Town Hall News

By Sudip Kar-Gupta (Reuters) -Morgan Stanley and two other investment banks have revised their forecasts for the European Central Bank’s terminal rate – the level at which its key interest rate will peak – to 4% as inflationary pressures weigh. Data this week showed a surprise surge in underlying inflation across the 20-nation euro zone. The revisions also come on the heels of remarks by ECB governing council member and […]

(Reuters) – Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force, said in a video published on Friday that the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was “practically surrounded” by his forces and that Kyiv’s forces had only one road left out. Prigozhin’s men have spearheaded the assault in eastern Ukraine for months with Moscow regarding Bakhmut, which it calls by its Soviet-era name of Artyomovsk, as a useful stepping stone to seize […]

(Changes to read “between” (not “attended by”), paragraph 2) By Jessie Pang and Joyce Zhou (Reuters) -Hong Kong’s Greater Bay Airlines (GBA) announced on Friday an order for 15 Boeing 737-9 airplanes, according to a company statement, with these planes to be gradually added to GBA’s fleet between 2024 and 2027. The statement was issued ahead of a signing ceremony in Hong Kong attended by Stan Deal, president and CEO […]

BERLIN (Reuters) – Reports of poison attacks on school girls in Iran are shocking and must be investigated fully, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Friday, joining the United States in expressing her concern. Hundreds of Iranian girls in different schools have suffered “mild poison” attacks over recent months, according to the country’s health minister, with some politicians suggesting they could have been targeted by religious groups opposed to […]

By Orhan Coskun ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey’s six-party opposition alliance said it would announce its joint candidate next week to challenge President Tayyip Erdogan in the presidential election, with a little more than two months to go before the vote in May. The alliance said it would announce its candidate on Monday, although there are signs of discord about the choice and other issues in the nationalist IYI Party, the second […]

HAMBURG (Reuters) – Volkswagen is still hashing out where to build its first large battery cell factory outside Europe, a spokesperson for the company said on Friday. “We are still working hard to find a suitable location for our first gigafactory in North America and are in good, constructive talks,” the spokesperson said, adding no decision has been made yet. Volkswagen’s supervisory board is meeting on Friday to discuss a […]

ROME (Reuters) – Rosalia Messina Denaro, the sister of Italy’s recently jailed top mafioso, was arrested on Friday on charges of associating with a mafia organisation, Italian police said. Matteo Messina Denaro was Italy’s most wanted man until his arrest on Jan. 16, after 30 years on the run. He was sentenced to multiple life terms after being convicted of a long list of murders and other crimes. His sister’s […]

By Jessie Pang and Joyce Zhou (Reuters) -Hong Kong’s Greater Bay Airlines (GBA) announced on Friday an order for 15 Boeing 737-9 airplanes, according to a company statement, with these planes to be gradually added to GBA’s fleet between 2024 and 2027. The statement was issued ahead of a signing ceremony in Hong Kong between Stan Deal, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and Bill Wong Cho Bau, the […]

ZURICH (Reuters) – Germany has asked Switzerland to sell it some of its mothballed Leopard II tanks, Swiss newspaper Blick reported on Friday, a deal that could allow Berlin to increase its military aid to Ukraine. Germany wants Switzerland to sell some of the tanks back to manufacturer Rheinmetall, the paper said, which would allow the company to backfill gaps in the armaments of European Union and NATO members. Germany, […]