SYDNEY () -Australia's government on Wednesday trimmed its likely budget deficit for the current fiscal year, but flagged bigger shortfalls ahead due to "unavoidable spending" on health, cost-of-living relief and veterans care. Facing a tough election next year, the centre-left Labor government said the economy had slowed under the weight of high interest rates and

By Rishav Chatterjee () -Australia's Insignia Financial has rejected Bain Capital's A$2.67 billion ($1.69 billion) takeover bid, saying the offer does not provide fair value to its shareholders, creating a barrier for the buyout giant's Asia expansion plans. Bain had earlier in the month offered A$4 apiece for the 178-year-old money manager, reigniting a strong

By Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON () - The chairman of a leading U.S. banking regulator said Tuesday his agency is considering legal action against six former officers and eleven former directors of Silicon Valley Bank. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Martin Gruenberg said in a statement that the agency was considering suing the former bank executives

By Andreas Rinke and Matthias Williams BERLIN () - Germany's main political parties presented their competing plans on Tuesday for lifting Europe's largest economy out of the doldrums as campaigning kicked off for a snap election on Feb. 23. The election, triggered after Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition collapsed last month amid arguments

By David Ljunggren OTTAWA () - Canadian Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is under increasing pressure to quit after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned over a policy clash on Monday, setting up one of the worst crises of his nine years in power. Here are some potential ways forward for Canada: CAN TRUDEAU BE FORCED

WASHINGTON () -Elon Musk and SpaceX face at least three federal reviews over whether they have complied with federal reporting rules aimed at protecting national security, the New York Times (NYSE:) reported on Tuesday. Reviews have been initiated by the Air Force, the Defense Department's inspector general and the undersecretary of defense for intelligence and

By Katharine Jackson and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON () -U.S. congressional negotiators reached a tentative deal on Tuesday on a stopgap funding bill to avert a partial government shutdown, provide about $100 billion in fresh disaster aid and $10 billion in economic aid to farmers, Republican lawmakers said. A Democratic source familiar with the talks confirmed

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON () -U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in November as households stepped up purchases of motor vehicles and online merchandise, consistent with strong underlying momentum in the economy as the year winds down. The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday had no impact on expectations that the Federal Reserve

By David Ljunggren OTTAWA () -Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is reflecting on complaints by legislators from the ruling Liberal Party who are unhappy that Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland quit, a close ally said on Tuesday. Separately, one Liberal parliamentarian said Trudeau was "delusional" if he thought he could fight the next election, which is

WASHINGTON () - U.S. manufacturing production rebounded less than expected in November as the boost from motor vehicle output was partially offset by persistent weakness in the aerospace industry, despite the end of a crippling strike by factory workers at Boeing (NYSE:). Factory output increased 0.2% last month after a downwardly revised 0.7% decline in