Town Hall News

By Steve Scherer and David Ljunggren OTTAWA, May 4 (Reuters) – Canadian inflation risks getting stuck significantly above the Bank of Canada’s 2% target, and if that happens the central bank is ready to hike interest rates rates further, Governor Tiff Macklem said on Thursday. Last month the Bank of Canada left its key overnight interest rate on hold at 4.50% but said rates may need to stay high for […]

ROME (Reuters) – Topless climate activists on Thursday blocked traffic on a busy street in central Rome to protest over the Italian government’s climate policy after torrential rains killed two people. The stunt marked a change of tactics by the Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) group after Rome’s right-wing executive introduced stiff fines against protesters who target monuments and heritage sites. The group previously hurled paint at Milan’s La Scala opera […]

By Balazs Koranyi and Francesco Canepa FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank slowed the pace of its interest rate increases on Thursday but signalled more tightening to come in what markets expect to be the final stage of its fight against inflation. All ECB policymakers but one, Austria’s Robert Holzmann, backed the 25-basis-point increase in the ECB’s main deposit rate to 3.25%, which follows an unprecedented series of 75 […]

By Rachael Levy and Marisa Taylor (Reuters) – Elon Musk’s brain-implant venture has filled an animal-research oversight board with company insiders who may stand to benefit financially as the firm reaches development goals, according to company documents and interviews with six current and former employees. Such oversight boards are required by federal law for organizations experimenting on certain types of animals. The panels are charged with ensuring proper animal care, […]

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Microsoft has offered to charge different prices for its Office product with and without its Teams app to stave off a possible EU antitrust investigation and fine, two people familiar with the matter said. Microsoft has been seeking to address the EU competition enforcer’s concerns since last year after Salesforce-owned workspace messaging app Slack complained to the European Commission, other people familiar with the […]

By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) – State attorney generals in New York and California on Thursday launched a joint investigation into allegations that female employees of the National Football League (NFL) have been subjected to sex discrimination and harassment. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats, said the investigation will examine the NFL’s workplace culture and claims made in several pending lawsuits that the league […]

By Stephanie van den Berg and Toby Sterling THE HAGUE (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin must be brought to justice for his war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday in The Hague, calling for a new international tribunal for the “crime of aggression.” “We’re going to set up a specific tribunal… to show that these people are not untouchables,” Zelenskiy told a press conference, underlining that […]

(This May 2 story has been refiled to say ‘made available,’ not ‘promises,’ in the headline) (Reuters) – PNC Financial Services Group Inc said on Tuesday the parent company and its banking unit can offer up to $15 billion of its commercial paper to provide additional liquidity. The regional bank, which has so far been insulated from deposit flight, said in a filing the holding company can offer up to […]

By Ramiro Scandolo BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Lionel Messi has received a formal offer to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal next season, a source close to Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain told Reuters on Thursday. The offer from the Saudi club is the only one Messi has received so far, the source added. Argentine media have reported that the offer is worth around $400 million a year. Al-Hilal did not immediately […]