Town Hall News

By Howard Schneider, Yoruk Bahceli and Akriti Sharma (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, but indicated it was on the verge of pausing further increases in borrowing costs after the recent collapse of two U.S. banks. Fed Chair Jerome Powell sought to reassure investors about the soundness of the banking system, saying that the management of Silicon Valley Bank […]

By Lananh Nguyen and Saeed Azhar (Reuters) -Citigroup Inc CEO Jane Fraser on Wednesday expressed confidence in U.S. banks after a series of closures rattled investors and fueled in global financial markets. “The banking system is pretty sound,” and large and regional banks are well-capitalized, Fraser told the Economic Club of Washington D.C. on Wednesday. “This is not a credit crisis. This is a situation where it’s a few banks […]

By Howard Schneider, Yoruk Bahceli and Akriti Sharma (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, but indicated it was on the verge of pausing further increases in borrowing costs after the recent collapse of two U.S. banks. Fed Chair Jerome Powell sought to reassure investors about the soundness of the banking system, saying that the management of Silicon Valley Bank […]

By Marcela Ayres BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil’s central bank cited rising inflation expectations as it kept interest rates unchanged for the fifth consecutive policy meeting on Wednesday, drawing concern from the government and weakening bets of imminent monetary easing. The bank’s rate-setting committee, known as Copom, maintained its Selic benchmark interest rate at 13.75%. The decision, which defied intense pressure from the new government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva […]

By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un does not appear poised to carry out a nuclear test during U.S.-South Korea military exercises, but the United States is staying vigilant, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency said on Wednesday. U.S. officials have warned for nearly a year that North Korea may resume nuclear testing for the first time since 2017, a move that would be […]

By Tatiana Bautzer and Chris Prentice NEW YORK (Reuters) – A “bull case” scenario for the shares of beleaguered First Republic Bank as it considers its options became more difficult on Wednesday after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said there is no discussion on insurance for all bank deposits without approval from the U.S. Congress. First Republic, whose shares have lost much of their value since the banking crisis started in […]

By Akiko Okamoto and Chris Gallagher TOKYO (Reuters) -With cherry blossoms reaching full bloom in Tokyo, Japanese sports fans erupted in jubilation on Wednesday after their countrymen defeated Team USA to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC). Over a hundred people gathered near Shimbashi Station in the city centre to get special newspaper editions celebrating the victory. The scene quickly turned chaotic, with police officers jumping in to help hand […]

HONG KONG (Reuters) – China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Ltd said on Thursday it was at risk of halting production of electric vehicles (EVs) as it was unable to obtain additional liquidity. The EV manufacturing unit of the embattled developer China Evergrande Group said if it was able to obtain financing of more than 29 billion yuan ($4.21 billion) “in the future”, it planned to launch a number of […]

By Steve Gorman and Brendan O’Brien LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of storm-weary Californians were without power and under evacuation warnings on Wednesday as the latest storm packing wind-blown rain and snow threatened to bring more flooding to the rain-soaked state. The “atmospheric river” storm could dump more than an additional 1 inch (3 cm) of rain throughout the day in parts of the already-saturated Southern and Central […]