By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rose in May as consumers stepped up purchases of motor vehicles and building materials, which could help to stave off a dreaded recession in the near term. While other data on Thursday showed first-time applications for state unemployment benefits holding steady last week at more…
By Roberto Samora SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Top food producer Brazil will start stocking up on food staples, a government agency said on Thursday, as the leftist administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva makes good on last year’s campaign trail promise to curb food inflation. In a bid to increase public storage capacity,…
By Matt Spetalnick and Simon Lewis WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. sharpened its criticism of Russia’s record on human trafficking on Thursday, citing Moscow’s treatment of conscripts and Ukrainian children, in an annual report on countries that Washington says are failing to protect victims. The State Department’s 2023 Trafficking in Persons report kept Russia on…
By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices gained about 3% to a one-week high on Thursday on a weaker U.S. dollar and a jump in refinery runs in top crude importer China. Brent futures rose $2.47, or 3.4%, to settle at $75.67 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.35, or…
By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed NEW YORK (Reuters) – Shares of U.S.-listed Chinese exchange traded funds edged higher on Thursday, tracking gains in the Chinese markets after the central bank cut borrowing costs to aid a shaky economic recovery and as investors pinned hopes on further stimulus. China’s stock markets rose on Thursday, with the benchmark…
By Ross Kerber (Reuters) – Top asset manager BlackRock on Thursday named outside executive John Kelly to a newly created role overseeing its public policy, philanthropy, communications and branding, at a time the firm needs to balance its message among competing constituencies. Kelly’s appointment as global head of corporate affairs, described in a memo provided…
(Reuters) -A new regulation will formalize a roughly 80% cut in project fees for wind and solar energy developments on federal lands under a proposal by the Biden administration on Thursday as part of a strategy to boost renewable energy to fight climate change. The Interior Department’s U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) last year…
By Jeffrey Dastin and Anna Tong SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc is cautioning employees about how they use chatbots, including its own Bard, at the same time as it markets the program around the world, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Google parent has advised employees not to enter its confidential…
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Jarrett Renshaw WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A collection of the nation’s leading and biggest spending environmental groups endorsed President Joe Biden’s re-election bid on Wednesday, an early sign that he has consolidated their support despite some recent policy moves that angered climate activists. The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund, billionaire…
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss NEW YORK (Reuters) – Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services on Thursday recommended that Biogen <BIIB.O> shareholders elect Susan Langer to replace long-standing director Alex Denner, who abruptly left the board earlier this week. Biogen said Langer, a former corporate strategy chief at the biotech company, would stand for election to replace…
