By Safiyah Riddle (Reuters) – Applications to start new U.S. businesses surged to the highest level in two years in June, despite high interest rates and uncertain economic outlook, according to a Commerce Department report released on Monday. Business applications increased 6.2% in June compared with May with a seasonally adjusted 465,906 new applications. Filings…
By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand’s consumer inflation came in slightly above expectations in the second quarter, driving swap rates higher as the market pushed out expectations for when the central bank might start cutting the cash rate. Consumer prices rose 6.0% year-on-year in the second quarter, slower than the 6.7% increase in…
By Andrew Goudsward and Jacqueline Thomsen (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed an Ohio public interest lawyer as President Joe Biden’s latest nominee to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a vote that was largely along party lines. Rachel Bloomekatz was approved by a vote of 50-48 to the Cincinnati-based appeals…
(Reuters) – Power demand in Texas hit a record high for a second straight day on Tuesday as homes and businesses cranked up air conditioners to escape a brutal heat wave. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the grid for more than 26 million customers representing about 90% of the state’s power…
(Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating private equity firm One Equity over communications with investors, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. One Equity, which was once JPMorgan Chase’s buyout arm, has recently been in settlement talks with regulators that have sought a fine of…
By Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Tuesday moved to let Iraq pay Iran for electricity via non-Iraqi banks, a U.S. official said, a step Washington hopes may keep Tehran from forcing unpopular power cuts during the sweltering Iraqi summer. Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed a 120-day national security waiver allowing Iraq…
By Elida Moreno PANAMA CITY (Reuters) -A Panamanian court sentenced former President Ricardo Martinelli to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering, the attorney general’s office said on Tuesday, threatening the front-runner’s bid for a new term next year. Martinelli stated his innocence following the decision in the case, known as “New Business,”…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Tuesday along with companies such as Amazon.com Inc, Alphabet’s Google and Best Buy will announce an initiative that allows Americans to identify devices that are less vulnerable to cyberattacks. A new certification and labeling program would raise the bar for cybersecurity across smart devices such as refrigerators, microwaves,…
By Brendan O’Brien and Julia Harte (Reuters) -The United States is experiencing with a range of unusual weather, from a tropical storm in Hawaii to record-breaking heat across its Sun Belt states and poor air quality in many areas as smoke from Canadian wildfires wafts across the border. As the United States and China, the…
By Kanishka Singh and Nathan Layne (Reuters) -Michigan’s attorney general on Tuesday announced felony charges against 16 Republicans for participating in an alleged “false elector” scheme that aimed to overturn then-President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss in the battleground state. While more than 1,000 people have been charged with crimes related to the violent Jan….
