The federal government is winding down production of the penny coin following a bipartisan effort to nix the lowest-denomination of U.S. currency over cost concerns. The Treasury Department placed its final order for blank pennies in May and expects to stop putting new pennies into circulation by early 2026. President Donald Trump directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cease production of the coin in February, describing spending on penny minting as wasteful. This move is supported by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who introduced separate bills in the House of Representatives and the Senate calling for an end to penny…
Author: Fatimah Idera
Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven democracies papered over their differences on Thursday, pledging to tackle excessive imbalances in the global economy and saying they could increase sanctions on Russia. There had been doubt before the meeting whether it would issue a final communique, in light of divisions over U.S. tariffs and Washington’s reluctance to refer to Russia’s war on Ukraine as illegal. But after three days of talks, participants signed on to a lengthy document devoid of previous language on fighting climate change and which also softened references to the Ukraine war. “We found…
Four decades ago, Hiroko Suzuki’s father navigated the challenges of a U.S. trade war by shifting the family auto-parts business, Kyowa Industrial, into niche products. Now, tariffs imposed by the Trump administration threaten her own attempt to diversify the 78-year-old company into medical devices. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has labeled the U.S. tariffs, including 25% on automobiles, a national crisis for Japan, the world’s fourth-largest economy. Meanwhile, Japan’s top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, is heading to Washington for a third round of talks to address the issue. Kyowa Industrial, a maker of prototype parts and race-car components based in Takasaki,…
European and American authorities, along with their Canadian counterparts, have joined forces to disrupt a massive malware network. Over 300 servers worldwide have been taken down, and international arrest warrants have been issued for 20 suspects. This operation, dubbed Operation Endgame, aims to tackle the world’s most notorious malware variants. German, French, Dutch, Danish, British, American, and Canadian agencies collaborated to identify over three dozen suspects, with 20 individuals facing criminal charges. More than 650 domains have been neutralized, and approximately €3.5 million in cryptocurrency has been seized. This brings the total amount of cryptocurrency seized during the operation to…
A suspect is in custody after shooting dead two Israeli embassy staff outside a Jewish museum in Washington. The gunman, named by police as Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, approached a group of four people leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum and opened fire, killing Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who officials said were in a relationship. Metropolitan police chief Pamela Smith said the shooter had been pacing outside the museum, steps away from the FBI’s field office, before the shooting. After killing the pair, he walked inside, where event security detained him. The suspect yelled, “Free, free…
A plane crashed into a San Diego military housing neighbourhood on Thursday morning, officials confirmed. The incident occurred on Salmon Street, where the plane headed to Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. Addressing reporters at the site of the crash, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Assistant, Chief Dan Eddy, said that the plane struck about 15 homes, causing multiple homes and cars to catch fire. “I just walked it myself, and down the street itself, it looks like something from a movie,” Eddy said Thursday morning. Eddy said officials were still looking for the pilot and other “souls on board.” The plane appeared…
Britain had conclude a deal with Mauritius on the future of the Chagos Islands on Thursday after a judge at London’s High Court overturned an eleventh-hour injunction which had blocked the agreement being signed earlier. Lawyers representing a British national born in the Chagos Islands were granted an interim injunction in the early hours of Thursday morning, postponing the formal signing of the treaty which aims to secure the future of the strategically-important U.S.-UK Diego Garcia air base. But Judge Martin Chamberlain lifted the injunction following a hearing later on Thursday, clearing the way for Britain to sign the multi-billion…
Britain’s government kicked off the 2025/26 financial year in April by borrowing more than expected, suggesting no let-up in the pressure on the public finances ahead of a major review of spending. Public sector net borrowing was 20.155 billion pounds ($27 billion) in April, according to official data. Economists have routinely underestimated the extent of Britain’s budget deficit each month over the past year. Finance minister Rachel Reeves is due to deliver her first multi-year spending review on June 11 to set the budgets for public services. She outlined her first annual tax and spending plans last October when she…
United States of America singer Chris Brown has been freed on bail by a court in London after being charged with inflicting an unprovoked attack in a nightclub in 2023. The Grammy-winning star, who has not yet been asked to enter a plea in the case, is able to begin his world tour next month as planned as part of his bail conditions. Recall that he was arrested last week and later charged with grievous bodily harm over an incident in which he allegedly attacked a music producer with a tequila bottle at the Tape nightclub in London’s Mayfair. The…
Deloitte has warned staff that it will slash bonuses and scale back hiring in response to a slowdown in profits this year. The accountancy giant unveiled the cost-cutting plan in an email to UK staff as bosses said they were responding to an underwhelming performance across its audit and consulting business. The senior partner at Deloitte’s UK,Richard Houston told staff that the firm’s consulting arm had “faced a particularly challenging year”, which led to a worse-than-expected performance. Staff in Deloitte’s consulting business will see their bonuses cut by 20% after the unit fell materially short of its performance goals, Mr.…
