Town Hall News

By Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO (Reuters) – Big Japanese manufacturers remained pessimistic about business conditions for a third straight month in March, the closely watched Reuters Tankan survey showed, reflecting worry about slowing global growth that could hurt the country’s export engine. Service-sector firms’ mood rebounded in a sign of domestic demand-driven recovery, in which the prospects of higher wages among big firms at the spring labour talks may encourage households […]

By Dietrich Knauth (Reuters) – Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has reached a deal to recover more than $400 million in cash from hedge fund Modulo Capital, pulling back 97% of the money that FTX companies sent to the hedge fund in 2022, according to court documents filed on Wednesday. Bahamas-based Modulo agreed to pay $404 million in cash and give up its claim to $56 million in assets held on […]

By Nandita Bose, Lananh Nguyen and Saeed Azhar NEW YORK (Reuters) -JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon met Lael Brainard, the director of the White House National Economic Council on Wednesday, while in Washington this week, according to a person familiar with the situation. The meeting agenda was unclear. Brainard met with a range of business leaders including Dimon, part of a series of meetings she has had over the last […]

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 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 “failed […]

(Reuters) -The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has threatened to sue Coinbase Global Inc over some of the crypto exchange’s products, turning up the heat on the largely unregulated sector. Shares of Coinbase dropped nearly 13% to $67.33 in extended trading after the company said on Wednesday that the regulator had issued it a Wells notice – a formal declaration that SEC staff intend to recommend an enforcement action. […]

By Patrick Wingrove and Leroy Leo (Reuters) -Moderna Inc’s chief executive on Wednesday defended the company’s plan to quadruple the price of its COVID-19 vaccine, telling a U.S. Senate committee hearing it will no longer have the economies of scale from government procurement when the shots move into the private market. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel was called to testify after the company flagged plans to raise the vaccine’s price to […]

By Isla Binnie UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United Nations used its first conference on water security in almost half a century on Wednesday to exhort governments to better manage one of humanity’s shared resources. A quarter of the world’s population relies on unsafe drinking water while half lacks basic sanitation, the U.N. said. Meanwhile, nearly three quarters of recent disasters have been related to water. “We are draining humanity’s lifeblood […]

(Reuters) -Coinbase Global Inc said on Wednesday it had received a notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission warning that the cryptocurrency exchange could face a civil action over some of its products. Shares of Coinbase were down nearly 12% at $68.18 in extended trading.  A Wells notice shows that SEC staff intend to recommend enforcement action against the company, but it does not always result in charges or […]