(Reuters) -Consumer prices in Mexico fell more than expected in the first half of May, driving annual inflation to its lowest in 20 months, according to the first figures released after the central bank decided to pause interest rate hikes. Prices decreased 0.32% in early May, national statistics agency INEGI said on Wednesday, with 12-month…
By Lawrence White and Koh Gui Qing LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – World stocks dropped on Wednesday as U.S. debt ceiling talks dragged on without resolution, stoking a general malaise in markets that saw safe haven assets such as the dollar hold around recent highs. But crude oil prices bucked the downtrend and kept rising, after…
By Chijioke Ohuocha and Camillus Eboh ABUJA (Reuters) -Nigeria’s central bank raised its main interest rate by another 50 basis points to 18.50% on Wednesday, and its governor promised to sustain rate hikes for as long as price pressures remained elevated in Africa’s biggest economy. Inflation struck a more than 17-year high of 22.22% in…
By Jarrett Renshaw and Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The central pillar of any debt-ceiling agreement between President Joe Biden and House Republican Kevin McCarthy is shaping up to be “discretionary spending” – the chunk of the United States’ roughly $6 trillion annual federal budget that is set annually by Congress. Talks are fluid as Biden…
(Reuters) – An Accenture Plc unit said on Wednesday it had secured an up to $2.6 billion deal with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for modernizing the government tax agency’s systems. Accenture Federal Services said it had been awarded the contract for seven years, adding that it will have to compete for future orders to…
(Reuters) -Analog Devices Inc said on Wednesday that a turbulent economy would weigh on its third-quarter results, sending the chipmaker’s shares down nearly 8%. The company forecast third-quarter revenue of $3.10 billion, plus or minus $100 million, the midpoint of which was lower than analysts’ estimates of $3.16 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Analog Devices…
By Ross Kerber (Reuters) -Top fund manager BlackRock Inc won support from investors at its annual meeting on Wednesday as it seeks a middle ground in debates over its environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies. BlackRock said each of its director nominees received “well over a majority” of votes cast at the meeting, held online,…
By Michael S. Derby (Reuters) – A couple of regional Federal Reserve presidents recently have signaled an openness to examining whether 2% is the right setting for the U.S. central bank’s inflation target, although the bar for change is high and any debate is well down the road. “Could we revisit that? Sure. But we…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden has nominated Air Force Lieutenant General Timothy Haugh to head both the National Security Agency (NSA) and U.S. Cyber Command, a U.S. official said on Tuesday. The official confirmed a Politico report that cited an Air Force notice sent out Monday. Haugh is now the deputy commander of the…
By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union and the United States are set to step up cooperation on artificial intelligence with a view to establishing minimum standards before legislation enters force, the EU’s tech chief Margrethe Vestager said on Tuesday. The European Union’s AI Act could be the world’s first comprehensive legislation governing…
