US consumers feeling pinch from inflation, high rates
New York — Some US consumers are showing increased signs of stress as inflation and higher interest rates are affecting affordability and leading to financial strain on borrowers, credit scoring company Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO), said on Tuesday.
The overall national FICO score has dipped slightly by about 2 points. About 38.1% of the population scored between 600 and 749 points in 2021, while only 33.8% of the population ranked in these middle ranges in 2025.
Gen Z adults in the US — those now in their teens and 20s — have seen the sharpest decrease in their scores, driven by student loan pressure. Reuters
Trump to appeal ruling over Fed governor’s dismissal
Washington — The Trump administration will appeal the court decision blocking President Donald Trump’s bid to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, the White House said on Tuesday.
“The president lawfully removed Lisa Cook for cause. The administration will appeal this decision and looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said. Reuters
Malta opposes EU on crypto centralisation rules
Paris — Malta’s financial watchdog is opposed to a push by other countries to give the EU’s securities regulator more powers to supervise crypto companies, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.
On Monday, France, Italy and Austria called for the Paris-based European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to take over supervision of major crypto companies, citing concerns that different countries are applying the EU’s new crypto rules differently.
The Malta Financial Services Authority, whose crypto licence-granting process came under scrutiny earlier this year, said that it supported ESMA’s work to create “supervisory convergence” between regulators on crypto, but it didn’t back centralisation. Reuters
Bessent expects TikTok deal at Trump, Xi talks
Washington — US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday he expected a final deal on the short-video app TikTok when President Donald Trump speaks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday.
China had a long list of asks during talks this week in Madrid, Bessent said. He described the negotiations as fulsome and conducted with great respect.
Bessent said Trump made it clear he would let TikTok, which counts 170-million US users, go dark without a deal to switch to US-controlled ownership. However, Trump has extended the deadline to reach a deal on the app three times and was expected to do so a fourth time on the upcoming Wednesday deadline.
Details on the commercial terms with new investors need to be ironed out, Bessent said, declining to elaborate. Reuters
Nigerian troops kill eight Islamic insurgents
Abuja — Nigerian troops killed eight fighters, including senior commanders, from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) during an ambush along a main supply route in the northeast, the military said on Tuesday.
The clash occurred early on Monday near Garin Giwa on the Baga-Cross Kauwa road in Borno state, an area frequently targeted by insurgents aiming to disrupt military operations.
ISWAP fighters attempted to ambush a patrol and troops were able to repel the attackers, the army said in a statement.
Among those killed were ISWAP senior field commander Abu Aisha, Qaid of Tumbun Mota, and two mid-level commanders, known as Munzirs. Several other militants fled with gunshot wounds, according to the statement.
Militants from Boko Haram and its splinter group ISWAP have caused thousands of deaths, widespread displacement and a deepening humanitarian crisis in northeast Nigeria during their attacks on security forces and civilians. Reuters
Hollywood screen legend Robert Redford dies
New York — Actor Robert Redford, a Hollywood screen legend turned director, producer and influential supporter of independent films through his Sundance Institute, died on Tuesday at the age of 89, his publicist said.
Redford passed away at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah surrounded by his loved ones, Cindi Berger, CEO of the publicity firm Rogers & Cowan PMK, said in an email.
Berger did not disclose the cause of death. Reuters
Read more: US movie star Robert Redford dies at 89
Kenyan court charges rhino horn trader again
Nairobi — A Kenyan court on Tuesday charged a man for trading two rhinoceros horns worth 8.2-million Kenyan shillings (R1.1m), nine years after he was jailed for ivory smuggling.
Feisal Mohamed Ali and his co-accused Mohammed Hassan were arrested in the port city of Mombasa last month.
On Tuesday, the pair pleaded not guilty to the charge of dealing in trophies of endangered wildlife species.
Ali was freed on appeal in 2018, two years into a 20-year term for ivory smuggling, over procedural flaws in the case.
Police had accused him of being behind an international poaching syndicate linked to a seizure of tusks from 120 elephants. Reuters
Colombia jails Farc leaders for eight years over kidnappings
Bogota — A Colombian special court on Tuesday sentenced seven former leaders from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) rebels to the maximum of eight years of reparations work for their role in kidnappings for ransom.
The sentences, for the remaining members of the FARC’s secretariat, are the first individual punishments announced by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, which is trying leaders from the FARC and the military for their part in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The special court was established under the terms of a 2016 peace deal. Reuters
Draghi warns EU risks falling further behind
Brussels — The EU is falling further behind global rivals on growth and governments are failing to grasp the urgency to act, former European Central Bank president and Italian prime minister Mario Draghi said on Tuesday.
Draghi, who delivered a far-reaching report on EU competitiveness at the European Commission’s request 12 months ago, said the EU’s growth model was “fading fast”, vulnerabilities were mounting and there was no clear path to financing necessary investments.
Draghi said the bloc had come up with ambitious plans, but it was moving ahead too slowly and governments had “not grasped the gravity of the moment”.
“To carry on as usual is to resign ourselves to falling behind. A different path demands new speed, scale and intensity. It means acting together, not fragmenting our efforts,” he told an audience of EU officials, including European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, in Brussels. Reuters
Swiss complete first tokenised blockchain payment
Bengaluru — Three Swiss banks, including UBS, have carried out a binding payment using bank deposits and a public blockchain for the first time, the Swiss Bankers Association said on Tuesday.
The payment was carried out as part of a feasibility study on the use of deposit tokens by PostFinance, Sygnum Bank and UBS.
“This is something really new,” said Thomas Frei, head of product innovation at Sygnum Bank.
Deposit tokens refer to bank deposits that have been made usable on the blockchain by “tokenising” them. During the study clients sent tokens on the blockchain that represented bank deposits, settling their respective transactions.
“Our tokenised deposits can be used across different banks, which is something that was not there yet,” Frei said. Reuters
Ex-Paramount chair Redstone to head Israel’s Sipur
Bengaluru — Media executive Shari Redstone has been named chair of Israel-based entertainment studio Sipur, which is behind the award-winning documentary We Will Dance Again and Netflix’s Bad Boy.
The company said on Tuesday that the former Paramount chair will work with Sipur’s co-founders, CEO Emilio Schenker and Gideon Tadmor.
Redstone has invested in the production studio alongside Tadmor and Israeli institutional investors Bank HaPoalim and Clal Insurance, Sipur added.
“Not only does Sipur produce high-quality commercial content, the team also brings to life stories that drive conversation, impact and change,” Redstone said in a statement. Reuters
Goldman Sachs’ Abuali to retire after nearly 28 years
Bengaluru/New York — Goldman Sachs’ co-chief of the Middle East and North Africa region, Fadi Abuali, will retire, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
Abuali, a senior executive who spent nearly 28 years at the Wall Street bank, also co-headed the bank’s Asset Management International. He joined Goldman in 1997 as an associate and rejoined in 2001 as an executive director, according to the memo.
The retirement plan was first reported by Bloomberg News.
Goldman appointed Abuali and Zaid Khaldi as co-CEOs for the Middle East and North Africa region almost five years ago. Reuters
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