Cryptocurrency firm founder pleads guilty in US to market manipulation scheme
BOSTON- The founder of a cryptocurrency financial services firm pleaded guilty on Friday to U.S. charges that he participated in a wide-ranging scheme to manipulate the market for digital tokens on behalf of client companies. Aleksei Andriunin, the founder and…
Trump awards Boeing much-needed win with F-47 fighter jet contract
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump awarded Boeing on Friday the contract to build the U.S. Air Force’s most sophisticated fighter jet yet, dubbed the F-47, handing the company a much-needed win. The Next Generation Air Dominance program will replace…
Senate Democrats urge Trump to reverse Federal Trade Commission firings
More than two dozen Democratic U.S. senators called on President Donald Trump on Wednesday to rescind his termination of the two Democratic members of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota sent the letter to the…
Judge says Columbia protestor must remain in US for now, moves case to NJ
NEW YORK -A U.S. judge on Wednesday said Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil must remain in the United States for now, but moved his challenge to the legality of his arrest over his participation in pro-Palestinian protests to a court…
Turkey detains Istanbul mayor in what opposition calls ‘coup’
ISTANBUL-Turkey detained Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the main rival of President Tayyip Erdogan, on charges of corruption and aiding a terrorist group in what the main opposition party on Wednesday called “a coup against our next president”. The move against…
Investors hopeful Wells Fargo asset cap will be removed in 2025
NEW YORK – Investors and analysts are more hopeful the asset cap on Wells Fargo will be lifted this year after the bank managed to close five regulatory actions in 2025, making its shares more attractive. Since January, the bank…
Ottawa condemns recent Chinese executions of Canadian citizens
OTTAWA – Canada said on Wednesday that China had executed an unspecified number of Canadian citizens earlier this year, and strongly condemned Beijing’s use of the death penalty. “Canada repeatedly called for clemency for these individuals at the senior-most levels…
After airstrikes, Israel says it has launched new ground operation in Gaza
CAIRO/JERUSALEM – The Israeli military said on Wednesday its forces resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip, as a second day of airstrikes killed at least 48 Palestinians, according to local health workers. The renewed ground operations…
Judge warns of consequences if Trump administration violated deportation order
The Trump administration could face consequences if it violated a judge’s order temporarily blocking the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants, the judge said on Wednesday even as he gave the government more time to elaborate on the expulsions. Washington-based…
Union sues Trump administration for halting student loan repayment plans
A major U.S. teachers union has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education accusing Republican President Donald Trump’s administration of unlawfully shutting down access to income-driven repayment plans used by millions of student loan borrowers. The American Federation of…
Foreign holdings of US Treasuries steady in January, data shows
Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries held steady in January, data from the Treasury Department showed on Wednesday. Holdings of U.S. Treasuries tallied at $8.526 trillion in January, unchanged from the previous month. Compared with a year earlier, Treasuries owned by…
Amazon loses court fight against record $812 million Luxembourg privacy fine
BRUSSELS – Amazon lost its fight against a record 746 million euro ($812.4 million) fine handed out by Luxembourg’s privacy regulator four years ago as a court sided with the watchdog, according to a statement on the regulator’s website. The…
Fed keeps policy rate outlook intact amid projected growth slowdown, temporary inflation jump
WASHINGTON-The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, as expected, but U.S. central bank policymakers indicated they still anticipate reducing borrowing costs by half a percentage point by the end of this year in the context of slowing economic…
USDA to begin disbursing economic aid to farmers amid low prices
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will on Wednesday begin accepting applications from farmers affected by low commodity prices for economic aid passed by Congress last year, an agency official said on Tuesday. The stop-gap government funding package passed by Congress…
Trump, Putin agree to Russia-Ukraine energy infrastructure ceasefire for 30 days
WASHINGTON-Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Tuesday to a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump that Russia and Ukraine cease attacking each other’s energy infrastructure for 30 days, the Kremlin said following a lengthy phone discussion between the leaders. The…
