Author: i2wtc

Travellers process through a security checkpoint at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport before the Thanksgiving holiday in Seattle, Washington, U.S. November 24, 2021.Lindsey Wasson | ReutersThe largest federal employee union filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to block President Donald Trump’s administration from ending collective bargaining for nearly 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers that staff checkpoints at U.S. airports and other transportation hubs.The American Federation of Government Employees filed a lawsuit in Seattle, Washington, federal court, claiming the U.S. Department of Homeland Security canceled a bargaining agreement covering TSA officers as retaliation against the union for challenging other Trump administration initiatives.The lawsuit seeks to block TSA from canceling a seven-year collective bargaining deal, which was enacted last year, and…

Ulta Beauty on Thursday issued weak guidance for the year ahead as it navigates a series of internal missteps, rising competition and what it called “consumer uncertainty.”The retailer, which appointed Kecia Steelman as its new CEO in January, said it’s expecting comparable sales to be flat or grow 1% in 2025, while analysts had anticipated they would rise by 1.2%, according to StreetAccount. It’s expecting full-year earnings to be between $22.50 and $22.90, lower than expectations of $23.47, according to LSEG. Ulta is the latest company to forecast a rocky year ahead. While it factored uncertain consumer spending into its guidance, the…

Warning comes after EU announced retaliatory tariffs on $28bn of US goods in response to US levies on steel, aluminium.United States President Donald Trump has warned he will impose tariffs of 200 percent on wine, champagne and other alcoholic products from European Union countries if the bloc goes ahead with a planned tariff on US whiskey. The EU announced tariffs on $28bn in US goods, including a 50 percent levy on US bourbon whiskey, on Thursday in retaliation after US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports came into effect the previous day. “If this Tariff is not removed immediately, the…

The war in Sudan has exposed more than 12 million people to “pervasive” sexual violence that is being used to “terrify” the entire population, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). As the war nears the two-year mark, UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell told a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday that the number of women and girls – and increasingly, men and boys – at risk of rape and sexual assault had increased by 80 percent over the last year. Referencing data analysed by UNICEF, Russell said that 221 cases of rape against children were reported in 2024…

MoonPay co-founder and CEO Ivan Soto-Wright at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami.MoonPayCrypto payments giant MoonPay is expanding its push into the enterprise market with the acquisition of Iron, an API-first stablecoin infrastructure startup.This marks MoonPay’s second significant acquisition in two months, underscoring its ambition to dominate the rapidly growing stablecoin payments market.”We think everyone is going to have a digital currency wallet, whether it’s inside of a bank account or independently. And we build a backwards compatibility to the existing financial system,” MoonPay Co-Founder and CEO Ivan Soto-Wright told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in an exclusive interview.Already, MoonPay makes it…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has informed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about its plan to lay off surplus employees by offering them golden handshake, as weak performance of revenues has emerged a major area of concern towards the fag end of the talks. The global lender has also questioned the rationality of retaining ministries in areas that under the Constitution are provincial subjects, said the government sources privy to the discussions. During this week, the IMF’s focus remained on the Federal Board of Revenue’s tax collection and prospects, the size of the government and more importantly the fate of the Sovereign Wealth…

Putin supports US ceasefire plan but insists on guarantees for a long-lasting peace to address root causes of conflict.Russian President Vladimir Putin says he agrees with the idea of a US-backed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but noted that the details of the accord need to be discussed and that any truce should lead to a long-lasting peace. “We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities,” Putin told reporters at a news conference in the Kremlin on Thursday following talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. “But we proceed from the fact that this cessation should be such that it would lead…

An Israeli negotiating team has reportedly extended its stay in the Qatari capital Doha, a day after the US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff was in town to try and find a path forward between Israel and Hamas. The deal reportedly on the cards is an extension of the ceasefire for up to 60 days in exchange for between five and 10 living Israeli captives held in Gaza. While Hamas has previously rejected a similar deal, they may be more amenable after direct meetings between US hostage envoy Adam Boehler and top Hamas officials in recent weeks. Boehler…

The Binance logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen.Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesBinance’s BNB token bucked the wider crypto downturn on Thursday, jumping 4% following a Wall Street Journal report that the Trump family has held talks to secure a financial interest in the U.S. arm of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.Such a deal would notably link the Trumps to a firm that pleaded guilty to breaking anti-money laundering laws in 2023.According to the Journal, Binance first approached Trump allies last year, pitching a deal that could help the embattled exchange regain its footing in the U.S.…

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday said Wall Street should shrug off President Donald Trump’s latest threat to impose steep tariffs on foreign trading partners.Asked on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” about Trump’s threat to ratchet up tariffs on European alcohol, Bessent suggested the move should have little impact on stocks.”One or two items with one trading bloc, I’m not sure why that’s a big deal for the markets,” said Bessent.Earlier in the day, Trump had warned the European Union that he would slap 200% tariffs on European alcohol exports — including all wines and French Champagnes — unless…