News

US, Partner Countries Call for Controls to Counter Misuse of Spyware

The United States and some of its partner countries on Thursday called for strict domestic and international controls to counter the proliferation and misuse of commercial spyware. The joint statement was issued by the governments of Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The […]

Meta to Give EU Users More Options for Data Handling

Meta Platforms Inc said on Thursday it would change the legal basis on how Facebook and Instagram use personal data to target advertising in the European Union, after the bloc’s privacy regulator fined it for alleged breaches in January. The move, Meta said, will give EU users more options around how their data is handled […]

German Inflation Eases Less Than Expected in March

German inflation eased significantly in March on the back of lower energy prices but still came in above forecast, adding to pressure on the European Central Bank to further tighten its monetary policy. German consumer prices, harmonised to compare with other European Union countries, rose by an annual 7.8% in March, preliminary data from the […]

Yellen Says US Bank Rules May Be Too Loose, Need to Be Re-Examined

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday that banking regulation and supervisory rules need to be re-examined in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failures to ensure current banking system risks are addressed. In remarks prepared for delivery to the National Association for Business Economics, Yellen also called for stronger […]

South African Catastrophes, Power Woes Signal End of Cheap Insurance

Three major jolts in as many years coupled with the once unthinkable possibility of a power grid collapse have spooked reinsurers in South Africa, spelling an end to cheap coverage in the continent’s most developed insurance market. Insurance premiums are climbing worldwide on the back of rising inflation and interest rate hikes. But reinsurance rates […]

S.Korea, Taiwan Chipmakers Express Concern about US Subsidy Criteria

The criteria for new U.S. semiconductor subsidies is worrying companies such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and SK Hynix Inc, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Thursday, a concern shared by the world’s leading contract chipmaker in Taiwan. Conditions include sharing excess profit with the U.S. government, and three industry sources said the […]

Meta Rolls Out Long-Sought Tools to Separate Ads from Harmful Content

Meta Platforms Inc said on Thursday it is now rolling out a long-promised system for advertisers to determine where their ads are shown, responding to their demands to distance their marketing from controversial posts on Facebook and Instagram. The system offers advertisers three risk levels they can select for their ad placements, with the most […]

Britain Sets Out Next Steps to Green Its Financial System

Britain’s finance ministry set out plans on Thursday to meet its target of becoming the world’s first net-zero aligned financial centre, proposing measures to stamp out so-called greenwashing in financial markets and channel cash into sustainable projects. The ministry said in an update to its Green Finance Strategy “we will ensure market participants have the […]

China’s Big Five Banks Post Healthy Results, Warn of Shaky Recovery

China’s Big Five lenders posted above 3.5% annual net profit growth this week, but warned that the foundations of the country’s recovery were “not yet solid”. China’s Bank of Communications Co Ltd (BoCom) and Bank of China (BoC) both posted just over 5% annual net profit growth on Thursday. Even higher figures came from the […]

Silicon Valley Bank and Fed Supervisors: What's Known so Far

A team of 20 bank examiners at the San Francisco Federal Reserve took over day-to-day supervision of Silicon Valley Bank in the second half of 2021, after the bank’s growth pushed its assets above the $100 billion mark that triggers more intense oversight. Soon after, supervisors began calling out problems at the bank, but only […]