Town Hall News

By Farah Master and Casey Hall HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Investors are betting big on a major attitude shift among elderly Chinese – that they will warm up to retirement homes as the world’s most populous country ages and smaller families struggle to support parents and grandparents. Who takes care of the elderly in China, where pensions are tiny, is one of the major headaches policymakers face as they deal […]

By Nathan Layne (Reuters) -A South Carolina jury on Thursday found Richard “Alex” Murdaugh guilty of killing his wife and son, convicting the once-influential attorney of murder in a case that has gripped the nation’s attention for nearly two years. The 12-person jury declared Murdaugh, 54, guilty on two counts of murdering his wife Maggie, 52, and youngest son, Paul, 22, who were executed at close range near the dog […]

By Arshreet Singh and David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Thursday refused to back down on calls to make Starbucks Corp interim Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz, who is stepping down this month, testify at a hearing on the company’s compliance with labor law. Starbucks reiterated on Thursday it has no plans to send Schultz to a U.S. Senate committee hearing set for March 9. In response, […]

By Arshreet Singh and David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Thursday refused to back down on calls to make Starbucks Corp interim Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz, who is stepping down this month, testify at a hearing on the company’s compliance with labor law. Starbucks reiterated on Thursday it has no plans to send Schultz to a U.S. Senate committee hearing set for March 9. In response, […]

(Reuters) -Sweden’s Ericsson has agreed to pay $206 million and plead guilty to violating a 2019 deal with U.S. prosecutors for failing to properly disclose information on its activities in Iraq, China and Djibouti, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. The plea agreement follows a scandal over possible payments the telecommunications firm paid to the Islamic State militant group through its activities in Iraq. The Justice Department says the […]

SYDNEY (Reuters) – GQG Partners Inc’s Australian-listed shares fell by as much as 2.6% on Friday after the international investment firm pumped $1.87 billion into four companies under embattled Indian conglomerate Adani Group. The Florida-based firm bought 3.4% of Adani Enterprises Ltd for about $662 million, 4.1% of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd for $640 million, 2.5% of Adani Transmission Ltd for $230 million, and 3.5% of Adani […]

By David Shepardson and Brad Brooks WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The investigation into the Ohio train derailment has found that aluminum parts on three tank cars may have melted and caused pressure relief devices not to function, contributing to the release of toxic chemicals last month, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Thursday. The Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern-operated train in East Palestine, Ohio caused cars carrying toxic […]

By Katherine Masters NEW YORK (Reuters) -Major U.S. retailers including Best Buy, Walmart and Amazon are increasing their offerings of healthcare and health-related products as inflation-wary Americans shift more of their budgets to services and away from goods. Electronics retailer Best Buy recently kicked off a partnership with Atrium Health, part of Advocate Health, one of the country’s largest nonprofit hospital systems, Best Buy Chief Executive Officer Corie Sue Barry […]

MANILA (Reuters) – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said during a visit to the Philippines that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must prove it is “relevant” in helping to resolve the crisis in Myanmar. In a pre-recorded interview with Philippine news channel ANC aired on Friday, Anwar said that ASEAN, which is leading diplomatic efforts to bring peace, needed to be more assertive and noted that his country […]