LONDON (Reuters) – The cost of insuring exposure to a U.S. debt default fell further on Tuesday, reflecting investor optimism over a tentative deal by U.S. lawmakers to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling. Trading picked up on Tuesday after much of Europe and the United States were closed on Monday for holidays. In mid-morning…
By Supantha Mukherjee and Martin Coulter STOCKHOLM/LONDON (Reuters) – Top artificial intelligence (AI) executives including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Tuesday joined experts and professors in raising the “risk of extinction from AI”, which they urged policymakers to equate at par with risks posed by pandemics and nuclear war. “Mitigating the risk of extinction from…
By Davide Barbuscia NEW YORK (Reuters) – News of a debt ceiling agreement still leaves uncertainties on the U.S. credit outlook, analysts said, in addition to the immediate risk that Congress may not pass the proposed deal before the country runs out of cash. Democratic President Joe Biden and the top Republican in Congress, House…
By Bart Meijer AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Netherlands is set for a major overhaul of its 1.45 trillion euro ($1.6 trillion) private pension industry, Europe’s largest, that will see funds ditch the promise of guaranteed benefits as they try to keep a lid on costs. Following years of debate, the Dutch Senate on Tuesday gave…
By Ahmed Eljechtimi RABAT (Reuters) – Two thirds of Moroccan jobs are now in the grey economy, statistics agency said on Tuesday, giving its first public assessment of a trend that the government says is depriving the economy of $3.4 billion annually. Nearly all the jobs in the agricultural sector, which represents 14% of the…
By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. consumer confidence slipped to a six-month low in May as Americans’ assessment of the labor market softened, but more households planned to purchase motor vehicles and other big-ticket items over the next six months, which could support economic growth this quarter. The ebb in confidence reported by the…
By Hannah Lang WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Currency markets were choppy on Tuesday as the dollar hit a 10-week high against peers and a six-month top versus the yen before retreating after Japanese officials gave their currency a nudge. Japan will closely watch currency market moves and respond “appropriately” as needed, the country’s top currency diplomat…
By Stephanie Kelly NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices fell more than 4% on Tuesday on concerns about whether the U.S. Congress will pass the U.S. debt ceiling pact and as mixed messages from major producers clouded the supply outlook ahead of the OPEC+ meeting this weekend. Brent crude futures settled down $3.53, or 4.6%,…
By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors on Monday said they opposed a motion by former cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried to dismiss criminal charges accusing him of stealing billions of dollars from customers to plug losses at his hedge fund. Bankman-Fried, the 31-year-old founder of FTX Trading, has pleaded not guilty in Manhattan…
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s central bank could call time on its upward monetary cycle after inflation in Latin America’s fourth-largest economy slowed in May, bank board chief Leonardo Villar said on Tuesday. Villar also forecast high profits for the bank in 2023. The monetary authority has hiked its benchmark interest rate by 1,150 basis points…
