By David Morgan, Richard Cowan and Moira Warburton WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A divided U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling on Wednesday, with majority support from both Democrats and Republicans to overcome opposition led by hardline conservatives and avoid a catastrophic default. The Republican-controlled House voted 314-117 to […]
Biden and McCarthy’s bumpy journey to a debt ceiling deal
Reuters | May 30, 2023
By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When Kevin McCarthy was struggling early this year to get enough votes from his own Republicans to become Speaker of the House of Representatives, Democratic President Joe Biden called the prolonged saga a national embarrassment, then had a little fun. “I’ve got good news for you,” Biden said, pointing […]
Companies sell their businesses in Russia
Reuters | May 26, 2023
(Reuters) – Some Western companies have agreed to sell their Russian assets or hand them over to local managers as they take action to comply with sanctions over the Ukraine conflict and deal with threats from the Kremlin that foreign-owned assets may be seized. The moves, part of a broader corporate exodus from Russia, are […]
U.S. warns China could hack infrastructure, including pipelines, rail systems
Reuters | May 26, 2023
By Raphael Satter, Zeba Siddiqui and James Pearson (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department warned on Thursday that China was capable of launching cyber attacks against critical infrastructure, including oil and gas pipelines and rail systems, after researchers discovered a Chinese hacking group had been spying on such networks. A multi-nation alert issued Wednesday revealed the […]
Judge throws out shareholder lawsuit against Elon Musk over Twitter buyout
Reuters | May 23, 2023
By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) – A judge dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Elon Musk that claimed he cheated Twitter shareholders several times last year in the course of buying the social media company for $44 billion. In a decision on Monday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco said plaintiff William Heresniak lacked […]
Florida’s DeSantis seeks to disqualify judge in Disney case
Reuters | May 22, 2023
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawyers for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican mulling a 2024 presidential run, are asking that a federal judge be disqualified from overseeing a dispute between DeSantis and Walt Disney Co, questioning the judge’s impartiality in the case. Lawyers for DeSantis, who is being sued for allegedly targeting Disney for company leadership’s […]
Factbox-Biden, McCarthy debt ceiling deal – what’s in, what’s out
Reuters | May 18, 2023
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in Washington, hope to finalize a deal on the debt ceiling after Biden returns from the Group of Seven meeting in Japan on Sunday. The debt ceiling bill Republicans have passed in the House and Democrat Biden’s 2024 […]
US default could trigger recession, disrupt critical government services – Yellen
Reuters | May 16, 2023
By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday warned that a default on government debt would likely leave millions of Americans without income payments, potentially triggering a recession that could destroy many American jobs and businesses. Yellen told a gathering of community bankers that the unprecedented economic and financial crisis […]
Biden says not yet ready to invoke 14th Amendment to avoid debt default
Reuters | May 8, 2023
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden said on Friday he was not yet ready to invoke the 14th Amendment to avoid the United States defaulting on its debts as early as June 1, comments which for the first time suggested he has not ruled out the option. “I’ve not gotten there yet,” Biden said in […]
Strikes ground flights at German airports, railway walkouts to follow
Reuters | April 24, 2023
BERLIN (Reuters) -Industrial action grounded dozens of flights at two major German airports on Monday as security workers and ground services employees in the capital, Berlin, and in Hamburg held a one-day strike over pay. Berlin-Brandenburg airport cancelled all departures and said some landings would also be affected after the Verdi union called security workers […]