Town Hall News

SEOUL (Reuters) – A British man attempted to scale the world’s fifth tallest building without ropes on Monday until South Korean authorities forced him to abandon his climb more than half way up the 123-storey Lotte World Tower in Seoul. The 24-year-old man, wearing shorts, made his way up the landmark skyscraper for more than an hour as police and fire crews gathered below. He reached the 73rd floor where […]

SEOUL (Reuters) – A British man attempted to scale the world’s fifth tallest building without ropes on Monday until South Korean authorities forced him to abandon his climb more than half way up the 123-storey Lotte World Tower in Seoul. The 24-year-old man, wearing shorts, made his way up the landmark skyscraper for more than an hour as police and fire crews gathered below. He reached the 73rd floor where […]

(Reuters) – Australian lender Westpac Banking Corp will cut around 300 jobs in its consumer and business banking segments at a time of strong profit growth amid rising interest rates and soaring inflation, a local trade body said. The Finance Sector Union of Australia (FSU) said on Friday the country’s third-largest bank would reduce headcount from its Consumer and Business Banking Division, citing a Westpac internal memo seen by the […]

By Renju Jose SYDNEY (Reuters) -At least 10 people died and 25 were injured after a chartered bus carrying wedding guests rolled off a ramp at a roundabout in Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) state, police said on Monday. The accident occurred around 11:30 p.m. (1330 GMT) on Sunday near the town of Greta about 180 km (112 miles) northwest of Sydney, in the Hunter region famous for its vineyards […]

(This story contains graphic language in paragraph 9) (Reuters) – Police in Aurora, Colorado, have released body camera footage following the death of a teenager who was shot by an officer after an alleged robbery. Jor’Dell Richardson, who is Black, was shot by an officer who chased him as he ran from a local store where police say he shoplifted vape materials with a group of youths on June 1. […]

(Reuters) -Illumina CEO Francis deSouza stepped down on Sunday, marking a victory for activist investor Carl Icahn and heightening expectations that it could unwind its controversial $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail. The gene-sequencing machine maker had repurchased Grail, a cancer diagnostic test maker, in 2021 despite opposition from U.S. and European antitrust regulators – a decision that prompted Icahn to pursue a proxy fight at Illumina, arguing it should be […]

By Lewis Krauskopf (Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Lewis Krauskopf. Asian markets will turn their attention to a series of central bank meetings after ending last week on a buoyant note. MSCI’s gauge of world stock markets on Friday hit its highest point in 13 months. Wall Street was upbeat as the S&P 500 notched its fourth straight weekly gain and a 20% […]

BEIJING (Reuters) – Several Chinese commercial banks cut interest rates on a range of yuan deposits from Monday, following their larger peers in a coordinated move to ease pressure on profit margins. The deposit rate cuts follow a similar move by China’s biggest state lenders on Friday and marks the second such industry-wide cut within a year, with previous action taken in September. Analysts expect the deposit rate cuts will […]

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Nio said on Monday it would lower prices for all models and end free battery swapping services to new buyers, as the Chinese electric vehicle maker faces mounting pressure in profitability amid lukewarm sales. Nio would cut prices by 30,000 yuan ($4,199) for all models including its revamped ES6 and ES8 sports utility vehicles from June 12, according to a company statement. The company also would no longer […]