Town Hall News

(Reuters) – Global equity funds suffered their biggest weekly net selling in two months in the seven days to March 1 as global stocks fell after strong U.S. economic data stoked fears about further rises in interest rates. The MSCI’s All-World index of global shares dipped 2.64% last week to record its worst week since Sept. 23 on worries about Federal Reserve rate hikes as data showed robust U.S. personal […]

By Amy-Jo Crowley and Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro LONDON (Reuters) – European buyout houses Montagu Private Equity and Astorg Partners are preparing to hang the “for sale” sign on their UK insurance software investments, hoping to woo insurers and fellow private capital funds with their technology. Montagu is exploring a sale of Open GI, which offers software for insurance brokers to run their operations, in a deal likely to be worth […]

By David Carnevali, Milana Vinn and Anirban Sen (Reuters) – Measurement equipment maker National Instruments Corp has decided that Fortive Corp and Keysight Technologies Inc have the potential to top Emerson Electric Co’s $7 billion bid for the company, three people familiar with the matter said. National Instruments this week informed Emerson, Fortive and Keysight — which are all providers of automation solutions facilitating manufacturing in various industries — that […]

(Reuters) – Richard “Alex” Murdaugh, the South Carolina lawyer found guilty of killing his wife and son in a grisly and complex case that has garnered international attention, faces 30 years to life in prison when he is sentenced by a judge on Friday. On Thursday a South Carolina jury declared Murdaugh, 54, guilty on two counts of gunning down his wife Maggie, 52, and youngest son, Paul, 22 on […]

By Ilona Wissenbach and Joanna Plucinska (Reuters) – Germany’s Lufthansa on Friday delivered an “unprecedented” turnaround as it swung to a 1.51 billion euro profit in 2022 and expects a significant improvement in earnings this year, pushing its shares up to a three-year high as air travel rebounds. Passenger numbers more than doubled and net revenue almost doubled from 2021, although the figures remain short of pre-pandemic levels. “Lufthansa is […]

BUCHAREST (Reuters) – The European Union’s top court will hear a case brought by a British-Romanian transgender man against Romanian authorities over their refusal to recognize his gender identity, Romanian LGBTQ rights organisation ACCEPT said on Friday. The case, which raises questions about free movement and citizenship rights under EU law, was first raised in a Romanian court in 2021 and has now been referred to the European Union Court […]

BUCHAREST (Reuters) – The European Union’s top court will hear a case brought by a British-Romanian transgender man against Romanian authorities over their refusal to recognize his gender identity, Romanian LGBTQ rights organisation ACCEPT said on Friday. The case, which raises questions about free movement and citizenship rights under EU law, was first raised in a Romanian court in 2021 and has now been referred to the European Union Court […]

WARSAW (Reuters) – An opposition-linked Polish mayor had his phone hacked using Pegasus spyware, Gazeta Wyborcza daily reported on Friday, amid allegations that the country’s special services have used the technology against government opponents. Reports in 2021 by the Associated Press that the software, developed by Israel-based NSO Group was used to hack the phones of government critics, including a senator for the largest opposition party, have drawn accusations that […]

By Sudip Kar-Gupta and Tassilo Hummel PARIS (Reuters) – Arianespace’s failed satellite launch in December was likely to have been caused by a faulty carbon component, which Italian aerospace group Avio had purchased from a supplier in Ukraine, the company said, as it published findings of an enquiry on Friday. An Arianespace mission on Dec. 20 carrying two Airbus Defence & Space satellites failed around two and a half minutes […]