By Safiyah Riddle (Reuters) – A surge in U.S. rental home construction could soften rent prices in the months ahead, a much-awaited milestone in the Federal Reserve’s effort to tame inflation even as tightening credit conditions are beginning to take the wind out of the apartment building boom. Groundbreaking on multifamily homes that have more…
By by Ella Cao and Kevin Yao BEIJING (Reuters) -China on Wednesday pledged to make the private economy “bigger, better and stronger” with a series of policy measures designed to help private business and bolster the flagging post-pandemic recovery. Weak growth in the world’s second-largest economy has created an urgency to revive the private sector,…
BERLIN (Reuters) – Volkswagen said it remained intent on commissioning an independent audit of its Xinjiang plant in China and was convinced that doing so would provide valuable insight, after some investors and activists criticised the mechanism as ineffective. The United Nations and rights groups estimate that more than a million people, mainly Uyghurs and…
(Reuters) -Shares of AT&T rose 6.4% on Wednesday after the telecom company said lead cables made up only a small part of its wireline network, easing fears of an expensive clean-up. Rival Verizon also rose by a similar margin, helping the companies rebound from a selloff sparked by a Wall Street Journal report on July…
By Uditha Jayasinghe COLOMBO (Reuters) -Sri Lanka’s parliament approved an anti-corruption bill on Wednesday, aimed at improving governance in the crisis-hit country and meeting requirements linked to a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The legislation was passed without a vote in the 225-member parliament. “The bill is passed with amendments,” Sri Lanka…
By Sam Tobin LONDON (Reuters) – Kevin Spacey’s accusers are credible and their allegations deserve to be heard with respect, prosecutors told jurors on Wednesday as the actor’s sexual assault trial draws to a close. Spacey, 63, is standing trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court on nine charges of sexual offences against four men between…
By Indradip Ghosh and Prerana Bhat BENGALURU (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Reserve will raise its benchmark overnight interest rate by 25 basis points to the 5.25%-5.50% range on July 26, according to all 106 economists polled by Reuters, with a majority still saying that will be the last increase of the current tightening cycle. A…
By Ryan Woo and Ethan Wang BEIJING (Reuters) -The United States needs “Kissinger-style diplomatic wisdom” in its China policies, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi told the former U.S. state secretary in Beijing on Wednesday, as both countries struggle to repair relations. Henry Kissinger served as U.S. state secretary and national security advisor in the administrations…
By Ngouda Dione PODOR, Senegal – In the arid expanse of northern Senegal, women traverse kilometres daily carrying heavy buckets of murky water from distant wells and rivers. Water scarcity is so acute at this time of year that many communities face a dire choice: water your farms or quench you thirst. This dilemma drove…
By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Emerging market economies bore the brunt of the strongest U.S. dollar in two decades in 2022, a rise that battered them with capital outflows, higher import prices and tighter financial conditions, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. The IMF said new research in its annual External Sector Report…
