Vaccine makers make bird flu shot for humans ‘just in case’; wealthy nations lay down supplies

LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) – Some of the world’s leading makers of flu vaccines say they could make hundreds of millions of bird flu shots for humans within months if a new strain of bird flu ever jumps the species divide. A current outbreak of bird flu, known as H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b, has killed a … Read more

BlackRock’s Hildebrand is reportedly taking part in talks with UBS and Credit Suisse

March 18 (Reuters) – BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) Vice Chairman Philipp Hildebrand joins talks as Swiss officials try to broker a deal for UBS Group (UBSG.S) to acquire Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S) take), Bloomberg News reported Saturday, citing unidentified sources. When asked about the report, BlackRock spokesman Ryan O’Keeffe said in a telephone interview that … Read more

Paris police, protesters clash for third night over Macron’s pension reform

PARIS, March 18 (Reuters) – Paris police clashed with protesters for a third night on Saturday as thousands of people marched across the country in anger at the government pushing through an increase in the state pension age without a parliamentary vote. With growing unrest and strikes, President Emmanuel Macron faces the biggest challenge to … Read more

Credit Suisse meets to weigh options, under pressure to merge with UBS

March 18 (Reuters) – Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S) embarked on an all-or-nothing weekend after some rivals became cautious in their dealings with the bank as regulators urged the bank to pursue a deal with Swiss rival UBS AG (UBSG. S). Credit Suisse Chief Financial Officer Dixit Joshi and his teams will hold meetings over … Read more

As a show of unity, NATO and EU leaders visit the North Sea gas platform

TROLL A PLATFORM, North Sea, March 17 (Reuters) – Heads of NATO and the European Commission flew to a platform in the North Sea on Friday to discuss security of supply and infrastructure, a visit that underlined Norway’s importance to gas transports since the invasion from Russia in Ukraine. The Troll A platform extracts gas … Read more

Wall Street slides on fears of contagion from banking crisis

First Republic Bank tumbles over dividend suspension SVB Financieel seeks bankruptcy protection FedEx jumps on full-year profit forecast Indexes down: Dow 1.31%, S&P 1.17%, Nasdaq 0.80% NEW YORK, March 17 (Reuters) – Wall Street fell on Friday at the end of a tumultuous week marked by the unfolding banking sector crisis and the gathering storm … Read more

ECB watchdog sees no contagion of Europe after US and Swiss bank rescues

March 17 (Reuters) – European Central Bank regulators see no contagion for eurozone banks from the recent turmoil, a source said Friday, after US lenders First Republic Bank (FRC.N) tossed a $30bn lifeline and record amounts from the Federal Reserve. To book. Major US banks stepped in on Thursday to bail out the San Francisco-based … Read more

New Zealand is banning TikTok on parliament-linked devices over security concerns

WELLINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) – New Zealand said on Friday it would ban TikTok on devices accessing the country’s parliamentary network over cybersecurity concerns, becoming the latest country to ban use of the app for sharing emails. would restrict videos on government-related devices. There has been global concern over the potential for the Chinese government … Read more

The US banking system is sound, but not all deposits are guaranteed, Yellen tells senators

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) – The US banking system remains sound and Americans can be confident that their deposits will be there when they are needed, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday, though she denied that recent bailouts following two major bank failures mean there is there was now a general government guarantee for … Read more

UK bans TikTok on government phones due to security concerns

LONDON, March 16 (Reuters) – Britain said on Thursday it would ban TikTok on government phones with immediate effect, a move following other Western countries in blocking the Chinese video app over security concerns. TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny over fears that user data from the app owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance could end … Read more