WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Contracts to buy U.S. previously owned homes plunged to a record low in January as higher mortgage rates and house prices reduced affordability for prospective buyers. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Thursday its Pending Home Sales Index, based on signed contracts, dropped 4.6% last month to 70.6, an all-time…
By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Apple is facing a likely antitrust fine as the French regulator prepares to rule next month on the company’s privacy control tool, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Called App Tracking Transparency (ATT), the feature allows iPhone users to decide which apps can track user…
By Chris Kirkham and Abhirup Roy (Reuters) – Elon Musk told investors in late January that Tesla would roll out “autonomous ride-hailing for money” by June in Austin, Texas — a state where the company faces almost no regulation, raising questions about how much safety and legal risk Tesla is willing to take on as…
By Michael S. Derby (Reuters) -The Federal Reserve’s latest Monetary Policy Report to Congress, released on Friday, was upbeat about the state of the economy but warned about some concerning aspects of the financial system. The report, which comes ahead of next week’s testimony before Congress by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, said central bank officials…
BERLIN (Reuters) – Europe is prepared to act in response to possible restrictions to trade, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday, after holding discussions with industry lobbies and the EU’s top trade representative about the threat of tariffs from the U.S. “Europe must and can only react unitedly and decisively to unilateral trade…
PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron declared on Monday that France was in the race for artificial intelligence and called on attendees at the AI Action Summit in Paris to choose Europe for their business needs. Clean electric power distinguishes France in addressing AI’s vast energy consumption, he said. “I have a good friend…
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia is practising stealth manoeuvres of Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles in its Volga region, the defence ministry said on Thursday. The ministry published video of Yars missile launchers moving through a snowy forest. The Yars is a nuclear missile that can be moved around on truck carriers or deployed in silos. Russia…
BEIJING (Reuters) -Beijing opposes U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to transfer Palestinians out of Gaza and have the U.S. take over the region, China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, underlining a long-held position against forced displacement of people. China supports the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular…
By Shivansh Tiwary and Medha Singh (Reuters) -Shares of U.S. steel and aluminum producers surged on Monday, while their European counterparts fell after President Donald Trump disclosed plans to impose an additional 25% tariff on import of the metals. Nucor, Steel Dynamics and Cleveland-Cliffs rose between 6% and 13%, while Century Aluminum added 15% and…
By Oliver Griffin BOGOTA (Reuters) – Deforestation in Colombia in 2024 is expected to have reached a higher level than during the previous year but is still forecast to be among the lowest levels in more than two decades, Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said on Monday. Deforestation fell by more than a third to just…
