Town Hall News

By Michael Erman (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc is pouring the windfall profits from its COVID-19 vaccine and treatment into developing products to battle cancer, most notably in its $43 billion purchase of Seagen Inc, Chief Executive Albert Bourla said at a Reuters newsmaker event on Thursday. “Pfizer is giving all the profits that we made from COVID in ’21 and ’22 and what we will make in ’23 to acquire […]

(Reuters) – * President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia’s invasion force had yet to start even as his generals claimed some of their biggest battlefield successes in months. Kyiv says it has pushed Russian forces back over the past several days near the eastern city of Bakhmut while a full-blown counteroffensive is still being prepared. “We still need a bit more time,” Zelenskiy said. CONFLICT * A […]

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits jumped to a 1-1/2-year high last week, pointing to cracks in the labor market as demand slows, potentially giving the Federal Reserve room to halt further interest rate increases next month. With demand cooling, inflation pressures are subsiding. Producer prices rebounded modestly in April, leading to the smallest annual increase in wholesale inflation in […]

KYIV (Reuters) – The Black Sea grain export initiative should be extended for a longer period and expanded, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Thursday after talks finished in Turkey. The United Nations and Turkey brokered the Black Sea export agreement last July to help tackle a global food crisis that has been exacerbated by Moscow’s war in Ukraine. It allows the safe export of grains and fertilisers […]

By Laura Matthews and Joice Alves NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, after recent jobless claims data strengthened the case for the Federal Reserve to halt interest rate hikes, but kept a high bar for a year-end cuts. The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits jumped last week to the highest level since late 2021, suggesting that […]

By Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam and Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest was illegal, his lawyer said, two days after his detention on graft allegations triggered deadly violence, escalating his tussle with the powerful military. The protests coincide with Pakistan’s worst economic crisis in decades, with record high inflation, anaemic growth and IMF funding delayed for months, prompting concerns that […]

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s top court on Thursday ruled that the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan was illegal, his lawyer said, two days after his detention on graft allegations ignited deadly protests and a tussle with the powerful military. “The Supreme Court reversed all legal proceedings against Imran Khan … he has been asked to present himself in the Islamabad High Court on Friday morning,” lawyer Babar Awan […]

By Liliana Salgado and Ted Hesson YUMA, Arizona (Reuters) -In the hours before the U.S. government lifts a COVID-19 immigration restriction called Title 42 on Thursday, migrants gathered on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border – with some rushing to cross ahead of tough new asylum rules that will replace the order. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has in recent days been holding up to 28,000 migrants at its […]

By Rodrigo Campos and David Lawder (Reuters) -Pakistan needs significant additional financing for a successful completion of the long-stalled ninth review of the International Monetary Fund’s bailout package, the IMF said in a scheduled press conference on Thursday. Obtaining commitments of “significant additional financing” is essential before the IMF approves the release of pending bailout funds that are crucial for Pakistan to resolve an acute balance of payments crisis. A […]