Town Hall News

By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) – More than a year after escaping her native Kyiv with a broken leg one winter night, Lidiya Bibko lives in a tidy two-bedroom Tokyo flat as one of 2,300 Ukrainians who fled to Japan after the Russian invasion. Japan’s embrace of evacuees like Bibko has been unusual for a country notorious for its aversion towards foreign entanglements and immigrants, but the war in Ukraine […]

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s finance minister was due to hold a meeting with China’s ambassador to the country on Friday to discuss economic cooperation among other topics, Seoul’s finance ministry said. South Korea’s ambassador to Washington said early this month Seoul would soon pursue senior-level engagements with Beijing amid heightened diplomatic tensions between the two neighbouring economic powerhouses over geopolitical issues. In a short statement, it provided no details […]

By Matt Spetalnick, Vivian Sequera and Mayela Armas WASHINGTON/CARACAS (Reuters) -The U.S. has assured the United Nations that it will shield a proposed UN-administered Venezuela humanitarian fund from creditors, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday, removing a key obstacle to getting the money flowing. After months of confusion over the issue, the Biden administration clarified that the fund, agreed to last year between Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government […]

By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. and Taiwan reached agreement on the first part of their “21st Century” trade initiative, covering customs and border procedures, regulatory practices, and small business, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said on Thursday. After the initial agreement of the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade is signed, negotiations will commence on other, more complicated trade areas including agriculture, digital trade, labor and environmental standards, […]

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil retailer Americanas SA said on Thursday it will next week start to seek potential bidders for the acquisition of its Hortifruti Natural da Terra (HNT) business unit. In a securities filing, Americanas said it has hired Citigroup Global Markets Brazil as the financial adviser for conducting the process to sell the unit, which markets fruits and vegetables. The company added that parties had approached it […]

(Reuters) – Australian financial services firm AMP Ltd said on Friday it had been charged with a A$24 million ($16.28 million) fine by the federal court for billing thousands of dead clients for insurance and financial advice. The penalty ordered by the court was under proceedings brought forward by the country’s corporate regulator, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), in 2021 against AMP trustees – AMP Super and NM Super, […]

By Laura Sanicola (Reuters) – Oil prices fell slightly in early Asian trade on Friday as optimism that a U.S. debt default will be avoided weighed against sticky inflation data that could portend more interest rate hikes from global central banks. Brent futures were down 2 cents at $75.84 a barrel as at 0015 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 10 cents, or 0.043%, to settle at $71.76. […]

By Jeff Mason and Trevor Hunnicutt HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) – The United States and the rest of the “Group of Seven” major economies will unveil new sanctions and export controls targeting Russia over its war against Ukraine, a U.S. official said ahead of a G7 summit in Japan. G7 leaders are gathering in Hiroshima on Friday with the invasion of Ukraine, now in its second year, high on the agenda. […]

By Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Walt Disney Co is scrapping plans to build a nearly $1 billion corporate campus in central Florida that would have housed 2,000 employees, according to an e-mail to employees on Thursday, against the backdrop of its ongoing legal battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Disney parks chief Josh D’Amaro said “changing business conditions” prompted Disney to reconsider its 2021 plan to […]