Town Hall News

By Alun John LONDON (Reuters) – The euro and pound are being whisked along by a conveyor belt of interest rate hikes in Europe just as U.S. rates near a peak, a reversal of the trends that drove them to multi-decade lows last year. The two currencies have rallied 4-5% against the dollar since March as market ructions triggered by banking stress die down and signs of resilience in Europe’s […]

By Jack Queen (Reuters) – Fox News on Tuesday disposed of one legal threat with its $787.5 million defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, but the network still faces a $2.7 billion lawsuit from another voting technology company over its coverage of debunked election-rigging claims. Dominion accused Fox and its parent company Fox Corp of ruining its business by airing claims that its machines were used to rig the 2020 […]

By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices dropped sharply on Wednesday, sliding by 2% as potential U.S. interest rate hikes that could slow growth and curb oil consumption outweighed strong Chinese economic data and falling U.S. inventories. Brent crude futures shed $1.70 to $83.07 a barrel by 0929 GMT while West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude fell by $1.64 to $79.22. The U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to have one more […]

CHISINAU (Reuters) – Moldova summoned the Russian ambassador on Wednesday to declare a member of the Russian embassy staff persona non grata, a government spokesperson said. Government press secretary Daniel Vode told reporters the decision was connected to the actions of embassy staff towards Moldovan border guards who denied entry to a regional Russian politician at Chisinau airport this week. The embassy staffer was not named. (Reporting by Alexander Tanas, […]

By Balazs Koranyi FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone inflation eased last month but underlying readings remained stubbornly high, Eurostat said on Wednesday, confirming preliminary data that raised worries at the European Central Bank about the persistence of price pressures. Consumer inflation in the 20 nations sharing the euro eased to 6.9% from 8.5%, primarily on a rapid fall in energy costs as natural gas prices keep declining after their surge […]

(Reuters) -Commuters in Germany face widespread disruption on Friday after the EVG rail and transport union announced a nationwide strike during the busy morning hours, affecting national operator Deutsche Bahn. The strike, which coincides with a separate walkout at three airports, involves 50 rail companies and will run from 3 a.m. (0100 GMT) until 11 a.m. (0900 GMT), EVG said. “Not a single train will run (in the country),” EVG […]

By Laurie Chen BEIJING (Reuters) -The European Union has said it is seriously concerned about the arrest of two prominent Chinese human rights activists and has called for their immediate release after they were detained in Beijing last week en route to a meeting with EU officials. The detention of Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan shortly before their meeting with visiting EU officials last Thursday was “already not acceptable”, an […]

By Alun John and Kevin Buckland LONDON/TOKYO (Reuters) – Data showing British inflation stayed above 10% in March meant the pound climbed against the dollar while other currencies dipped, with the greenback underpinned by a tick-up in U.S. yields. Sterling was last 0.25% higher at $1.2454, heading back to last week’s 10-month high, after data showed British consumer price inflation eased by less than expected in March to 10.1% from […]

By Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of sabotaging the Black Sea grain deal by demanding bribes from ship owners to register new vessels and carry out inspections under the cover of a deal the United Nations hopes could ease a global food crisis. There was no immediate comment on the allegation, levelled by Russia’s Foreign Ministry, from Ukraine which has blamed Moscow for problems with […]