By Diane Bartz (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday sued to stop UnitedHealth Group’s $8 billion acquisition of Change Healthcare, saying that the deal would give the largest U.S. health insurer access to its competitors’ data and ultimately push up healthcare costs. UnitedHealth announced the all-cash deal in January 2021, saying it would help…
By Howard Schneider and Jonnelle Marte (Reuters) -U.S. Federal Reserve officials on Thursday began taking stock of how the unfolding conflict in Ukraine might influence the economy and their planned shift to tighter monetary policy, with investors and some officials suggesting it could slow but likely not stop a planned round of interest rate increases….
By Tommy Wilkes and John McCrank LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Russian banks will be “totally” excluded from Britain’s financial system, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday, as the UK unveiled the first set of tougher Western sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The measures target Russian banks, including the biggest, as well as members…
Federal regulators are suing to block UnitedHealth Group’s purchase of technology company Change Healthcare, a deal they fear will put too much health care claims information in the hands of one company. The U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday that the proposed deal would hurt competition and give UnitedHealth Group — which runs the nation’s…
By Carolyn Cohn LONDON (Reuters) – Global fund managers have been cutting back their Russian investments as they braced for the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Now hopes of any respite have also been dashed. The rouble weakened nearly 7% to historic lows and there were record 30% falls on the Moscow stock exchange after Russian…
By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly more than expected last week, indicating that the labor market recovery was gaining traction. The weekly jobless claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday also showed unemployment rolls shrinking to levels last seen in 1970, underscoring…
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian central bank on Thursday said it was raising the ceiling for banks’ outstanding debt under repo auctions to $50 billion from $15 billion as part of measures to support financial stability. The central bank beefed up the banking sector with extra liquidity and started to sell foreign currency on the…
LONDON (Reuters) – Sustainability ratings agency Standard Ethics said on Thursday it had downgraded the rating of the Russian Federation after it invaded Ukraine. Standard Ethics, which grades companies and governments on their performance on a range of environmental, social and governance-related measures, said it cut Russia one notch to its lowest rating of ‘F’…
By Danilo Masoni, Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Medha Singh (Reuters) – Shares of Russia-exposed companies took a beating across U.S. and European markets on Thursday, after the country’s move to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine fuelled fears of tougher Western sanctions. U.S.-listed shares of Russian internet giant Yandex N.V. lost half their value, while…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell slightly this week, after rising to their highest level in three years last week. The average rate on a 30-year loan declined to 3.89% this week from 3.92% the previous week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday. A year ago, the long-term rate was 2.97%. The…
