Republican leaders of Australia and NZ to pledge allegiance to king

By Alasdair Pal and Lucy Craymer SYDNEY/WELLINGTON (Reuters) – The leaders of Australia and New Zealand will pledge their allegiance to King Charles at his coronation in London on Saturday even though both are life-long republicans who do not shy away from making their positions clear. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his New Zealand…

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China’s services activity grows but at slower pace – Caixin PMI

By Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s service activity grew for a fourth month in April, a private-sector survey showed on Friday, as businesses benefitted from a return toward pre-pandemic levels of demand and output, although the momentum slowed. The Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 56.4 in April, above…

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Marcos says U.S. access to Philippines bases not meant for ‘offensive action’

By Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Thursday his agreement this year to grant the United States access to more military bases in his country was not intended for use for “offensive action” against any country. Speaking to a U.S. think-tank in Washington, Marcos said he…

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Apple iPhone sales inch up, bolstering results amid shaky economy

By Stephen Nellis (Reuters) – Apple Inc’s results beat expectations on Thursday, showing off the tech giant’s resilience in a slowing global economy thanks to better-than-expected iPhone sales and notable inroads in India and other newer markets. Shares of the largest U.S. company by market value rose 2% after Apple exceeded Wall Street’s expectations for…

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Indonesia quietly engaging key stakeholders in Myanmar crisis – foreign minister

By Kate Lamb and Ananda Teresia JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia has for months been quietly engaging key stakeholders in Myanmar’s conflict, as well as neighbours India, Thailand and China in an effort to kick-start a peace process as violence intensifies, its foreign minister said on Friday. Retno Marsudi earlier told Reuters exclusively that Indonesia, as…

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Hollywood studios push back against striking writers’ claim of ‘gig’ workforce

By Lisa Richwine and Danielle Broadway LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -The group representing Hollywood studios fired back on Thursday at claims from striking film and television workers that they have been forced into the “gig economy” because of changes brought by the streaming TV era. Roughly 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went…

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Apple says patent owner, law firm revealed settlement secrets in Google trial

By Blake Brittain (Reuters) – Apple Inc on Wednesday accused patent owner Arendi S.A.R.L. of revealing secret information about a settlement agreement between them, including how much Apple paid, during Arendi’s separate infringement trial against Alphabet’s Google LLC. Apple asked a Delaware federal judge to impose monetary sanctions against Arendi and its law firm Susman…

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Australia’s ANZ looks beyond housing as rate hikes hit margins

By Byron Kaye and Savyata Mishra (Reuters) -Australian lender ANZ Banking Group Ltd said it was diversifying beyond a residential mortgage market gripped by competition on Friday as earnings from its institutional arm overtook home lending. The country’s No. 4 lender reported a record first-half result as banks shift away from their traditional earnings engine…

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Exclusive-U.S. officials assessing possible ‘manipulation’ on banking shares -source

By Chris Prentice, Trevor Hunnicutt and Andrea Shalal NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. federal and state officials are assessing whether “market manipulation” caused the recent volatility in banking shares, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday, as the White House vowed to monitor “short-selling pressures on healthy banks.” Shares of regional banks resumed…

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