Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

On Sept. 16, the Federal Reserve tightened short-term monetary policy while leaving its reserve-management toolkit in place. The Federal Open Market Committee raised the federal-funds target range by a quarter point to 3.75%–4.00% and continued its policy of maintaining ample bank reserves.The accompanying implementation directive set the interest rate paid on reserve balances at 3.90%, effective Sept. 17. It also retained conditional authority for the New York Fed trading desk to buy Treasury bills and, if needed, other Treasuries with no more than three years remaining to maintain ample reserves.Each action serves a separate function. A higher administered rate transmits…

For the second year in a row, Antarctica’s industrial krill fishing fleet halted operations ahead of schedule after reaching its seasonal catch limit.  The vessels had been harvesting the tiny shrimp-like crustaceans from waters around the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Orkney Islands, located about 400 miles north of the peninsula. Under current rules, the fleet must stop fishing once it collectively harvests 620,000 tons of krill.  The precautionary threshold is intended to support the fishery’s long-term sustainability and was established in the 1990s by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which manages commercial fishing activity…

Hornbeck Offshore Services, which recently merged with Helix Energy Solutions, has secured a multi-year decommissioning contract set to commence in the North Sea next year.Well Enhancer. Source: Helix Energy Solutions The contract by a “major operator” was awarded to the company’s subsidiary Helix Well Ops (U.K.) and will have a duration of two years, with customer options to extend, starting in the second quarter of 2027. Hornbeck will perform riserless plug and abandonment (P&A) operations utilizing either the Well Enhancer or Seawell riserless well intervention vessels (RWIVs). The company will also deliver a fully integrated solution, including the vessel, a…

Two Oregon lawmakers want to end an unusual exemption in the state’s records law that has kept the public from learning how hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money is spent on subsidized housing — and the effort has already landed key industry support. Rep. Pam Marsh, chair of Oregon’s House Committee on Housing and Homelessness, told ProPublica that she plans to introduce legislation next year to eliminate a law that shields key details of state spending on low-income housing. The southern Oregon Democrat said she didn’t realize the documents were being kept secret until reading about it in…

If North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets U.S. President Donald Trump later this year, one of the most consequential decisions may be who accompanies him—especially if, as seems probable, it’s his daughter Kim Ju Ae. Ju Ae, who is believed to be around 13 years old, has become a familiar presence since her first public appearance in state media at a missile launch in November 2022. She has since appeared at military parades, weapons tests, cultural events, and meetings with foreign visitors. In September 2025, Kim took her to Beijing—her first publicly confirmed trip abroad—where he attended China’s military…

Carney calls for closer strategic autonomy, trade, student mobility ties with EuropeCarney now speaks in more detail about what he thinks should come from Canada’s new, strong relationship with the EU.He says Canada and Europe “should secure our strategic autonomy through deep cooperation in the full range of strategic capabilities, including critical minerals, defence, industrial capacity, AI and compute, energy, security, space and payments.”He wants the two sides to “move towards seamless digital trade and non-agricultural goods and a wide range of services.”He also says he wants to see deeper people to people ties, “allowing our youth to work, study…

During the trip, Jukes was asked what a Reform government would want from a polling company and replied: “Showing that we’re winning,” according to the same person.  JL Partners director James Johnson shared several pictures of the Egypt excursion on social media, but Jukes did not appear in any of them. A spokesperson for JL Partners said that Jukes had been invited in a personal capacity and, like other guest speakers, had expenses covered, adding: “Anyone familiar with these sorts of events will know that no inference can reasonably be drawn from the participation of any individual speaker.” A Reform UK…

Back in July, the government lost a Senedd vote on extra spending plans after failing to strike a deal with Welsh Labour. Plaid and Welsh Labour are currently holding fresh budget negotiations around this year’s supplementary budget and next year’s full budget.In an interview with BBC Walescast, Welsh Labour Leader Ken Skates said: “It appears they’re looking at using Flying Start money to pay for something they never costed during the election or in their manifesto, the childcare offer, which will benefit a lot of middle class and upper class families.”But it’s going to be people and children who benefit…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.HSBC is ending its $38,000 school fee subsidy for new hires in Hong Kong, phasing out a longstanding perk that the UK bank had used to attract senior staff to the Asian financial hub.Locally hired employees and those transferred from elsewhere would not be eligible for a subsidy to cover their children’s school fees, the bank’s Asia co-heads told staff in a memo on Thursday, according to an HSBC spokesperson.Existing staff at the director level and above who currently receive the perk…

The Toronto International Film Festival is a place to go to see the future of film, but this year it also provided a glimpse at what is coming very soon in the realm of streaming. Four different streamers — Peacock, Netflix, Amazon, and AMC — all premiered early looks at upcoming horror-adjacent series that are dropping very soon. And by doing it at TIFF, they showed just how important the month of October has become in the realm of streaming.Perhaps the most high-profile is Carrie, which is coming to Prime Video. An adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel, which…