Town Hall News

By Gwladys Fouche OSLO (Reuters) -Fifteen Russian diplomats expelled by Norway this week had sought to recruit sources, intercept communications and buy advanced technology, the Norwegian PST security police said on Friday. The diplomats’ real employers were the Russian GRU, FSB and SVR intelligence services, PST counterintelligence chief Inger Haugland told a news conference. “This lowers the threat from Russian intelligence in Norway by permanently reducing the number of intelligence […]

By Chris Prentice NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday will weigh reopening a 2022 proposal that would expand the definition of an “exchange” following pushback from the cryptocurrency industry which fears being ensnared. The commissioners are expected to take a rare public vote on whether to ask for more comments from the public on the plan. Crypto firms have questioned whether the changes […]

MILAN (Reuters) -Ferrari has a record order book for its models spanning into next year, Chairman John Elkann told the sports car maker’s shareholders on Friday. Elkann said the Italian company’s two latest models, the 296 GTS plug-in hybrid car and the Purosangue four-seater had boosted its product portfolio, “delivering a record number of orders well into 2024”. Ferrari has promised a total of 15 new models between 2023 and […]

By Andrew Chung WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Danco Laboratories, the manufacturer of the abortion pill mifepristone, on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block limits set by lower courts on access to the drug in a challenge by anti-abortion groups. Danco filed an emergency request asking the justices to put on hold a ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas to significantly restrict the pill’s distribution while litigation […]

(Corrects month in second paragraph to February from January) WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Production at U.S. factories fell more than expected in March, but eked out a modest gain in the first quarter. Manufacturing output dropped 0.5% last month, the Federal Reserve said on Friday. Data for February was revised higher to show production at factories increasing 0.6% instead of edging up 0.1% as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had […]

By Andrew Chung WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Danco Laboratories, the manufacturer of the abortion pill mifepristone, on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block limits set by lower courts on access to the drug in a challenge by anti-abortion groups. Danco filed an emergency request asking the justices to put on hold a ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas to significantly restrict the pill’s distribution while litigation […]

LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Ukrainian forces are finding a growing number of components from China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine, a senior adviser in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office told Reuters, as Western supplies are squeezed by sanctions. In “the weapons recovered from the battlefield we continue to find different electronics,” said Vladyslav Vlasiuk, who advises the president’s chief of staff on sanctions policy. “The trend is now that there is […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. import prices fell more than expected in March, leading to the biggest year-on-year decline since mid-2020, further evidence that inflation pressures were subsiding. Import prices dropped 0.6% last month after slipping 0.2% in February, the Labor Department said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices, which exclude tariffs, falling 0.1%. In the 12 months through March, import prices decreased 4.6%. That was the […]

(Reuters) -The Federal Reserve is seen as on track to increase its benchmark rate in May by another quarter-of-a-percentage point as an influential U.S. central banker said higher borrowing costs are needed to make better progress on the inflation fight. U.S. short-term interest rate futures now reflect the view that a rate hike in May is more than four times as likely as no move, firmer than the chance seen […]