Town Hall News

By David Morgan and Jarrett Renshaw WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy will sit down on Tuesday to try to make progress on a deal to raise the U.S. government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and avert an economically catastrophic default. They have little time to reach a deal. The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday reiterated its warning that it could run short of […]

By Diane Bartz and Jeffrey Dastin WASHINGTON (Reuters) – OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT, wants the U.S. to consider mandating licenses for companies to develop powerful artificial intelligence like the kind underpinning its chatbot, its chief executive plans to tell Congress on Tuesday. In his first appearance before a congressional panel, CEO Sam Altman is set to advocate licensing or registration requirements for AI with certain capabilities, his written testimony […]

(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Samuel Indyk. Another day, another meeting in Washington. President Joe Biden and senior Republicans, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, are to sit down on Tuesday in an attempt to thrash out a deal to raise the debt limit and avoid a catastrophic default. The mood surrounding the latest talks has perhaps been more optimistic than in […]

(Reuters) -China’s Tencent Music Entertainment Group topped quarterly revenue estimates on Tuesday as the Spotify-like music streaming platform benefited from growth in paying users, sending its U.S. shares 2% higher in premarket trading. The company has been ramping up its original content slate to attract more users and stave off competition from the likes of NetEase-owned Cloud Music and Bytedance’s short-video sharing platform Douyin. Paying users at its online music […]

SEOUL (Reuters) -Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, met South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday and asked for non-lethal military assistance for her country, South Korea’s presidential office said. Zelenska, the wife of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, is visiting South Korea to participate in a media conference. Zelenska, meeting Yoon in the role of a special presidential envoy, told him that she hoped to get support for Ukraine in the […]

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were flat on Tuesday ahead of critical debt limit talks, and retail sales data that will offer more insight on the economy’s health, while Capital One shares jumped after Berkshire Hathaway revealed its stake in the company. The main indexes started the week with modest gains as trading was range-bound amid a wrangling in Washington between the White House and Republicans on whether the […]

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co has agreed to pay $1 billion to settle a lawsuit accusing it of defrauding shareholders about its progress in recovering from a series of scandals over its treatment of customers. A preliminary settlement of the proposed class action was filed late Monday night with the federal court in Manhattan, and requires a judge’s approval. The dollar amount was suggested […]

By Leah Douglas WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Rural electric cooperatives, utilities, and other energy providers will soon be able to apply for nearly $11 billion in grants and loans for clean energy projects, funded by the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act signed into law last August, the Biden administration said on Tuesday. Expanding clean energy to rural communities is critical to meeting the administration’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, officials […]

By Alan Charlish and Pawel Florkiewicz WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s ruling nationalists are hoping a pledge to increase child benefit payments can help them deliver a third straight election victory this year, but economists warn the move could make fighting inflation harder. The ‘500+’ child benefit programme played a crucial role in the Law and Justice (PiS) party’s election victory in 2015, and despite initial criticism from the party’s political […]