Town Hall News

By Ben Blanchard TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday that her recent overseas trip, which included the United States, showed the world Taiwan’s determination to defend freedom and democracy, even as the prompted China to stage war games around the island. Tsai met U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles last week at the end of her tour, which included stops in Guatemala […]

TOKYO (Reuters) – Former Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has received a job offer from a prestigious university in Tokyo, days after retiring from the helm of the central bank, a university official told Reuters on Wednesday. Kuroda will become a senior academic fellow at National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), a job aimed at making use of his rich experience for teaching students, many of whom are […]

By Pavel Polityuk KYIV (Reuters) -Russian forces pounded frontline cities in eastern Ukraine with air strikes and artillery attacks, while U.S. officials stepped up efforts to locate the source of a leak of classified U.S. documents, including those on Ukrainian counter-offensive plans. The Russians pressed on with their offensive in the eastern Donetsk region where several cities and towns came under heavy bombardment, Ukraine’s general staff said on Tuesday. Ukrainian […]

(Reuters) – A pair of signed, game-worn Michael Jordan sneakers from the 1998 NBA Finals fetched a record $2.2 million on Tuesday, making them the most valuable sneakers ever sold, auction house Sotheby’s said. The Air Jordan 13 “Breds” – short for “black and red” – were worn by Jordan in the second game of the Finals during his final season with the Chicago Bulls, referred to as the “Last […]

By Tom Hals WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) -A judge said Fox News had a “credibility problem” just days before a $1.6 billion defamation trial after the company disclosed for the first time in nearly two years of litigation that Rupert Murdoch was an officer of the company. Superior Court Judge Eric Davis called the delayed disclosure “bizarre” and chided Fox attorneys for having previously made representations that Murdoch wasn’t an officer […]

By Ankur Banerjee SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian equities inched lower on Wednesday ahead of a crucial U.S. inflation report that will likely influence the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path, with markets wagering another hike in interest rates at the central bank’s next meeting. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.17% lower in choppy trading. Japan’s Nikkei was 0.49% higher, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.65%. China […]

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Comments by French President Emmanuel Macron on Taiwan are puzzling, a senior Taiwanese politician said, wondering whether France’s founding ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity are now out of fashion. Macron, in comments in an interview on a trip to China that was meant to showcase European unity on China policy, cautioned against being drawn into a crisis over Taiwan driven by an “American rhythm and a […]

By David Carnevali and Anirban Sen NEW YORK (Reuters) – Industrial conglomerate Emerson Electric is in advanced talks to acquire National Instruments Corp, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Emerson outbid other bidders including Fortive Corp and Keysight Technologies Inc in the final stages of a sale process for National Instruments with an offer of about $60 per share, the sources said. The deal could be announced as […]

By Rae Wee SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar slipped on Wednesday ahead of a closely-watched inflation reading later in the day that will provide clues on the path of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. Following last week’s solid U.S. jobs data, all eyes are now on the inflation report, with currency moves subdued ahead of the release. Sterling rose 0.04% to $1.2432 while the euro was last 0.1% higher […]