Russia has evacuated at least 400 soldiers from the Damascus region in recent days in co-ordination with the main rebel faction that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime, an official from the group said. The soldiers had been stationed at the Syrian Army’s notorious Fourth Division headquarters in Qudsayya, a suburb of the capital, Kamal Lababidi, a
Bashar al-Assad’s central bank airlifted around $250mn in cash to Moscow in a two-year period when the then Syrian dictator was indebted to the Kremlin for military support and his relatives were secretly buying assets in Russia. The Financial Times has uncovered records showing that Assad’s regime, while desperately short of foreign currency, flew banknotes
Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. November’s roundup of pressing items in the public finance market includes expert predictions following Donald Trump’s reelection, the prospect of involving the Securities and Exchange Commission to oversee issuer disclosure and more. Click here to read October’s grouping of top news. Eifel
Orlando Health senior vice president of finance John Miller said offering the bonds in one state rather than two states will save his company bond counsel and other fees. The Orange County, Florida, Health Facilities Authority will offer $1.4 billion of hospital revenue bonds for Orlando Health the week of January 13. OCHFA will sell
Mortgage rates fell again last week, and while the drop wasn’t huge, it was enough to spur current homeowners to look for some savings. The surge in refinances was behind a 5.4% increase in total mortgage demand compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. The average contract interest
A view of the St. Augustine’s University campus with downtown Raleigh, North Carolina in the background.St. Augustine’s University A controversial, high interest-rate loan is helping one of the oldest historically Black colleges in the country, Saint Augustine’s University, stay afloat – for now. After struggling for years to maintain steady enrollment, the Raleigh, North Carolina-based
Tal Alexander (L) and Oren Alexander (R). Getty Images Federal prosecutors accused top real estate agents Tal and Oren Alexander and their brother, Alon, of drugging and raping “dozens of victims” over more than a decade. The brothers were arrested in Miami Wednesday on sex trafficking charges related to the alleged assaults. They face charges of
“What we’re looking at for 2025 is a few warning lights on the dashboard that there could be some stress on state budgets in the next year,” said Tim Storey, CEO at the National Council of State Legislatures.   ”I’ve seen five to seven states that are saying, ‘we’re starting to project slower revenue growth, perhaps even
General Motors said on Tuesday that it will restructure its autonomous driving subsidiary, Cruise, so that it focuses on making cars to sell to individuals, rather than developing a robotaxi business. The Detroit carmaker said the move would lower spending by $1bn annually, compared to trying to engineer, build, maintain and operate a fleet of
Vivek Ramaswamy, chairman and co-founder of Strive Asset Management, far left, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk met with Republican lawmakers on Dec. 5, 2024 about efforts to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget.Al Drago/Bloomberg California’s publicly funded high-speed rail project, a favorite target of Congressional Republicans, faces a fresh threat when President-elect Donald Trump
Days before last year’s presidential election in Argentina, supermarket worker Emir Gullo was excited about the idea of a madman as president. “He’s crazy,” Gullo said admiringly at a rally for libertarian economist and then-candidate Javier Milei on the outskirts of Buenos Aires in late 2023, noting his eccentric image, unconventional ideas and lack of
Oklahoma Treasurer Gentner Drummond, pictured criticized State Treasurer Todd Russ for fumbling the defense of the state’s anti-ESG law.Oklahoma attorney general’s office Oklahoma’s legal fight to reinstate its “anti-ESG” law will continue amid a public squabble between two elected officials who support the law. Oklahoma’s Energy Discrimination Elimination Act of 2022 prohibits state and local