Town Hall News

By John Revill and Noele Illien ZURICH (Reuters) -The Swiss National Bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points on Thursday and said UBS’s forced takeover of Credit Suisse had averted a financial disaster, adding it was now critical the merger took place in a smooth and fast way. The multi-billion Swiss francs rescue package brokered by the SNB, government and regulator on Sunday prevented a systemic crisis, […]

(Reuters) -General Mills Inc on Thursday raised its fiscal 2023 forecasts for a fourth time after beating estimates for quarterly results, helped by price increases and steady demand for its packaged-food products. Multinational packaged food companies have been bumping up their product prices to shield their profit margins from spiraling costs and have faced low resistance as Americans cut down on dining out amid growing fears of a recession. General […]

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will make efforts to stabilise automobile, consumer electronics consumption, and expand home appliances and green building materials consumption, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Thursday. The country will also consolidate its leading position in industries such as new energy vehicles, photovoltaic equipment, mobile communications and power equipment, the ministry said in a statement on its website. China’s industrial economy is still recovering in […]

WARSAW (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince William met the Polish president in Warsaw on Thursday, on the second day of a visit to the country to thank troops and local people for their support for Ukraine. Before meeting President Andrzej Duda, the heir-to-the throne laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a monument dedicated to Polish soldiers who lost their lives in conflict. The prince’s late grandparents, Queen […]

(Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that he did not expect that the findings of investigations into who was responsible for last year’s blasts on the Nord Stream gas pipelines would be made public. The pipelines, which connect Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea, were hit by unexplained explosions last September in what Moscow called an act of “international terrorism”. Denmark, Germany and Sweden have […]

By Francesco Guarascio HANOI (Reuters) – A push by the United States to upgrade ties with Vietnam this year is facing resistance in Hanoi, over what experts say are concerns that China could see the move as hostile at a time of tension between superpowers Beijing and Washington. The United States is hoping for an upgrade in the relations this year, ideally to coincide with the 10th anniversary in July […]

By Francesco Guarascio HANOI (Reuters) – A push by the United States to upgrade ties with Vietnam this year is facing resistance in Hanoi, over what experts say are concerns that China could see the move as hostile at a time of tension between superpowers Beijing and Washington. The United States is hoping for an upgrade in the relations this year, ideally to coincide with the 10th anniversary in July […]

By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel ratified a law on Thursday limiting the circumstances in which a prime minister can be removed, despite worries voiced by a government jurist that it may be meant to shield the incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu from any fallout from his corruption trials. The amended definition for the “incapacity” of national leaders is among legislative measures by the religious-nationalist coalition that have tipped Israel into […]

By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel ratified a law on Thursday limiting the circumstances in which a prime minister can be removed, despite worries voiced by a government jurist that it may be meant to shield the incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu from any fallout from his corruption trials. The amended definition for the “incapacity” of national leaders is among legislative measures by the religious-nationalist coalition that have tipped Israel into […]