Town Hall News

By Ankur Banerjee SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar was pinned near seven-week lows on Friday as nervousness over banks kept investors skittish and traders assessed the Federal Reserve’s chances of a pause to interest rate hikes. The dollar index, which measures the currency against six major rivals, fell 0.097% at 102.48, just above the seven-week low of 101.91 it touched on Thursday. The index eked out a small gain on […]

Turkish Opposition Gets Big Boost From Pro-Kurdish Party Ahead of Election The HDP, or Peoples’ Democratic Party, said it will not field a candidate in May’s presidential election, echoing successful past strategy By Kristina Jovanovski/The Media Line Turkey’s opposition alliance received a major boost on Wednesday in its fight to defeat Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May’s elections when the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) announced it would not […]

Jerusalem Prays for Quiet During Muslim, Jewish Holidays Ramadan has become a holy month associated with violence, and there is concern that Jerusalem could again be a flashpoint By Keren Setton/The Media Line Fakhri Abu Diab was born and raised in Silwan, a large Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem. After raising five children and 12 grandchildren, he is losing hope that he will live in peace in the city. With […]

By Rupam Jain NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Members of India’s main opposition Congress party will take to the streets on Friday to protest against leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction for defamation, party officials said a day after a magistrate’s court sentenced Gandhi to a two-year jail term. Gandhi, 52, was found guilty for a 2019 speech in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi. He made the comment […]

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s defence ministry said on Friday that it yet again had to monitor and drive away the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Milius that entered its territorial waters in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands. “We sternly demand the U.S. to immediately stop such provocative acts, otherwise it will bear the serious consequences of unforeseen incidents,” a spokesperson said in a statement from the Ministry of […]

By Yoruk Bahceli and Naomi Rovnick (Reuters) -As markets bet banking turmoil will prompt the Federal Reserve to pause rate hikes before Europe, U.S. bonds and European equities are tipped to win from the recent ructions. The Fed delivered a small 25 basis-point (bps) rate hike on Wednesday and hinted rises may end soon, with Chairman Jerome Powell admitting the central bank needs to consider how much the turmoil has […]

By Stella Qiu SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares were pressured on Friday after lingering banking stability concerns gripped Wall Street, while bonds bet the recent slew of rate hikes by central banks will be among the last of the cycle, allowing for policy relief later in the year. The caution is set to extend to Europe, with pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures down 0.6%. Both S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq […]

By Summer Zhen HONG KONG (Reuters) – Wealth management firms are expanding operations aggressively in Hong Kong to meet pent-up demand from rich Chinese individuals looking to invest more money overseas after three years of COVID-19 curbs, industry sources said. High- and ultra-high net worth families in China are seeking to diversify their investments as they are finally able to travel and as they chase alternatives to a depressed property […]

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s defence ministry said on Friday that it yet again had to monitor and drive away the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Milius that entered its territorial waters in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands. “We sternly demand the U.S. to immediately stop such provocative acts, otherwise it will bear the serious consequences of unforeseen incidents,” a spokesperson said in a statement from the Ministry of […]