Town Hall News

By Ann Saphir, Andrea Shalal and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday nominated Federal Reserve Governor Philip Jefferson to be the central bank’s vice chair, a key policy advisory role recently vacated when Lael Brainard took a top position in Biden’s White House economics team. Biden also nominated the World Bank’s U.S. executive director, Adriana Kugler, to be a Fed governor, adding a labor economist to […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bond trading platform Tradeweb is in talks with clients, industry groups and other market participants about contingency plans in case of a U.S. debt default, a spokesperson said. Financial markets are jittery around potential missed debt payments by the U.S. Treasury as President Joe Biden and top lawmakers remained deadlocked in talks this week over raising the $31.4 trillion federal borrowing limit. “As the leading electronic […]

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – One of Guatemala’s most recognized news outlets and a staunch government critic elPeriodico said on Friday that it will completely shut down operations as of Monday, 10 months after the arrest of its founder and president, Jose Zamora. Known for its investigative reporting for nearly three decades, elPeriodico laid off 80% of its staff in November and stopped printing, going entirely digital following Zamora’s arrest on […]

By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks fell Friday afternoon, led by weaker technology-related shares following their recent rally, as data showed U.S. consumer sentiment dropped to a six-month low. Tesla Inc shares slid 2.4% after jumping more than 2% on Thursday, when Elon Musk announced he had found a new chief executive for Twitter. Musk tweeted Friday he had picked former NBCUniversal advertising chief Linda Yaccarino as […]

By Olena Harmash and Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey KYIV/KOSTIANTYNIVKA, Ukraine (Reuters) -Moscow acknowledged on Friday that its forces had fallen back north of Ukraine’s battlefield city of Bakhmut after a new Ukrainian offensive, in a retreat that the head of Russia’s Wagner private army called a rout.  The setback for Russia, which follows similar reports of Ukrainian advances south of the city, suggests a coordinated push by Kyiv to encircle Russian forces […]

LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) – Liverpool are an attractive prospect for players in the transfer market even if they are not assured of a place in the Champions League next season, manager Juergen Klopp said on Friday. Fifth-placed Liverpool are making a late charge for the top-four in the Premier League and a berth in Europe’s lucrative competition, with Klopp’s team only a point behind Manchester United having played a game […]

By Asif Shahzad and Ariba Shahid ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – A Pakistani court ordered former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s release on bail for two weeks, his lawyer said on Friday, after his arrest in a land fraud case ignited deadly protests and a tussle with the military. Khan departed the court premises, headed towards his hometown Lahore, amidst high security. He had remained inside for hours after being granted bail, saying […]

By Maya Gebeily BEIRUT (Reuters) – The United Nations has asked Syria’s government to extend its approval for two additional crossings to deliver post-earthquake aid into opposition-held zones, a spokesperson said on Friday, but two informed sources said an extension was unlikely. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad agreed to open the crossings of Bab Al-Salam and Al Ra’ee for three months starting on Feb. 13, a week after the earthquake that […]

By Crispin Kyala BUSHUSHU, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – With shovels, sticks and bare hands, Red Cross volunteers struggled to clear caked mud from around a body half buried in a landslide in Bushushu village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. A week after torrential rains triggered deadly floods, the workers said they were exhausted and running out of equipment. But they keep finding corpses under piles of debris, […]