Town Hall News

(Reuters) – First Republic Bank, the beleaguered U.S. regional lender, is looking at ways to downsize if its attempts to raise new capital fail, sources said, while U.S. bank CEOs met in Washington after the collapse of three lenders stunned markets. First Republic is examining how it can sell parts of its business, including some of its loan book, in a bid to raise cash and cut costs, one source […]

By Dawn Chmielewski and Stephen Nellis (Reuters) – Two Silicon Valley companies on Tuesday announced new tools that use artificial intelligence to generate images while tackling some of the thorniest legal issues surrounding the technology: copyrights and payments. Adobe Inc added artificial intelligence to some of its most popular software, including Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, to speed the process of generating images and text effects, noting that creators whose […]

PARIS (Reuters) – France’s parliament voted in favour of the government’s nuclear investment plan with a large majority on Tuesday, a day after the government narrowly survived a no-confidence vote over its pension reform plan. The nuclear renewal plan, whose key plank is the planned construction of six new nuclear reactors, was approved with 402 votes in favour and 130 against. On Monday, 278 lawmakers backed an opposition-led no-confidence motion, […]

(Reuters) – First Republic Bank, the beleaguered U.S. regional lender, is looking at ways to downsize if its attempts to raise new capital fail, sources said, while U.S. bank CEOs met in Washington after the collapse of three lenders stunned markets. First Republic is examining how it can sell parts of its business, including some of its loan book, in a bid to raise cash and cut costs, one source […]

PARIS (Reuters) – France’s parliament voted in favour of the government’s nuclear investment plan with a large majority on Tuesday, a day after the government narrowly survived a no-confidence vote over its pension reform plan. The nuclear renewal plan, whose key plank is the planned construction of six new nuclear reactors, was approved with 402 votes in favour and 130 against. On Monday, 278 lawmakers backed an opposition-led no-confidence motion, […]

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The Israeli parliament on Tuesday paved the way for Jewish settlers’ return to four settlements in the occupied West Bank by amending a 2005 law that ordered their evacuation in a move condemned by the Palestinian Authority and the European Union. The repeal of certain clauses in a previous disengagement law would allow Jewish residents to return to four West Bank settlements they were ordered to vacate […]

By Gareth Jones (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday that Chinese proposals could be used as the basis of a peace settlement in Ukraine, but that the West and Kyiv were not yet ready. In a joint statement issued at the end of Xi’s state visit to Moscow, the two men cautioned against any steps that might push the Ukraine […]

By Gareth Jones (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday that Chinese proposals could be used as the basis of a peace settlement in Ukraine, but that the West and Kyiv were not yet ready. In a joint statement issued at the end of Xi’s state visit to Moscow, the two men cautioned against any steps that might push the Ukraine […]

By Jody Godoy (Reuters) – A federal judge has ruled that shareholders suing chip maker Qualcomm Inc for allegedly hiding anticompetitive sales and licensing practices may bring their claims as a class action. The lawsuit filed in San Diego, California, alleges Qualcomm and its executives repeatedly described its businesses of selling chips and licensing its technology to other companies as separate, when in fact the company bundled them in a […]