Bank of Canada seen hiking rates quarter point to tame stubborn inflation

By Steve Scherer OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Bank of Canada (BoC) is heading toward a second consecutive quarter-point interest rate hike on Wednesday after a month of economic data revealed resilient growth, a stubbornly tight labor market and sticky underlying inflation, analysts said. In June, the central bank raised its overnight rate to a 22-year…

Read More

Meta’s ‘friendly’ Threads collides with unfriendly internet

By Katie Paul NEW YORK (Reuters) -Mark Zuckerberg has pitched Meta’s Twitter copycat app, Threads, as a “friendly” refuge for public discourse online, framing it in sharp distinction to the more adversarial Twitter which is owned by billionaire Elon Musk. “We are definitely focusing on kindness and making this a friendly place,” Meta CEO Zuckerberg…

Read More

China kindergarten attack kills six, sparks safety worries

BEIJING (Reuters) – A 25-year-old man was suspected of attacking a kindergarten in China’s Guangdong province on Monday, killing six people and injuring one, triggering an outpouring of concern about violence against children at school. Media reported the attack in Lianjiang county in the southern province was a stabbing. The suspect, with the surname Wu…

Read More

US, Ukraine’s top diplomats hold ‘important’ call before NATO summit

(Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said late on Sunday they held a phone call to discuss this week’s NATO summit and Kyiv’s counteroffensive campaign to reclaim land taken by Russia. “I had an important discussion with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba today ahead of this week’s…

Read More

Analysis-U.S. military deals not enough to wean India off Russian arms yet

By Krishn Kaushik and David Brunnstrom NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – India’s multi-billion-dollar purchases of U.S. arms are less about shifting its reliance on Russian defence equipment and moving towards the West – it’s more about developing its own domestic weapons industry, security officials and analysts say. India is the world’s biggest arms importer but almost…

Read More

China urges ‘practical’ US action on sanctions after Yellen talks

By Joe Cash BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Monday called on the U.S. to take “practical action” in response to its “major concerns” about sanctions on Chinese firms, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrapped up more than 10 hours of meetings with senior officials in Beijing. Yellen came to Beijing seeking to ease tensions…

Read More

Japan logs current account surplus for fourth month as trade gap narrows

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s current account surplus more than doubled year-on-year in May, in a fourth straight month of gains, as the country’s trade deficit narrowed and income gains from its overseas investment expanded, Ministry of Finance data showed on Monday. The current account surplus reached 1.86 trillion yen ($13.08 billion) in May, compared with 773…

Read More