By Trevor Hunnicutt, Steve Holland and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Wednesday pledged to give South Korea more insight into its nuclear planning over any conflict with North Korea amid anxiety over Pyongyang’s growing arsenal of missiles and bombs. The announcement, which included a renewed pledge by Seoul not to pursue a…
By Josh Smith and Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) – For the first time since the 1980s a U.S. Navy nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) will visit South Korea to help demonstrate Washington’s resolve to protect the country from a North Korean attack. The visit was announced in a joint declaration during a summit between South…
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish bank Swedbank reported first-quarter net profit above market expectations on Thursday and said higher deposit margins had boosted results, although credit impairments also rose. The rival of Handelsbanken, SEB and Nordea said net profit totaled 7.56 billion Swedish crowns ($733.24 million) versus a year-ago 4.48 billion, topping a mean forecast of 6.62…
TAIPEI (Reuters) – The billionaire founder of Taiwan’s Foxconn and presidential hopeful Terry Gou said on Thursday China does not want war with the island and would not attack if he become president as he would not declare independence. Tension between Taipei and Beijing has surged in the run-up to January’s presidential election in Taiwan,…
By Hannah Lang and Ann Saphir WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Of all the facts that have emerged about last month’s two U.S. bank busts – the unanswered warning letters from regulators, the ignored interest-rate risk, the outsized levels of uninsured deposits – one data point in particular continues to stir deep-seated unease among finance officials:…
The failures of two large regional U.S. banks in mid-March blew a $22 billion hole in the nation’s deposit insurance fund and shook confidence in the global financial system. On Friday the banks’ regulators – the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – will publish their accounts of what happened at both institutions,…
By Jihoon Lee SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s exports likely fell in April for a seventh consecutive month and their longest falling streak in more than three years, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday, highlighting frail overseas demand as the world economy slows. Outbound shipments were expected to have fallen 13.5% in April from a…
HELSINKI (Reuters) -The Nordic region’s biggest lender Nordea posted a larger than expected gain in first-quarter operating profits on Thursday, on the back of rising interest rates and despite weaker Nordic currencies. The Finnish banking group reported an operating profit of 1.48 billion euros ($1.64 billion) in the quarter, up from 1.1 billion a year…
By Takaya Yamaguchi and Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO (Reuters) – Financial authorities must be mindful of the risk of excessive regulation aimed at preventing digital bank runs caused by online rumours and speculation, said the former commissioner of Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA). The failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the United States…
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia proposed on Thursday overhauling its immigration system to speed up getting highly skilled workers into the country and smoothening the path to permanent residency. The federal Labor government said the current system used to select skilled migrants – the points test – will be modified to identify people with the correct…
