Author: admin@primenews

UK-based banking giant HSBC says its quarterly profits jumped to $7.7bn (£6.35bn), boosted by higher interest rates. That is as the firm’s pre-tax profit for the period to the end of September more than doubled from a year earlier. “We have had three consecutive quarters of strong financial performance”, group chief executive Noel Quinn said in a statement. However, that was still lower than the $8.1bn profit expected by analysts. The bank also announced a plan to buy back another $3bn of its shares from investors, as well as a new dividend payout to shareholders. That brings HSBC’s total share…

A major military and police search is under way in Colombia for the father of Liverpool player Luis Diaz, with the authorities offering a £40,000 reward for information leading to his rescue. More than 120 soldiers, plus police, searched northern Colombia for Luis Manuel Diaz on Sunday, with reports armed men had taken him and his wife. The player’s mother, Cilenis Marulanda, was found in Barrancas on Saturday. Diaz was absent from the Liverpool side which beat Nottingham Forest on Sunday. In a statement, the army said it had set up roadblocks and deployed two motorised platoons, unmanned aircraft, helicopters and…

At least 13 people have died and about 50 are injured after two passenger trains collided in India’s southern Andhra Pradesh state on Sunday. A rescue operation was launched and hundreds of emergency workers were at the site to clear the wreckage. Officials said a preliminary investigation has found that a “human error” had led to the collision. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences and said he was in touch with the railways minister. The crash took place in the Vizianagaram district on Sunday evening. Officials said three carriages of a passenger train, travelling between Visakhapatnam and Palasa, derailed…

The Fed’s fight against inflation is about to enter a new phase, but the central bank’s enormous balance sheet will continue to play a key role. Over the span of about a year and a half, the Fed aggressively raised interest rates to their highest level in 22 years. That’s the Fed’s most famous tool to keep inflation in check and maximize employment — which are its two fundamental functions as mandated by Congress. But that’s not the only tool available to the central bank as it currently fights inflation. The Fed also manages a multi-trillion-dollar balance sheet that accounts…

Touching the side of his neck gingerly, 30-year-old Withawat Kunwong reveals a jagged network of scars he received after being attacked at a poultry farm where he had been working in southern Israel. The wound, Kunwong says, is a painful reminder of the fear and trauma he endured on October 7 when thousands of Hamas fighters broke through Israel’s border defenses in an unprecedented surprise attack. The farm he had been working on was located in the Holit kibbutz, an agrarian community near the Gaza Strip. He was livestreaming from the farm when loud explosions were heard and thick black…

A Hong Kong court has dropped charges against an American politician who turned himself in to customs authorities after bringing a gun into the city’s airport in what he called “an honest mistake.” Washington State Senator Stephen Jeff Wilson appeared at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court on Monday and was acquitted of “possession of arms without a license.” Instead he was given a 24-month “bind-over” where the charge was withdrawn and the defendant agreed to a good behavior order. Wilson’s firearm was also confiscated. Both prosecution and defense lawyers argued that this was a special case, citing Wilson’s self-declaration at…

Apple is set to host its second product event of the season, a month after introducing its new iPhone 15 lineup. The event, which is online-only, will kick off on Monday at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT, an unusually late start-time for Apple keynotes. Some analysts said the decision to hold an evening event may underline the fact that this likely won’t be one of Apple’s bigger announcements of the year. The event’s tagline — “scary fast” — is an apparent nod to the likely unveiling of its next-generation silicon chip, M3, as well as Halloween. The company is expected…

Lyon have warned an “even more serious tragedy” could occur if action is not taken after manager Fabio Grosso was “seriously injured” in an attack on the team’s bus in Marseille. The Ligue 1 match was postponed after the Lyon bus was hit by rocks on its way to Stade Velodrome on Sunday. Lyon said Grosso and assistant Raffaele Longo were struck by projectiles and had sustained facial injuries. Marseille said it “deplores the unacceptable incidents”. Six visiting supporter coaches were also targeted before the game between 10th-placed Marseille and bottom-of-the table Lyon, which had been due to kick off…

Israel has urged Russia to protect “all its citizens and all Jews” after a large mob, some shouting antisemitic slogans, stormed a Dagestan airport. Video footage on social media showed an angry crowd running through the airport in Makhachkala, reportedly seeking people arriving from Tel Aviv. Some of the crowd ran onto the runway and surrounded aircraft there. Russia’s aviation agency Rosaviatsia said security forces later brought the situation under control. The authorities closed the airport and it will stay closed until Tuesday, Rosaviatsia says. Earlier it had envisaged a week-long temporary closure. Video clips showed hundreds of people storming…

Former basketball star Magic Johnson has been declared a billionaire by Forbes, making him only the fourth athlete to join the exclusive club. The business magazine estimates Johnson’s wealth at about $1.2bn (£990m). The other athlete billionaires are NBA players Michael Jordan and Lebron James, and the golfer Tiger Woods. Johnson has investments in numerous companies including ownership stakes in various sports teams. But Forbes says his stake in a life insurance company holds most of his wealth. The 64-year-old had one of the most iconic careers in NBA history before retiring in 1996, but it was outside of sport…