The Federal Reserveheld interest rates steady on Wednesday at its first policy meeting of the year, with the head of the U.S. central bank pointing to continued moderate economic growth and a “strong” job market, and giving no sign of any imminent changes in borrowing costs. The Commerce Department's snapshot of gross domestic product on Thursday will likely show the Federal Reserve’s three interest rate cuts in 2019 helped to keep the longest expansion in history, now in its 11th year, on track and avert a downturn.
Three days after Los Angeles basketball great Kobe Bryant,his 13-year-old daughter and seven others perished in a helicopter crash, his wife, Vanessa, broke her silence with an Instagram message saying she was “completely devastated” by their loss. “My girls and I want to thank the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time,” Vanessa Bryant wrote.
Japanese authorities on Thursdayissued arrest warrants for a former U.S. special forces soldier and two other men on suspicion of smuggling former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn out of Japan. Warrants were issued for former U.S. Green Beret Michael Taylor and two other men, George-Antoine Zayek and Peter Taylor, prosecutors said in a statement.
Swathes of southeast Australiawere bracing on Thursday for a days-long heatwave that threatens to stoke bushfires that have been burning for months. As firefighters and residents prepared for the heightened danger, the New South Wales state government launched a six-month inquiry to examine both the causes of and response to this season’s deadly wildfires.
Tesla posted its second quarterly profit in a row as vehicle deliveries hit a record and the company said it would comfortably make more than half a million units this year, pushing its shares to new highs.
The European Union wants to create a single market in data aimed at challenging the dominance of tech giants such as Facebook, Google and Amazon, according to a European Commission proposal seen by Reuters. Read our exclusive report.
Unilever has launched a strategic review of its tea business, including the PG Tips and Lipton brands, as Chief Executive Alan Jope looks to boost group sales that grew at their slowest in a decade in the past quarter.
