Town Hall News

By Shadia Nasralla LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices eased on Thursday as traders warily watched for signs of progress on talks to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, after surging in the previous session on optimism over U.S. fuel demand. Brent crude futures dipped 37 cents, or 0.5%, to $76.59 a barrel as of 0841 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $72.49 a barrel. A sharp […]

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s government estimates it needs to raise about 3 trillion yen ($22.2 billion) in funds per year for the child care policy Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has put forward, Jiji news agency reported on Thursday. The government in March laid out the plan to boost child care over the coming three years to reverse the country’s declining birthrate, but how to finance the major spending package has […]

(This May 17 story has been corrected to clarify that the token is called XRP, not Ripple, in paragraph 9) By Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. crypto firm Ripple has bought Switzerland-based crypto custody firm Metaco for $250 million, in its first major acquisition, Ripple said on Wednesday. Metaco makes technology which allows financial institutions to store and manage digital assets. Its clients include Citi, BNP Paribas, and Societe […]

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank AG has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit by women who say they were abused by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, and accused the German bank of facilitating his sex trafficking. The accord resolves claims in a proposed class action in Manhattan federal court by Epstein’s accusers, and was confirmed by their lawyers late on Wednesday. Court approval […]

By Andrew Hayley XIAN, China (Reuters) -Central Asian heads of state converged in China’s historic city of Xian on Thursday for one-on-ones with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to seal pledges of “enduring” friendship, paving the way for a summit expected to result in a regional pact with Beijing. The bilaterals set the stage for a group huddle on Friday, the first in-person gathering of the six leaders, where Xi will […]

By Anisha Sircar and Divya Chowdhury (Reuters) – Equity markets in North Asia will outperform the broader region this year, buoyed by China’s reopening and a post-pandemic recovery-led earnings rebound, investors and strategists said. Liquidity from easing monetary and fiscal policy, along with Asian central banks’ early victory on inflation, is expected to defend against an incoming downtrend, keeping North Asian equities resilient. Grace Tam, chief investment officer-Asia at BNP […]

(This May 17 story has been corrected to clarify that the token is called XRP, not Ripple, in paragraph 9) By Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. crypto firm Ripple has bought Switzerland-based crypto custody firm Metaco for $250 million, in its first major acquisition, Ripple said on Wednesday. Metaco makes technology which allows financial institutions to store and manage digital assets. Its clients include Citi, BNP Paribas, and Societe […]

By Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat BANGKOK (Reuters) -The leader of the progressive Move Forward Party that delivered a surprise victory in Thailand’s election said on Thursday he was confident he could muster additional support from rivals to back his alliance and form a stable government. Move Forward, which won most seats after it capitalised on its groundswell of youth support, has an alliance of eight parties worth about 313 […]

By Gleb Garanich KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine shot down 29 of 30 missiles launched by Russia in overnight air strikes but one person was killed in an attack on the southern city of Odesa, the Ukrainian military said on Thursday. Black smoke filled the sky over Kyiv during the ninth attack on the capital this month. Falling debris from missiles hit by air defences set off fires in eastern parts […]