Town Hall News

By Aleksandar Vasovic PODGORICA (Reuters) – Montenegro holds a run-off presidential election on Sunday in which long-time incumbent Milo Djukanovic faces a strong challenge from a Western-educated economist who has promised a fresh start after a year of political deadlock.     Djukanovic, 61, has dominated Montenegro as president or prime minister for 33 years, since the start of old federal Yugoslavia’s disintegration, and opponents have long accused the former […]

By Aleksandar Vasovic PODGORICA (Reuters) – Montenegro holds a run-off presidential election on Sunday in which long-time incumbent Milo Djukanovic faces a strong challenge from a Western-educated economist who has promised a fresh start after a year of political deadlock.     Djukanovic, 61, has dominated Montenegro as president or prime minister for 33 years, since the start of old federal Yugoslavia’s disintegration, and opponents have long accused the former […]

By Victoria Waldersee and Christina Amann BERLIN (Reuters) – BMW is betting on efficient design and recycling to bring down battery costs and is steering clear of investing in mines, its finance chief said on Friday, setting it apart from some competitors digging deep into the supply chain. “We don’t think it is right to invest in mines. We view it as more important to get back raw materials from […]

(Reuters) – Russia has charged an American journalist with spying while Finland moved closer to becoming a NATO member, deepening tensions between Moscow and the West as the war in Ukraine reached its 400th day on Friday. DIPLOMACY, WEAPONRY * U.S. Secretary of State Blinken will push back on Russia’s attempts to “weaponize energy” and rally support for a Ukrainian counteroffensive when he meets NATO foreign ministers in Brussels next […]

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s government on Friday said it plans to restrict exports of 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, aligning its technology trade controls with a U.S. push to curb China’s ability to make advanced chips. Japan, home to major global chip equipment makers such as Nikon Corp and Tokyo Electron Ltd, did not specify China as the target of those measures, saying equipment makers will need to seek […]

By Leika Kihara and Yoshifumi Takemoto TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan is stepping up efforts toward issuing a digital yen with the creation of a government advisory panel and the launch of a pilot programme, joining a growing number of countries exploring a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The finance ministry will set up a panel of experts as early as April to discuss the feasibility of issuing a digital yen, […]

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom Westbrook A lot of investors went in to this year expecting the U.S. interest rate outlook to reveal itself, and for clarity on that front to inform pricing for pretty much everything else. Three months have gone by and it hasn’t quite worked out that way. Pulling in one direction is a bank collapse that set interest […]

(Reuters) -Top seed Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev booked their spots in the Miami Open semi-finals with wins over American opponents on Thursday, while Elena Rybakina saw off world number three Jessica Pegula to reach the women’s final. Taylor Fritz showed great fight but was unable to match Alcaraz’s level, the defending champion taking control with an instant break of serve in each set on the way to a 6-4 […]

By Sudarshan Varadhan BEIJING (Reuters) -Oil prices were very slightly down in Asian morning trade on Friday as bullish sentiment about Chinese demand and potential Middle Eastern supply disruptions was tempered by uncertainty over U.S. economic data on Friday. Brent futures, which have risen nearly 6% this week, were down 19 cents, or -0.24%, at $79.08 a barrel at 0415 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell by 1 […]