Sri Lanka unilaterally suspends external debt payments, says needs money for essentials

Sri Lanka’s central bank said on Tuesday it had become “challenging and impossible” to repay external debt, as it tries to use its dwindling foreign exchange reserves to import essentials like fuel.
U.S. yields near 3-year high, euro stronger after French election

U.S. Treasury yields rose to multi-year highs on Monday, while the euro strengthened and the spread between French and German bond yields narrowed after French President Emmanuel Macron won a larger than expected vote share in Sunday’s election
Oil slides on release of strategic reserves and China lockdowns

Oil prices dropped by more than $2 a barrel on Monday after a second straight weekly decline on plans to release record volumes of crude and oil products from strategic stocks and on continuing coronavirus lockdowns in China.
SocGen quits Russia with sale of Rosbank to oligarch Potanin

French bank Societe Generale said on Monday it would quit Russia with a deal to sell its stake in Rosbank to Interros Capital, a firm linked to Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin, the head of mining giant Norilsk Nickel
Exclusive: Senior EU officials were targeted with Israeli spyware

Senior officials at the European Commission were targeted last year with spy software designed by an Israeli surveillance firm, according to two EU officials and documentation reviewed by Reuters.
Rouble falls sharply as Russia relaxes some capital controls

The Russian rouble weakened sharply in jittery trade on Monday, reversing some of the previous week’s gains, after the central bank decided to relax temporary capital control measures aimed at limiting a drop in the currency.
Dollar index touches 100 for first time in nearly two years

The U.S. dollar index strengthened to 100 for the first time in nearly two years on Friday, supported by the prospect of a more aggressive pace of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.
EXCLUSIVE Trafigura set to take zinc out of LME system, fuelling concern -sources

Commodity trader Trafigura and other firms are moving to take large amounts of zinc out of London Metal Exchange approved warehouses in Asia, sources familiar with the matter said, fuelling concern about more problems at the exchange after chaotic nickel trading last month.
Analysis: Samsung’s reputation hit as prices slashed at home for new premium phone

Samsung Electronics’ (005930.KS) flagship Galaxy S22 smartphone has taken a battering from reports of hobbled performance and has seen carriers halve its price at home in South Korea just weeks since its launch, hurting its image as an iPhone rival.
Russian gas flows to Europe dip in line with customer requests

Russian gas deliveries to Europe via the Yamal-Europe pipeline reversed direction to flow from Germany to Poland on Thursday morning and supplies via Ukraine also eased, all in line with requests from customers.