Washington Financial News

South Korea’s financial regulators are taking “baby steps” while US counterparts forge ahead with rapid crypto regulation progress, a new report has claimed.

By Gram Slattery, James Oliphant and Nathan Layne

Dividend kings are distinguished by their remarkable track record of consistently paying dividends to shareholders for an impressive span of at least 50 consecutive years. These companies not only distribute dividends regularly but also exhibit a commendable trend of consistently increasing them.

By Valerie Insinna and David Shepardson

election politics, what stands between Donald Trump's Second Gig at the big white house with pillars in Washington and him opening skilling centres in Maga-rage is the last non-Don Republican standing: Nikki Haley. By the time you are reading this, New Hampshire will have conducted its first Republican primary to make its choice of whom to send as proto-Potus.

Iraqi airline Fly Baghdad is denying U.S. allegations that have resulted in it being hit with sanctions from the Treasury Department

Federal officials are recommending that airlines inspect the door plugs on more Boeing 737s after one of the panel blew off a Boeing jet in midflight

A Filipino fishing boat captain is protesting the Chinese coast guard’s aggression in the disputed South China Sea where he asserts that Chinese officers forcibly drove him and his men away from a disputed shoal

Kamala Harris was not Joe Biden's first choice as his running mate because he knew that she was not up to the job. He preferred Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as his running mate in 2020 but succumbed to public pressure. Veteran Washington journalist Charlie Spiering has made this startling revelation in his book 'Amateur Hour: Kamala Harris in the White House'. He has written in the book that Biden chose Harris days before that year’s virtual Democratic National Convention after promising to select a woman. He also wrote that Biden chose Kamala Harris under pressure from former President Barack Obama.

Yemen's Huthis on Tuesday over their attacks on Red Sea shipping, as the Iran-backed rebels vowed to hit back. The latest raids, heard by residents of the rebel-held capital Sanaa around midnight (2100 GMT), hit eight Huthi targets, a joint US-UK statement said, while the Huthis listed 18 strikes across their territory. US and British forces carried out a first wave of strikes against the rebel group earlier this month, and the United States launched further air raids against missiles that Washington said posed imminent threats to both civilian and military vessels. But the Huthis have vowed to continue their attacks — just one part of a growing crisis in the Middle East linked to the Israel-Hamas war, which has raised fears of a broader war directly involving Iran. The latest strikes were against «eight Huthi targets in Yemen in response to the Huthis' continued attacks against international and commercial shipping as well as naval vessels transiting the Red Sea», Washington and London said in a joint statement with other countries that supported the military action. «These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Huthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent mariners,» the statement said. The US Central Command said in a separate statement that the targets of the strikes «included missile systems and launchers, air defence systems, radars, and deeply buried weapons storage facilities». — Attacks won't go 'unpunished' - British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the Huthis had carried out more than 12 attacks on shipping since the first wave of joint strikes on January 11. «What we have done again is send the clearest possible message that we will

By David Shepardson

ElevenLabs has gained unicorn status after its latest round of fundraising, a person familiar with the matter said, as surging investor interest for generative AI technology sends startup valuations soaring. ElevenLabs on Monday said it raised $80 million in Series B funding from investors led by venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz along with entrepreneurs Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross, with participation from Sequoia Capital among others.

tightened restrictions on the sale of American semiconductors to China. But Nvidia, the world’s most valuable chipmaker, had immediately started developing a new, slightly less powerful artificial-intelligence (AI) chip for the Chinese market, to which the restrictions would not apply. “If you redesign a chip…that enables [China] to do AI, I’m going to control it the very next day," Ms Raimondo warned.

multi-layer security cover is in place in Ayodhya for the consecration ceremony, with 10,000 CCTV cameras and drones equipped with artificial intelligence keeping an eye on the movement of people. Police personnel in plain clothes have been deployed at the venue. While more than 7,000 people are on the list of invitees for the event, the select list features 506 A-listers.

By Gram Slattery and James Oliphant

“axis of resistance" and Israel and America engage in ever more dangerous strikes on each other, including assassinations. Iranian allies in Iraq and Syria have launched about 140 rocket and drone attacks against American troops since the start of the Gaza war. Perhaps the most severe came on January 20th, with a volley of “multiple ballistic missiles and rockets" fired at the Al Asad base in western Iraq, according to America’s Central Command.

DUBAI—The U.S., Egypt and Qatar are pushing Israel and Hamas to join a phased diplomatic process that would start with a release of hostages and, eventually, lead to a withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to the war in Gaza, diplomats involved in mediating the talks said. Neither side in the conflict has agreed to the terms of the new proposal—which includes steps at odds with the stated positions of Israel and Hamas. Taher Al-Nono, a media adviser to Hamas, said there was no real progress, and Israeli officials didn’t respond to a request for comment.

consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is set to take place on Monday in a grand ceremony. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the "Pran Pratishtha" ceremony, which commences at 12:20 pm and concludes by 1 pm.

The federal agency in charge of emergency management is changing its program that helps those who survive wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters

North Korea said Sunday it has agreed to further strategic and tactical cooperation with Russia to establish a «new multi-polarised international order,» as the two countries work to build a united front in the face of their separate, intensifying tensions with the United States. In describing North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui's meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minster Sergey Lavrov in Moscow last week, the North's Foreign Ministry said Putin also reaffirmed his willingness to visit Pyongyang and said that could come at an «early date.» North Korea has been actively strengthening its ties with Russia, highlighted by leader Kim Jong Un's September visit to Russia for a summit with Putin.

Iraq launched multiple rockets and ballistic missiles on Saturday (local time) targeting Washington's al-Assad Airbase in Western Iraq, said US Central Command. CENTCOM said that several US personnel are undergoing evaluation for «traumatic brain injuries» and at least one Iraqi service member was wounded in the attack. «At approximately 6:30 pm (Baghdad time) time Jan. 20, multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were launched by Iranian-backed militants in Western Iraq targeting al-Assad Airbase.