NEW YORK (Reuters) – The cost of insuring exposure to a U.S. debt default rose on Wednesday, with investors focused on a debt ceiling vote in the House of Representatives later in the day. The U.S. one-year credit default swap (CDS) – a market-based gauge of the risk of default – climbed to 76 basis…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – ESSA Bank & Trust has agreed to pay over $3 million to resolve allegations it engaged in lending discrimination by redlining majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia, the Justice Department said on Wednesday. A complaint filed in federal court alleges the bank engaged in the discriminatory behavior from at least…
By Karen Freifeld WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New rules under consideration would restrict the flow of U.S. investments and know-how into Chinese companies working on advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, a U.S. Treasury official said on Wednesday. Speaking before a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Paul Rosen, who oversees investment security at Treasury, said officials…
By Fatos Bytyci LEPOSAVIC, Kosovo (Reuters) – NATO peacekeepers guarded town halls in ethnically polarised north Kosovo for a third day on Wednesday as Serbia’s defence minister inspected troops deployed near the border with its former province after violent unrest this week. The disturbances prompted NATO to send additional troops to the area and the…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department has sued West Virginia Governor Jim Justice’s coal empire over allegations it failed to pay around $7.6 million in environmental fines from mining violations. The civil action, filed on Tuesday against the governor’s son and 13 coal companies he owns or operates, seeks to hold them “accountable for…
By William James LONDON (Reuters) – Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has given his pandemic-era notebooks and messages to the government and urged officials to pass them on to an independent COVID-19 inquiry, his spokesman said on Wednesday. The Cabinet Office, which is responsible for overseeing the operation of government, is in a standoff…
By Joanna Plucinska LONDON (Reuters) – Global airlines are setting up a task force to deal with non-carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, stepping up efforts to tackle cloudy streaks formed by aircraft known as contrails, an environmental threat that until now has taken a backseat to carbon pollution in the response to global warming. The move…
By Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Qatari prime minister held secret talks with the supreme leader of the Taliban this month on resolving tension with the international community, a source briefed on the meeting said, signaling a new willingness by Afghanistan’s rulers to discuss ways to end their isolation. The May 12 meeting in the…
By Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. banks saw total deposits decline by a record 2.5% in the first quarter of 2023, and industry-wide profits were relatively flat after taking into account the effects of two large bank failures, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said Wednesday. The FDIC said the $472 billion in deposit outflows…
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The probability of a U.S. default has declined to its lowest since January, according to MSCI estimates, as a debt ceiling deal gets closer to the finish line. The one-year market implied probability of a default as of market close on May 30 stood at 1.3%, the lowest level since January,…
