Over $200 billion potentially stolen from U.S. COVID relief programs, watchdog says

By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Over $200 billion from the U.S. government’s COVID-19 relief programs were potentially stolen, a federal watchdog said on Tuesday, adding that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) had weakened its controls in a rush to disburse the funds. At least 17% of all funds related to the government’s coronavirus…

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Court says Trump must face New York civil fraud claims, tosses case against Ivanka

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) -A New York appeals court on Tuesday rejected Donald Trump’s bid to end the state attorney general’s lawsuit accusing him and his family business of “staggering” fraud, but dismissed all claims against his daughter Ivanka Trump and said the remaining case may be limited further. Attorney General Letitia James’…

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Australia eyes bigger budget surplus but warns economy still slowing

By Renju Jose SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s budget surplus for 2022/23 will be bigger than the A$4.2 billion ($2.81 billion) projected in the May budget but high inflation and global challenges will “significantly slow” the domestic economy, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Wednesday. Strong jobs growth and bumper mining profits will swell government coffers, similar…

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Global initiative launched to rate corporate carbon offset claims

By Susanna Twidale LONDON (Reuters) – A standard to assess companies’ claims about progress towards internal climate targets and their use of carbon offset credits was launched on Wednesday by a global initiative seeking to bring transparency and confidence to an unregulated market. Many companies have set net zero emission targets but acknowledge they will…

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Google aims to avoid ‘perverse’ regulation in Brazil, says executive

By Patricia VilasBoas SAO PAULO (Reuters) – The top executive of Google Brazil said on Tuesday the company encourages greater dialogue around regulating digital platforms in the country, in order to change a bill that might turn out to be “perverse” for everyone. Nearly two months ago, country’s top court ordered an investigation into executives…

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