Town Hall News

By Aleksandra Michalska and Joseph Ax SILVER CITY, Mississippi (Reuters) -Rescuers combed through rubble on Saturday after a powerful storm tore across Mississippi late on Friday, killing at least 25 people there and one person in Alabama as it leveled hundreds of buildings and spawned at least one devastating tornado. The tornado stayed on the ground for about an hour and cut a path of destruction some 170 miles (274 […]

By Tatiana Bautzer and Nupur Anand New York (Reuters) – As U.S. banks prepare to close the books on a tumultuous quarter, analysts say trading revenue and deposits are among the key numbers to watch when lenders report earnings in mid-April. After two high-profile bank closures this month shook confidence in the industry, observers are focused on whether firms will become more conservative by reining in lending or suspending stock […]

(Reuters) – Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, have agreed to meet during the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Saudi state news agency SPA said on Monday, under a deal to restore ties. Both ministers spoke by phone for the second time in a few days, SPA said. “During the call, a number of common issues were discussed in […]

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan is part of a democratic alliance and can work with many friendly countries, Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua said after welcoming a large Czech delegation to the island on Monday, one day after Honduras switched diplomatic allegiance to China. While the number of countries that retain formal diplomatic ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan has dwindled to just 13 following the move by Honduras on Sunday, U.S. allies like […]

By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares struggled on Monday while U.S. and European stock futures edged higher on hopes authorities were working to ring fence stress in the global banking system, even as the cost of insuring against default neared dangerous levels. Helping nerves were reports First Citizens BancShares Inc was in advanced talks to acquire Silicon Valley Bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. S&P 500 futures […]

By Renju Jose SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia and New Zealand Banking Group’s CEO said on Monday the latest turmoil in the global banking system had the potential to trigger a financial crisis though it was early to predict it could bring one similar to that in 2008. Authorities around the world are on high alert for the fallout from the recent turmoil at banks following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank […]

ACCRA (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Sunday that the United States will increase investment in Africa and help spur economic growth as she began a week long tour of the continent aimed at offering a counter to the influence of rival China. China has invested heavily in Africa in recent decades, including in infrastructure and resource development, while Russian influence has also grown, including through the […]

TAIPEI (Reuters) – There are no signs of any unusual military deployments by China’s military ahead of President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the United States and Central America this week, a deputy Taiwanese defence minister said on Monday. China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, staged war games around the island last August following a trip to Taipei by then U.S.-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Tsai leaves for New York […]

BEIJING (Reuters) -The slump in Chinese industrial firms’ profits deepened in the first two months of 2023, weighed by lacklustre demand and stubbornly high costs as the world’s second-largest economy struggled to fully shake the long-term effects of COVID. The sharp 22.9% contraction followed a 4.0% fall in industrial profits for the whole of 2022, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday, pointing to a downbeat […]