US consumer watchdog examiners adopt lighter touch amid pressure and threats, sources say

WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) – Examiners at the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau gave a largely clean bill of health to most of the companies they inspected earlier this year, a light-touch approach that marked a departure ​from the past for the watchdog, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. The CFPB resumed … Read more

Australia’s student visa restrictions take effect, curbing dependants and onshore applications

Australia has confirmed that new restrictions limiting when international students can bring dependants into the country are now in force, with assistant minister for international education Julian Hill revealing the timing and further details of the government’s wider migration reforms. Speaking at the National Migration Conference, Hill said the new dependant rules took effect on … Read more

Pentagon stops using Anthropic AI tools after blacklisting company, BBC told

The US Department of Defence is no longer using Anthropic’s AI tools, an official has told the BBC, months after it designated the company a supply chain risk on national security grounds. The Pentagon “has ceased the use of Anthropic products”, the department official said in a statement on Monday. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth … Read more

Trump taps Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as AI czar

Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton was chosen as the Trump administration’s new AI czar, leading its response to artificial intelligence amid growing concerns about the risks of this rapidly evolving technology. Clayton will lead a new White House task force, which will have 120 days to research and report on AI’s risks and opportunities, … Read more

G7 to release millions of barrels of oil and diesel after Trump threat

The G7 has announced 100 million barrels of oil and diesel will be released to ease supply concerns that have caused prices to skyrocket. It includes a “substantial release” of diesel within 20 days, with discussions around “additional diesel releases as necessary”, G7 leaders said in a statement. The group of advanced economies, including the … Read more

Trump will not win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, but he may influence who does, say experts

OSLO, Oct 1 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump will not win ​this year’s Nobel Peace Prize as he wages war with Iran, but his influence will still be felt by the awarding body ‌that picks the laureate, according to experts. Last year’s award, to Venezuela’s Maria Corina Machado, was unique in the prize’s 125-year … Read more

Zohran Mamdani’s capitalist plan to fix the housing crisis

New York — Real estate developers spent millions to stop Zohran Mamdani from becoming New York City’s mayor, claiming his policies would destroy the city. Mamdani wants their help.Mamdani was elected on a platform of rent freezes and government-backed housing, proposing a $100 billion plan during the campaign to create a Vienna-style social housing model. But his … Read more

Jamie Dimon has a plan to revive the West: A ‘big, beautiful’ deal with Europe

“I believe the U.S. should offer Europe a major inducement: If it executes meaningful economic and military reforms, including everything that we consider crucial for security and resiliency, the U.S. will negotiate one big, beautiful economic and free-trade agreement with Europe,” Dimon wrote in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal published on Monday. … Read more

Đà Nẵng international financial centre joins sustainable finance network

NEW YORK — The Vietnam International Financial Centre in Đà Nẵng (VIFC-DN) has become a member of the Financial Centres for Sustainability (FC4S) network, coordinated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The announcement was made during a working session between a delegation from Đà Nẵng city, led by municipal People’s Committee Chairman Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng, … Read more