viewers shouldn't get their hopes up. "I think that commercial is probably as close as we're ever gonna get to an E.T. reboot," he notes. "I don't think Spielberg wants to tarnish E.T. in any way for anybody. It's an iconic standalone film."

"What would a sequel even be about?" Thomas continues, laughing. "It would be so contrived. It'd just be them catching up, going 'How you been? Great! Yeah, me too!' That's why it's a great commercial, but maybe not a feature." Better put the bikes back in the garage, kids.

Video produced by Anne Lilburn and edited by Jimmie Rhee

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is currently streaming on Hulu

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'E.T.' at 40: Henry Thomas explains the movie magic behind the beloved film's famous flying bike scene - Yahoo Entertainment

The majority of Americans feel the U.S. is either in a recession, or headed towards one, according to a recent Maru Public Opinion survey compiled for Yahoo. A bit more than half of respondents say they are now stricter with their money habits.

The poll of 1,512 people shows 62% feel the country is already in a period of contraction. Another 19% believe the country is headed toward one.

Based on what theyve seen, read, heard, or are personally experiencing, two-thirds (62%) of Americans think the country is currently experiencing a recession compared to four in 10 (38%) who dont think thats the case, states John Wright, executive vice president of Maru Public Opinion.

Further, half (53%) of Americans say they have personally set stricter priorities and reduced their spending in the last month, according to the survey.

Those most likely to believe the United States is currently in a recession are most likely to reside in the South (67%) and the Northeast (64%). Women are more likely than men to believe that the United States is already in recessionary times, according to the study.

Those most likely to believe that the United States is not currentlyin a recession (38%) can be found in the Midwest (44%) and the West (41%).

A recession is defined by two consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product, or GDP, growth. The countrys GDP unexpectedly contracted at a 1.4% annualized rate in the first quarter of this year.

The GDP reading serves as a backwards-looking overview of the economy, capturing the January-through-March period. As the Federal Reserve continues on a path of tighten monetary policy, economists are forecasting the possibility of a recession ahead.

This week, Tesla's CEO Elon Musk ordered a hiring pause worldwide, citing a "super bad feeling" about the economy. Musk also aims to cut 10% of the electric-vehicle giants workforce, according to an email viewed by Reuters. His comments came just days after JPMorgan's CEO Jamie Dimon warned of an economic hurricane" ahead as the Federal Reserve continues its process of normalizing interest rates.

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Ines is a markets reporter covering equities. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre

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Most Americans feel there's a recession or one on the way, poll shows - Yahoo Finance