Town Hall News

By Howard Schneider WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Jeffrey Haley, the CEO of American National Bank and Trust Company, saw the crunch coming at the start of 2023. Rising interest rates and a slowing economy to him meant that loan growth would likely fall by half as the Danville, Virginia-based community bank turned its focus to better-quality, higher-yielding credit, worrying little about volume. Then a pair of U.S. regional banks abruptly failed […]

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Tom Westbrook A surprise drop in unemployment and steady-as-she-goes hiring figures are boosting confidence among believers that the United States economy can get through this year with just relatively minor setbacks. While faster-moving surveys last week seemed to paint a picture of a March slowdown, Good Friday’s non-farm payrolls figures suggested the jobs market remains solid, with unemployment […]

By Ahmed Aboulenein WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A federal judge’s decision last week to suspend the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of abortion pill mifepristone could severely weaken the agency if allowed to stand, health policy and legal experts said. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling on Friday, which followed a March 15 hearing, was a preliminary injunction that would essentially ban sales of mifepristone while the case by […]

By Leika Kihara and Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s new central bank governor Kazuo Ueda said on Monday he will communicate closely with the government and guide monetary policy flexibly, warning of high uncertainty over the economic outlook. Ueda faces a bumpy road as slowing global growth clouds prospects for a sustained pickup in inflation and wages, a prerequisite for phasing out his predecessor’s controversial monetary stimulus. “Given high economic […]

By Nandita Bose WASHINGTON (Reuters) – “Biden nominee Julie Su wants to turn the lights off” reads a billboard in West Virginia; another in Montana warns that Su, U.S. President Joe Biden’s nominee for labor secretary, will turn the state into California; in Arizona, the message is, “Su’s gig could be destroying your gig.” In addition to these, newspaper and digital advertisements will start appearing with more frequency in these […]

TOKYO (Reuters) -Senior Japanese and Chinese officials met on Monday to discuss maritime concerns in disputed waters in the East China Sea as Beijing conducted wargames around Taiwan. Part of a regular round of talks that began in 2012, the meeting comes as Chinese warplanes and warships simulated strikes against Taiwan after President Tsai Ing-wen visited the United States and met U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Ahead of the talks, […]

By Fergal Smith TORONTO (Reuters) -The Bank of Canada is expected to take in stride surprising recent economic strength and leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Wednesday, pinning its hopes on activity cooling as higher borrowing costs sink in, analysts said. Last month, the Bank of Canada became the first major global central bank to pause its rate-hiking campaign, after lifting its benchmark rate to a 15-year high […]

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Trade talks between India and Britain have not been suspended and will continue this year, three officials said on Monday, responding to a British newspaper report that said India had “disengaged” from the talks after London failed to condemn Sikh separatists. An official in India’s foreign ministry said progress in the trade talks and New Delhi’s concerns around Sikh separatist activities in Britain should not be […]

By Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee TAIPEI (Reuters) -China’s military carried out aerial and naval blockade drills around Taiwan on Monday, its last scheduled day of exercises, with a Chinese aircraft carrier joining in combat patrols as Taipei reported another surge of warplanes near the island. China announced the three days of drills on Saturday, after Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen returned to Taipei following a meeting in Los Angeles with […]