Town Hall News

By Andrew MacAskill and Alistair Smout LONDON (Reuters) -Boris Johnson said “hand on heart” he did not lie to parliament over rule-breaking COVID-19 lockdown parties as the former British prime minister fought for his political career at a hearing with lawmakers on Wednesday. Parliament’s Committee of Privileges is investigating whether Johnson, who was ousted from Downing Street in September, intentionally or recklessly misled the House of Commons in a series […]

By Johann M Cherian (Reuters) – Canada’s benchmark stock index edged higher on Wednesday on gains in commodity and financials stocks while investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates. The Fed’s two-day policy meeting will end at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), with investors keeping a close eye on a press conference by Chair Jerome Powell for an expected raise in rates by a quarter of a […]

(Reuters) – Shares of First Republic Bank were volatile in morning trading on Wednesday as the regional lender struggled to raise capital amid worries that it may need to downsize or seek government support. Major banks and private equity firms have so far balked at infusing capital on fear of losses on the bank’s loan book and investment portfolio following a rapid rise in interest rates. The bank’s shares flitted […]

By Yoruk Bahceli and Akriti Sharma (Reuters) – UBS Group said on Wednesday it would buy back 2.75 billion euros ($2.96 billion) worth of debt it sold just days ago in a bid to boost confidence among bondholders rattled by its $3 billion rescue of rival Credit Suisse. The bonds were sold on March 9 and their repurchase by UBS highlights the lender’s efforts to shore up sentiment since its […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers on Wednesday that the State Department has been putting together a review of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and will share findings with Congress by mid-April. “We’ve now been spending time putting all of this together to make sure that we look at some of the common lessons learned,” Blinken said in testimony to a Senate Appropriations Committee subcommittee […]

By Hannah Lang and Elizabeth Howcroft (Reuters) – Stablecoin USDC’s issuer Circle said its chief strategy officer’s Twitter account was hacked on Wednesday, after the account posted a link appearing to offer holders of the stablecoin USDC a “one-time bonus” of free cryptocurrency.     The Twitter account of Dante Disparte, Circle’s chief strategy officer, sent a series of tweets appearing to address the stablecoin’s recent move away from its dollar […]

By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Billionaire Richard Branson’s cash-strapped Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc is nearing a deal for a $200-million investment from Texas-based venture capital investor Matthew Brown via a private share placement, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. The space startup did not comment on the likely deal, but said on Wednesday it would resume operations on March 23 and prepare for its next mission by […]

(Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday issued a safety alerts to airlines, pilots and others about the “need for continued vigilance and attention to mitigation of safety risks” after a series of high-profile near misses. “While the overall numbers do not reflect an increase in incidents and occurrences, the potential severity of these events is concerning,” the FAA said. Six serious runway incursions have occurred since January that […]

By Amruta Khandekar and Shubham Batra (Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes edged lower on Wednesday, ahead of the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting meeting in which the central bank will seek to balance inflation and banking sector concerns. Traders have halved the size of the expected interest rate hike to 25 basis points following troubles in the banking sector, with some pointing to the Fed’s aggressive monetary tightening […]