Town Hall News

ZURICH (Reuters) – UBS Group AG on Tuesday reported a 52% slide in profit for the first quarter due to an increase in legal provisions for a legacy litigation matter. The result comes at a tumultuous time for the Swiss bank after it was forced into taking over former rival Credit Suisse. Net profit attributable to shareholders came in at $1.03 billion versus the $1.71 billion average of 15 analyst […]

PARIS (Reuters) – The European Central Bank will need to raise interest rates again at its forthcoming meeting next week but the size of the move is still open to debate, its chief economist told French paper Le Monde in an interview published on Tuesday. “For our next Governing Council meeting on 4 May, the current data are indicating that we should raise rates again… Beyond that, I don’t have […]

LIMA (Reuters) – Peruvian archaeologists unearthed a more than 1,000-year-old mummy on the outskirts of the modern capital on Monday, in the latest discovery dating back to pre-Inca times. The mummy was probably an adolescent and found in an underground tomb wrapped in a funerary bundle, along with ceramics and rope and including bits of skin and hair. The mummified adolescent was found in a “good state of conservation,” said […]

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Vidya Ranganathan. ChatGPT vs Bard. Earnings from U.S. tech giants Microsoft Corp, which backs ChatGPT, and Google parent Alphabet Inc, top the watchlist on Tuesday. Profits at these two, Facebook-owner Meta and Amazon Inc are due this week, and estimates show their cloud businesses could be a drag. Yet, as was the case in the last quarter, their […]

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Vidya Ranganathan. ChatGPT vs Bard. Earnings from U.S. tech giants Microsoft Corp, which backs ChatGPT, and Google parent Alphabet Inc, top the watchlist on Tuesday. Profits at these two, Facebook-owner Meta and Amazon Inc are due this week, and estimates show their cloud businesses could be a drag. Yet, as was the case in the last quarter, their […]

By Emily Chow SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices were steady on Tuesday as investors weighed strong holiday travel in China that could boost fuel demand against the prospect of rising interest rates elsewhere, slowing economic growth. Brent crude rose 4 cents to $82.77 a barrel at 0345 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 6 cents to $78.82 a barrel. Oil futures had risen more than 1% on Monday on […]

By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) -Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda on Tuesday stressed the need to keep monetary policy ultra-loose for now, but signalled the chance of raising interest rates if inflation and wage growth overshot expectations. “In light of current economic, price and financial developments, it’s appropriate to maintain monetary easing, now conducted through yield curve control,” Ueda told parliament. The shape of Japan’s bond yield curve […]

(Reuters) – The Sharjah Cricket Stadium has honoured India batting great Sachin Tendulkar on his 50th birthday by naming a stand after him. The venue in the United Arab Emirates held a ceremony for the former India captain on Monday, announcing that the ‘West Stand’ had been renamed the ‘Sachin Tendulkar Stand’. Tendulkar smashed 143 runs against Australia at the stadium in April 1998 in a One-Day International dubbed ‘Desert […]

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei pledged his unconditional support on Tuesday for the “Republic of Taiwan” on a trip that comes as China steps up pressure on the handful of countries that still maintain formal ties with the island. Guatemala is one of only 13 countries with official diplomatic ties with China-claimed Taiwan. Honduras abandoned Taipei for Beijing last month after asking for almost $2.5 billion in aid. Speaking […]