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…
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…
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…
By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Meta Platforms suffered a setback on Wednesday as Europe’s second-top court ruled as legitimate the EU antitrust watchdog’s requests for information related to its investigation into Facebook’s data and online marketplace. A spokesperson for the U.S. tech giant, which had compared the European Commission to a fishing super…
By Andrew Mills DOHA (Reuters) -The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday she was confident the United States would avoid a debt default. The U.S. government could fall behind on its bills next month – and even default on its debt – if Congress doesn’t raise a $31.4…
By Kopano Gumbi JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s central bank will likely extend its tightening cycle and push rates cuts further into the future amid countrywide power outages and currency weakness, analysts said, adding to inflationary pressures straining businesses and households. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) – which is facing a dilemma of how to…
By Nell Mackenzie LONDON (Reuters) – Borrowing across the global hedge fund industry has hit record highs, Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients on Wednesday, as rising interest rates make it cheaper for speculators to borrow stock and bet on movements in company stock prices. But hedge funds overall remain undecided on the…
By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) – European Union plans to increase protections for consumers of financial services are reigniting a long-simmering power battle between national and EU regulators that could hamper how the tougher safeguards will be enforced. The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, on Wednesday proposed stricter rules on selling financial products, such…
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The EU Commission said on Wednesday it was prepared to consider changes to a plan of reforms agreed with Italy, but any new proposals must be made as soon as possible for Rome to secure promised pandemic recovery funds. Rome is struggling to meet a package of policy pledges, including reforms to…
