LONDON (Reuters) – Global gold demand fell in the first three months of 2023 as large purchases by central banks and Chinese consumers were offset by reduced investor buying, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Friday. Total demand amounted to 1,081 tonnes, down 13% from the first quarter of 2022, the WGC said in…
By Ece Toksabay and Huseyin Hayatsever ANKARA (Reuters) – Whoever wins Turkey’s elections this month, the NATO-member is expected to maintain cordial relations with Russia that have already endured several years of dramatic change in Ankara’s foreign policy. What prompted that change was Turkey’s severe economic crisis, which forced President Tayyip Erdogan to mend strained…
By Eva Mathews and Radhika Anilkumar (Reuters) – IHG Plc Chief Executive Keith Barr will step down next month after six years at the helm, the Holiday Inn-owner said on Friday, sending its shares down despite strong first-quarter results driven by a rebound in Chinese demand. The 52 year-old American plans to return to his…
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -The European Central Bank will continue raising interest rates until inflation is under control, two ECB policymakers said on Friday as surveys showed the fight against rising prices was far from over. French central bank governor Francois Villeroy De Galhau and his Lithuanian peer Gediminas Simkus reaffirmed the ECB’s intention to further increase…
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Retail sales in the euro zone fell more than expected in March, Eurostat said on Friday, as rapid inflation and rising interest rates ate deep into disposable incomes to limit households’ purchasing power. Retail sales volumes in the 20 nations sharing the euro currency fell by 1.2% in March from the previous…
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday he was frustrated for not yet finding a diplomatic fix over the continued detention of Julian Assange and that he remained concerned about the mental health of the WikiLeaks’ founder. “I know it’s frustrating, I share the frustration,” Albanese told ABC television from London…
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will hold a rare joint military exercise with its landlocked neighbour Laos this month as Beijing tries to bolster security ties with regional allies to counter an expanding U.S. presence in Southeast Asia. Southern Theater Command, one of the five theatre commands of the People’s Liberation Army, will send troops to…
By Tom Wilson and Angus Berwick LONDON (Reuters) – Israel has seized around 190 crypto accounts at crypto exchange Binance since 2021, including two it said were linked to Islamic State and dozens of others it said were owned by Palestinian firms connected to the Islamist Hamas group, documents released by the country’s counter-terror authorities…
By Stefanno Sulaiman and Gayatri Suroyo JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, as consumer and government spending offset a slowdown in exports and investment in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 5.03% in the January to March quarter from a year earlier, data from Statistics Indonesia…
By Felix Light (Reuters) – Former Russian deputy defence minister Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev has joined the Wagner Group private militia as a deputy commander, Russian pro-war social media channels reported on Thursday. In two videos posted by war correspondent Alexander Simonov on Telegram, Mizintsev – clad in Wagner-branded combat gear – was shown visiting…
