FRANKFURT, Germany - The European Central Bank stuck to a planned interest rate increase Thursday as it remained laser-focused on battling sky-high inflation despite market turmoil over fears of a widening banking crisis. The bank raised interest rates by half a percentage point, its sixth successive hike -- but it notably omitted language from its statement about the need to raise rates "significantly" going forward. Policymakers had faced calls to slow their aggressive hiking campaign after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the United States, the sector's biggest failures since the 2008 financial crisis. Fears of contagion have spread to Europe, with a ...Keep on reading: ECB sticks to planned rate hike despite turmoil