Author: Euronews

ADVERTISEMENTSigns of a challenging day in financial markets were already evident as yesterday’s session opened in New York. The downward momentum was initially driven by disappointing quarterly earnings from technology powerhouses Alphabet and AMD, both of which are at the forefront of artificial intelligence innovation.Yet, it was the Federal Reserve’s actions and Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments that precipitated Wall Street’s most tumultuous day since September 2023.The decision to keep interest rates steady at 5.25%-5.5% wasn’t the main story, as it was largely expected by market participants.Instead, it was how the Fed and Jerome Powell reacted to traders’ optimistic anticipation of…

The European Union’s failure to provide Ukraine with one million ammunition rounds within a year as it has promised should still be cheered, some of the bloc’s top officials have argued. ADVERTISEMENTEU member states approved in March last year a €2 billion plan to boost ammunition deliveries to Ukraine, pledging to send one million 155mm shells within 12 months so the country could defend itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion.But with less than two months to go before the self-imposed deadline, Josep Borrell conceded on Wednesday that the target would not be reached and that just 330,000 ammunition rounds had so far…

If the healthcare industry was a country, it would be the fifth largest polluter on Earth. ADVERTISEMENT”Hospitals are very significant polluters, despite the great benefits that we all enjoy when we fall sick,” says Novartis President.By 2050, 70% of the world’s population is expected to live in cities – that equates to 2.5 billion more than today.By then, the global temperature is likely to be at least 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer, with some sources suggesting it could be 3 degrees, depending on how drastically the world reacts.Rising temperatures cause additional stress to the human body, but that’s not the only…

The EU wants to expand funding sources for small business – but even as new listing rules are finalised, its architects admit all’s not going to plan. ADVERTISEMENTThe EU has long had a goal to unify its capital markets – but even the officials directly involved now appear to be admitting defeat. Despite an attempt to ease financing conditions and stop small businesses skipping across the Atlantic, the reality isn’t matching the rhetoric, Euronews was told by the EU’s most senior financial services official.“When I speak to leaders and ministers, they are in favour of banking union and capital markets…

Car makers including Tesla, General Motors, Volkswagen and Toyota are failing to ensure they are not using forced labour as part of their China supply chains, Human Rights Watch says. ADVERTISEMENTSome of the world’s largest car manufacturers are using aluminium produced with forced labour by Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China’s western Xinjiang region and other parts of the country, the US-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) has alleged.China is accused of running labour transfer programmes in which Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities are forced to work in factories, as part of a longstanding campaign of assimilation and mass detention.Workers in…

EU officials have threatened fines on banks that don’t take climate change seriously. ADVERTISEMENTAnti-capitalist green protests met with an unlikely ally in Brussels today (1 February) – the head of the European Banking Authority.EU financial regulators may not always see eye to eye with activists at Extinction Rebellion – but there was some sympathy for two protestors who stormed a conference stage to protest large banks’ environmental record.“Barclays is the biggest investor in Europe in fossil fuels,” one of the protestors said to the panel which included Francesco Ceccato, Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Europe.“GDP growth is not compatible with…

The Bank of England has decided to hold interest rates at a 16-year high for the fourth consecutive month, following leads from the Fed and the ECB. ADVERTISEMENTThe Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at the Bank of England (BOE) arrived at an unusual three-way split on Thursday, as members disagreed on the best path forward for interest rate cuts.Six members of the MPC voted to keep borrowing costs stable at 5.25%, two voted for an 0.25% rate raise, and one advocated for a 0.25% cut.”The three-way split on the MPC reflects the challenge of balancing still persistent inflationary pressures and the…

Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen met with farmers’ representatives at the end of the EU summit promising new upcoming initiatives in a bid to douse flames after a day of protests in Brussels. ADVERTISEMENTVon der Leyen was accompanied by Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, who initiated the encounter, and Dutch Premier Mark Rutte immediately after the closure of the European Council on Thursday (1 February).Speaking to reporters, De Croo pointed out that agriculture today faces a “lasagna” of issues ranging from the burden of the Green Deal implementation and over-regulation.“Farmers want to be a partner of the climate…

Energy prices dropped in January, helping keep inflation down in the bloc. ADVERTISEMENTEurozone investors are hoping for good news soon regarding interest rates amid signs that inflation seems to be slowing. This would mean some much-needed respite from soaring food and energy prices, which have been hitting the Eurozone since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022.The January 2024 flash inflation estimate report showed annual consumer prices falling from 2.9% in December 2023 to 2.8%, in line with consensus estimates.Core inflation, which does not take energy and food prices into account, also slipped lower to 3.3%, down from…

The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has said EU leaders are ‘on the alert’ after a Latvian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) was accused of spying for Russia. ADVERTISEMENTThe Parliament has opened a formal probe into Latvian lawmaker Tatjana Ždanoka, accused in an investigation by Russian newspaper The Insider of working as an agent for the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) – the successor to the Soviet-era KGB – from 2004 to 2017.Speaking after a meeting of the bloc’s 27 leaders on Thursday, Metsola said the scandal “has also put us on the alert”. Latvia’s Prime Minister Evika…