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No time for complacency, warn European regulators

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:52 GMT

PARIS — Europe may have dodged the worst of the banking crisis but regulators at the POLITICO Finance Summit warned now is not the time for complacency.One of the conference’s prominent speakers, Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras, cautioned against raising interest rates too quickly in the wake of the collapse of Credit Suisse and Californian lender Silicon Valley Bank.“A financial crisis can spread very quickly like a fire in the hole so we have to be careful — this makes me feel we should be more prudent than before,” he said at Thursday’s event in Paris. “Inflation still remains a problem and is much higher than the ECB target” of 2 percent, even if “it is falling.”He used a quotation from Aristotle to get his point across about the financial system: The whole is sometimes greater than the sum of the parts. Minutes before Stournaras took the stage, the Swiss National Bank raised interest rates by half a percentage point to 1.5 percent. Later in the day, ...

UK pitches for financial services cooperation with the EU

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:52 GMT

PARIS — The U.K. is pushing to work with the EU on financial services regulation now that an agreement on post-Brexit trade with Northern Ireland has been struck, Andrew Griffith, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, told the POLITICO Finance Summit in Paris today.The outreach opens the door to the signing “very quickly” of the Memorandum of Understanding agreed with the EU in principle in 2021 but never concluded, the minister said.“That will give us the framework to have the very closest dialogue with the partners who represent a very significant part of our U.K. financial markets,” Griffith said.Across Europe, some governments feared Britain would use Brexit as an excuse to dilute its regulatory framework in an effort to win more business, and open the door to a second “big bang” to charge its economy — a reference to the original deregulation regime put forward by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.But Griffith said he was comfortab...

Cargo train derailment involving several cars under investigation in Ayer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:52 GMT

Several train cars carrying cargo in Ayer went off the tracks on Thursday, leaving multiple, large containers on their side.Emergency crews could be seen surveying the damage around noontime after multiple freight train cars derailed, while several others were left leaning off the tracks.A SKY7 camera spotted at least five cargo cars completely off the rails, with some of the large, blue containers they were carrying landing close to a nearby road.Authorities have not yet said whether there were any injuries.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Train derails in Ayer, fire department tells people to avoid area of Sculley Road

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:52 GMT

A train has derailed in Ayer, prompting local authorities to advise that people avoid the area of Sculley Road.The Ayer Fire Department said in a Facebook post at 12:13 p.m. that the scene is an “active incident” near Sculley Road and that the “railroad cars involved do NOT contain hazardous materials.”“We are working with officials from the railroad, Ayer Police Department and Ayer Department of Public Works to mitigate this incident,” the department said in the post. “Please avoid the area.”

Stocks rise, recover nearly all of steep loss from prior day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:52 GMT

By STAN CHOE (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rallying Thursday to recover almost all of their steep loss from a day before, when markets tumbled into the close. The S&P 500 was 1.5% higher in midday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 393 points, or 1.2%, at 32,423, as of noon Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 2.1% higher. A day earlier, stocks fell sharply after the Federal Reserve indicated that while the end may be near for its market-rattling hikes to interest rates, it still doesn’t expect to cut rates this year. Markets lost momentum after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that, along with an insistence that it could keep raising rates if inflation stays high. But traders on Thursday were still largely betting the Fed will cut rates later this year. Such cuts can act like steroids for markets, juicing prices for stocks, bonds and other investments. They would relax the pressure on the economy, but they could also give inflatio...

These are the top 5 dog names in San Diego

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:52 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- In honor of National Puppy Day on March 23, doggy day care and boarding franchise Camp Bow Wow has released its annual list of top dog names.The canine care provider creates its annual list by analyzing its nationwide database of nearly 400,000 four-legged campers. According to their data, there five names that San Diegans prefer for their Southern California pooches. Dog matching description of canine abandoned at shelter found, dies Here's a list of the top five dog names for pet owners in America's Finest City:(Graphic released by Camp Bow Wow)According to Camp Bow Wow, the majority of the West Coast, East Coast and central states, including Texas, favored the name Luna the most. Based on their data, only six states didn't have Luna as their top dog name. Several people, dogs escape North County house fire Camp Bow Wow’s Animal Health and Behavioral Expert Erin Askeland says it's important to carefully choose your dog's name because it will be used for training...

$5.7M in narcotics seized at San Diego port of entries over 3-day span: CBP

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:52 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Almost $6 million in narcotics were seized at San Diego port of entries last weekend in three major smuggling attempts, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Where to find a Narcan vending machine in San Diego First seizure The first seizure occurred on Friday around 10:20 a.m. when a 25-year-old woman who was in possession of a valid entry document was removed from her vehicle for further inspection. CBP said officers observed several packages concealed in her vehicle after a K-9 alerted to the trunk area.CBP said officers scanned the vehicle utilizing the port’s imaging system, which is similar to an X-ray, and they noticed irregularities in the seats and floor. After further inspection of the vehicle, CBP said they found 33 packages of methamphetamine hidden in the seats, floor and firewall. The total weight of the narcotics seizure was reported to be slightly more than 201 pounds. Officials did not confirm which port of entry this was at. A look back in time:...

EU leaders endorse joint ammo purchases for Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:52 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders have endorsed a plan for sending Ukraine 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition within the next 12 months to help the country counter Russia’s invasion forces.EU foreign and defense ministers approved the plan for a fast-track purchasing procedure earlier this week, and the leaders of the bloc’s 27 member nations gave it their political blessing at a summit in Brussels Thursday.“Taking into account the security and defense interests of all member states, the European Council welcomes the agreement … to deliver ground-to-ground and artillery ammunition to Ukraine and, if requested, missiles,” the meeting’s conclusions on Ukraine read.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders were poised Thursday to endorse a plan for sending Ukraine 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition within the next 12 months to help the country counter Russia’s invasion forces.EU foreign and defense min...

California may punish oil companies for high gas prices

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:52 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers on Thursday will vote on whether to allow penalties on oil companies for price gouging at the pump, a first-in-the-country proposal aimed at stopping the kind of spikes last summer that caused some drivers pay up to $8 per gallon as the industry reaped super-sized profits.Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat seen as a possible presidential candidate beyond 2024, has used all of his political muscle to get the bill this far by making in-person pleas with state lawmakers in private ahead of Thursday’s first vote in the state Senate.The oil industry has pushed back, paying for a wave of digital ads that have labeled any potential penalty as a tax — an idea more likely to be scorned by voters. But they have failed to stop the bill, which after months of stagnating in the Democratic-controlled Legislature is now racing through the process with the Senate vote followed by a final vote in the state Assembly likely next week.The bill highlights ...

Fetterman expected back ‘soon,’ but no certain timeline yet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:52 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman’s office said Thursday that he is expected to return soon to the chamber, although Democratic leaders are giving no timeline five weeks after he sought inpatient treatment for clinical depression.Fetterman, 53, was weeks into his service in Washington and still recovering from the aftereffects of the stroke he had last May during his campaign when he checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Feb. 15.Aides said at the time that Fetterman had not been his usual self for weeks. He was withdrawn, showing a disinterest in talking, eating and the usual banter with aides. Post-stroke depression is common and treatable, doctors say.Asked about when Fetterman might return, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said only that Fetterman is recuperating.“We want to give him the space to recuperate,” Schumer said at a Wednesday news conference. “He needs it, it’s fair, it’s right. There a...