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Several hedge funds have backed away from trading and other activities on Binance in response to the accelerating regulatory crackdown on the crypto exchange, deepening the strain for a group already cut off by a clutch of banks and payments companies. Crypto specialist Tyr Capital said it had “significantly decreased its exposure” to the group,

The European Central Bank will keep buying bonds and maintain its deeply negative interest rates in an attempt to shift the eurozone economy out of its persistent pattern of sluggish inflation, its policymakers decided on Thursday. The ECB also said it was prepared to tolerate a moderate and transitory overshoot of its inflation target as

Brussels has insisted it will not renegotiate the EU’s Brexit deal with the UK after London inflamed tensions by launching a bold push to overhaul trading rules for Northern Ireland. Maros Sefcovic, European Commission vice-president in charge of relations with the UK, said Brussels “will not agree to a renegotiation of the protocol” after the

US health officials said the more contagious Delta variant now accounts for more than 80 per cent of new coronavirus cases in the country, a dramatic increase that has underscored how quickly the more contagious strain is spreading. “[The] CDC has released estimates of variants across the country and predicted the Delta variant now represents

European equities were heading for their worst session of the year as the growing threat of the Delta coronavirus variant triggered falls in global share markets and commodities, while investors sought havens in government bonds and gold. Europe’s region-wide Stoxx Europe 600 lost 2.7 per cent, the biggest drop since October, while London’s FTSE 100

Opec and its allies have reached an agreement to raise oil production at a time of soaring prices after compromising over how the output targets of some of its largest members are calculated. Members of the Opec+ group including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq and Kuwait will all be awarded higher production baselines —

With just over two months to go until polling day, the devastating floods that swept through western Germany this week have catapulted climate change to the heart of the German election campaign. Most of Germany’s political parties agreed that global warming was to blame for a catastrophe that left 103 people dead and visited destruction

The Biden administration Friday warned US companies that they faced serious and escalating risks operating in Hong Kong, as the Chinese government increasingly cracks down on freedoms in the financial hub. The US issued a “business advisory” about threats ranging from China’s ability to gain access to data stored on servers in Hong Kong to

Aurora, the driverless vehicle start-up backed by Amazon and Uber, has unveiled plans to go public in a merger with a blank-cheque company, becoming the first top-tier player in the industry to achieve a stock market listing and setting up a test of investor appetite for such cash-guzzling ventures. Aurora said on Thursday it would

Jay Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, said the US central bank was ready to intervene if inflation spiralled out of control, but stressed that he expected price increases to ease later in the year. “Inflation has increased notably and will likely remain elevated in coming months before moderating,” Powell said in prepared remarks

The breakneck pace of US consumer price increases seen since the start of the year accelerated in June, challenging the Federal Reserve’s case that the burst of inflationary pressures accompanying the economic reopening will prove temporary. The consumer price index rose 5.4 per cent in June from a year ago — above the nearly 13-year

Israel will begin offering third doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine this week to adults with serious pre-existing medical conditions, becoming the first country in the world to officially offer a so-called “booster” jab. The move, confirmed by the health ministry on Monday, comes as US and European health authorities debate the need for booster

Brussels will set out plans this week to increase taxes on polluting fuels and introduce an EU-wide levy on aviation kerosene for the first time, under measures intended to put it at the forefront of global efforts to reduce carbon emissions.  The European Commission will propose a revamp of its 15-year-old rule book on carbon

Big Chinese companies that have the data of more than 1m users will need to pass a security review before issuing shares on overseas stock exchanges, the country’s internet regulator said on Saturday. The announcement from the Cyberspace Administration of China came less than a week after the State Council, China’s cabinet, and the Chinese

Joe Biden is set to sign a sweeping executive order to curb the power of big business by stamping out anti-competitive practices that harm smaller rivals. The White House on Friday unveiled 72 measures in Biden’s order, which include a ban on non-compete clauses for workers and span industries from technology and transportation to healthcare and

US government bonds rallied and global stock markets dropped sharply, as worries about inflation were replaced by concerns that the global economic recovery from coronavirus has peaked. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond, which moves inversely to its price, fell 0.04 percentage points to 1.276 per cent. The move put the world’s benchmark bond

Brussels wants to set up a new anti-money-laundering authority with direct supervisory powers as it seeks to crack down on illicit finance following a series of scandals.  The European Commission will this month table legislation to create the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) according to draft proposals seen by the Financial Times. It should set up operations

Didi shares tumbled in pre-market trading on Wall Street, leading a decline in Chinese companies listed in New York following a clampdown by Beijing’s internet watchdog that rattled investors. Didi, which uses so-called American depository receipts to trade in the US, dropped 25 per cent in early dealings, a day after the Cyberspace Administration of

Beijing has broadened a crackdown on tech platforms, targeting more US-listed companies after ordering the removal of ride-sharing group Didi Chuxing from Chinese app stores in a move that sent tech shares tumbling. The Cyberspace Administration of China on Monday announced it was investigating Boss Zhipin, an online recruitment company, and Chinese truck-hailing apps Yunmanman

China’s cyber security regulator has ordered that Didi be taken off domestic app stores just days after the ride-hailing giant raised $4.4bn in the biggest public listing this year. Didi’s app has “problems of seriously violating laws on collecting and using personal information”, the Cyberspace Administration of China said on Sunday evening, two days after