Exclusive-Gates warns White House he can’t fill shortfalls in US global health funding
LONDON-Bill Gates is personally lobbying Trump administration officials to keep funding health programs worldwide, from childhood vaccination to HIV treatment, and warning that his foundation cannot step in to fill gaps, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The…
Japan’s Nomura ties up with regional bank Hyakujushi to boost wealth business
TOKYO -Nomura Holdings, Japan’s largest securities firm, said on Monday it has partnered with regional lender Hyakujushi Bank to boost its wealth management services. Hyakujushi Bank, based in Kagawa prefecture, will pass on some of its customer accounts, such as…
Hedge funds regain appetite for US stocks, feel full of Europe, Asia
NEW YORK -Global hedge funds started to add back U.S. equities to portfolios last week following a massive selloff in Wall Street’s major indexes, an early indication of optimism about the country. Goldman Sachs said in a separate note that…
Tighter credit, slower spending by better-off households may further cloud Fed outlook
WASHINGTON- Tumbling stock markets and signs of tightening credit may make the Federal Reserve’s job even more difficult this week as U.S. central bank policymakers try to weigh whether consumer spending will suffer as households take stock of the potential…
Measles cases rise to 279 in Texas, state health department says
The Texas health department reported 279 measles cases in the state on Tuesday, an increase of 20 cases from its previous count. Cases in Gaines county, the center of the outbreak, rose to 191 from 174, the Texas Department of…
Trump to release 80,000 pages on JFK assassination
WASHINGTON-President Donald Trump plans to release about 80,000 pages of material related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Tuesday, seeking to honor his campaign promise to provide more transparency about the shock event in Texas. “It’s…
US homebuilding, manufacturing surge; tariffs cast pall over recovery
WASHINGTON – U.S. single-family homebuilding rebounded sharply in February amid a thaw in winter weather while production at factories surged, but rising prices for raw materials because of tariffs threaten the nascent housing market and manufacturing recovery. The reports on…
Alphabet to buy Wiz for $32 billion in its biggest deal to boost cloud security
Alphabet said on Tuesday it would buy Wiz for about $32 billion in its biggest deal ever, as the Google parent doubles down on cybersecurity to sharpen its edge in the cloud-computing race against Amazon.com and Microsoft. The blockbuster deal…
Doctor deported to Lebanon had photos ‘sympathetic’ to Hezbollah on phone, US says
BOSTON- U.S. authorities on Monday said they deported a Rhode Island doctor to Lebanon last week after discovering “sympathetic photos and videos” of the former longtime leader of Hezbollah and militants in her cell phone’s deleted items folder. Dr. Rasha…
Trump nixes $17.75 minimum wage for federal contractors adopted by Biden
President Donald Trump has rescinded an executive order issued by his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, that required businesses that contract with the federal government to pay workers a minimum wage of $17.75 an hour. Trump, a Republican, late on Friday…
US Postal Service seeks DOGE’s help on retail leases, counterfeit postage
WASHINGTON-U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said on Monday he had asked the government efficiency team led by Elon Musk for assistance with a number of issues, including a review of the agency’s retail center lease renewals and combating counterfeit postage….
Some 80,000 pages of JFK files will be released Tuesday, Trump says
WASHINGTON- U.S. President Donald Trump, who has ordered the release of classified documents related to the 1963 assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, said on Monday that his administration will make public around 80,000 pages of files related to…
Judge questions Trump’s deportation of Venezuelans as White House defends move
WASHINGTON- A U.S. judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to explain whether it defied a court order by deporting hundreds of Venezuelans the White House says are violent criminals, a move officials defended but several legal experts said appeared…
Berkshire raises stakes in five Japanese trading houses to near 10%
TOKYO -Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway raised its holdings in five Japanese trading houses, regulatory filings showed on Monday, in the U.S. conglomerate’s latest investments in Japan’s top commodity firms that began nearly five years ago. Berkshire’s stake in Mitsui &…
Hedge funds regain appetite for US stocks, feel full of Europe, Asia
NEW YORK-Global hedge funds started to add back U.S. equities to portfolios last week following a massive selloff in Wall Street’s major indexes, an early indication of optimism about the country. Goldman Sachs said in a separate note that after…