By Gavin Jones and Giuseppe Fonte ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s budget deficit widened in the first quarter to 12.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) compared with 11.3% in the same period of 2022, data showed on Tuesday, getting public finances off to a bad start after a huge overshoot in 2022. This year Giorgia Meloni’s…
By Karin Strohecker and Vincent Flasseur LONDON (Reuters) – The world’s major central banks delivered in June the biggest number of monthly interest rate hikes year-to-date, surprising markets and flagging more tightening ahead as policy makers grapple to get the upper hand in their battle against inflation. Seven of the nine central banks overseeing the…
(This July 3 story has been corrected to fix the name of China’s ambassador to Feng, not Fang, in paragraph 1) WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen and Xie Feng, China’s ambassador to the United States, met on Monday ahead of Yellen’s scheduled visit to Beijing this week, according to a statement…
(Reuters) -China will control exports of some metals used in the semiconductor industry, ramping up a technology war with the United States and potentially causing more disruption to global supply chains. Here’s what people are saying about the measure: LUCY CHEN, VICE PRESIDENT AT TAIPEI-BASED ISAIAH RESEARCH: “We believe that gallium and germanium are indeed…
By John Revill ZURICH (Reuters) -A Swiss proxy adviser representing some former Credit Suisse shareholders has backed a class-action lawsuit seeking a better price from UBS for its takeover of its cross-town rival, it said on Tuesday. Ethos Foundation, which represents a Swiss pension funds that owned more than 3% of Credit Suisse, “has decided…
By Kevin Yao BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s appointment of financial technocrat Pan Gongsheng to a top political post at the central bank points to growing concerns within the country’s leadership over systemic risks in its sprawling financial sector, policy insiders and analysts said. Pan, who came to prominence fighting capital outflows, will be in position…
(Reuters) – Alibaba Group Holding is exploring options for its video streaming platforms Youku and Tudou, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. One of the options under consideration is to inject the assets into Alibaba Pictures Group Ltd and bolster the scope of the Hong Kong-listed company, Bloomberg reported. (Reporting…
By Stella Qiu SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia’s central bank on Tuesday held interest rates steady saying it wanted more time to assess the impact of past hikes, but reiterated its warning that further tightening might be needed to bring inflation to heel. Wrapping up its July policy meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept its…
By Winni Zhou and Ryan Woo SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s major state banks have lowered their dollar deposit rates for the second time in a month, seven banking sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, as authorities have stepped up efforts to arrest a slide in the yuan. Interest rates offered by the “Big…
By Libby George LONDON (Reuters) – Abdoulaye Diallo is paying over 50% more to fill up his “thiak-thiak” motorbike taxi in Keur Mbaye Fall, a suburb of Senegal’s capital Dakar, than he was before the government began lifting fuel subsidies in January. Diallo, 25, is already navigating punishing inflation and deadly political riots, but his…
