Town Hall News

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth straight month in March as output and new orders remained under pressure, a survey showed on Friday, suggesting the economic recovery is fragile as global demand slows. However, service-sector activity expanded for a seventh straight month and rose at the fastest pace in over nine years as the squeeze from the coronavirus pandemic eased. The au Jibun Bank flash Japan […]

By Takahiko Wada and Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s core consumer inflation slowed in February but an index stripping away energy costs hit a four-decade high, data showed on Friday, suggesting cost-push pressures may persist longer than policymakers thought. With inflation still exceeding the Bank of Japan’s 2% target, the data will keep alive market expectations of a near-term tweak to its bond yield control policy, analysts say. The core […]

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Thursday denied Archegos Capital Management LP founder Bill Hwang’s effort to dismiss an indictment accusing him of fraud in the collapse of his once-$36 billion firm. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan rejected arguments that the 11-count indictment should be tossed because prosecutors deceived Hwang into cooperating with their probe and because Hwang’s trading activity had been lawful. […]

LONDON (Reuters) – London’s Westminster Abbey said visitors will get the chance this summer to follow King Charles’ coronation footsteps, getting access for the first time in living memory to an area sealed off to the public. Charles will be crowned on May 6 at the church where coronations for English and British monarchs have been held for the past 1,000 years. As part of special tours to be run […]

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Anirban Sen NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – Some of the most prominent rainmakers in the world of corporate mergers struck a note of optimism about dealmaking on Thursday, even as they acknowledged a volatile economic backdrop had significantly impacted M&A activity. The banking crisis that has emerged in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s failure has shaken boardroom confidence already dented by fears over an economic slowdown, […]

(Reuters) – Australian aged-care provider Estia Health Ltd said on Friday it received a non-binding buyout proposal from U.S. private investment firm Bain Capital for A$775.1 million ($517.77 million). The A$3.00 cash per share proposal, which is at a 28.2% premium to Estia’s last close, is among the latest proposals by a private equity firm since last year amid increasing merger and acquisition activity in Australia. The board of Estia […]

By Takahiko Wada and Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s core consumer inflation slowed sharply in February from a 41-year high in the previous month, government data showed on Friday, as the effect of government subsidies to curb utility bills rolled in. But inflation remained well above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target as companies continued to pass on rising costs to consumers, keeping alive market expectations of a near-term […]

By Takahiko Wada and Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s core consumer inflation slowed sharply in February from a 41-year high in the previous month, government data showed on Friday, as the effect of government subsidies to curb utility bills rolled in. But inflation remained well above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target as companies continued to pass on rising costs to consumers, keeping alive market expectations of a near-term […]

By David Shepardson, Rami Ayyub WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. lawmakers on Thursday battered TikTok’s chief executive about potential Chinese influence over the platform and said its short videos were damaging children’s mental health, reflecting bipartisan concerns over the app’s power over Americans. CEO Shou Zi Chew’s testimony before Congress did little to assuage U.S. worries over TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance and added fresh momentum to lawmakers’ calls to ban the […]