Sarah Isgur Flores, a Republican spokeswoman who worked most recently for the Justice Department, has been hired by CNN to help with the network’s political coverage, propelling a Trump administration official directly into a news role for a top cable network. Her hiring as a “political editor,” not a commentator, led to internal and external […]

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks were little changed on Wednesday, as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its January meeting and details on trade talks between the United States and China. The minutes are expected to reaffirm the central bank’s statement last month that it would be “patient” with respect to further rate hikes after […]

The Federal Reserve provided more clarity about what prompted officials in January to suddenly pause the Fed’s steady campaign of interest rate increases, citing a “sharper-than-expected slowdown” in global economic growth as well as uncertainty about continuing trade tensions, according to minutes of that meeting released on Wednesday. While the Fed did not see any […]

Argos has slashed the price of large kitchen appliances in a massive clearance sale online. Shoppers can head to argos.co.uk to pick up discounts on fridge-freezers, cookers, dishwashers and other large white goods in the promotion. Customers looking to replace broken appliances or upgrade their home can save hundreds of pounds off top-brand appliances from […]

ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – Kinder Morgan Inc will expand barge-loading capacity at its ethanol terminal in Chicago to help relieve a supply glut there that is driving down global prices for the biofuel, three people briefed on the company’s plans told Reuters. Tens of thousands of barrels of ethanol change hands at the Kinder Morgan […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Billionaire investor Steve Cohen’s Point72 Ventures has invested in a U.S. cybersecurity firm that will provide a way to detect, alert, and protect against data- and identity-related attacks, according to one of the venture capital company’s top officials. Armorblox is the first investment of Point72 Ventures’ enterprise technology group, said Noah […]

Good Wednesday. Want this by email? Sign up here. China trade talks turn to currency This week’s trade negotiations between the U.S. and China will have to bridge a lot of gulfs between the two countries. One particularly tricky issue is that Washington wants Beijing to adopt a policy that would keep the value of […]

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union countries on Wednesday endorsed an overhaul of the bloc’s copyright rules which would force Google and Facebook Inc to pay publishers for news snippets and filter out copyright-protected content on YouTube or Instagram. A majority of EU diplomats agreed to the revamp while Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Poland […]

A Paris court has ruled Swiss bank UBS should pay €3.7bn (£3.2bn) in fines for helping French clients evade taxes on €10bn (£8.7bn) in assets. UBS, Switzerland’s largest banking institution, had denied a string of charges, including aggravated money laundering, that were understood to have stemmed from claims made by whistleblowers – insiders at the […]

Irish small and medium enterprises (SMEs) pay on average three percentage points more interest on loans than the European Union average on amounts up to €250,000. The introduction of Government-backed risk-sharing schemes, such as the Brexit Loan Scheme (where interest is capped at 4pc), are helping to address the difference, according to the Strategic Banking […]