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Reuters
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Top Washington lawyer creates new firm to defend officials targeted by Trump
May 2 (Reuters) - A prominent lawyer in Washington who defended Hunter Biden against criminal charges has launched a new law firm to represent former government officials and others targeted by the Trump administration. Abbe Lowell left his large law firm Winston & Strawn to launch Lowell & Associates, which will defend clients including individuals, institutions and others that are "facing politicized investigations, civil and administrative actions," the firm said in a Friday statement. here. The new firm also includes two former lawyers at Skadden Arps who quit over its response to President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting the legal profession. Skadden is one of nine firms that cut deals with the administration to avoid the Republican president's crackdown on the legal industry. Four other firms have sued to block Trump's orders, which restricted their business over the president's claims that they had "weaponized" the legal system against him or his allies. One of the ex-Skadden lawyers, Rachel Cohen, said there is a need for attorneys "willing to stand up to the government when it oversteps." Two other lawyers are also joining the new firm from Winston & Strawn. Lowell is representing New York Attorney General Letitia James after the Trump administration referred her to the Justice Department for allegedly falsifying real estate records. James has denied the allegations. The new firm said it is also representing clients fighting the cancellation of grant funding by the Department of Government Efficiency and the federal government. Lowell represented Hunter Biden, former Democratic President Joe Biden's son, against criminal gun and tax changes before he was pardoned in December. His clients have also included former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. The new firm comes amid a broader effort to mount and sustain legal challenges to the Trump administration. There are more than 200 lawsuits opposing key Trump policy initiatives, including efforts to curtail transgender and immigrant rights, and eliminating agency and grant funding. Advocacy group Democracy Forward, which has filed more than 50 legal actions since the election, said this week it had hired Brian Netter, a former partner at Mayer Brown and a top attorney in the Biden-era U.S. Justice Department. Netter said in a statement that he was joining the organization during "what may be the most consequential moment in the history of the U.S. courts." Reporting by Sara Merken and Mike Scarcella; Editing by David Bario and Alistair Bell Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Reuters
02-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
DOGE expands presence at Wall St regulator, sources say
Elon Musk looks on during the day of a meeting with House Republicans to discuss the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 5, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab May 2 (Reuters) - Presidential adviser Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is expanding its presence at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by adding a third staff member, according to people familiar with the matter. Since March DOGE has been scrutinizing agency contracting and organizational charts for more possible cuts and restructuring. The SEC has shed at least 16% of its staff, largely through the Trump administration's voluntary buyouts. Make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments with the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter. Sign up here. The SEC and the White House did not answer specific questions from Reuters. The SEC repeated prior statements that it was co-operating with DOGE to find cost savings while the White House said newly-installed Chairman Paul Atkins was committed to maintaining "fair, orderly, and efficient markets while protecting everyday investors." Led by Elie Mishory, a former top lawyer at the prediction markets company Kalshi, DOGE's staff at the SEC has since been joined by Jonathan Mendelson, according to two of the sources. Mishory reports to Chair Atkins' office, according to internal records seen by Reuters. Mishory and Mendelson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. During confirmation testimony, Atkins told the Senate he would work with DOGE to create efficiencies. Since President Donald Trump returned to power, the White House has slashed the federal workforce in a bid to reduce what it says is wasteful spending. The staff exodus so far has depleted divisions that oversee oversight functions at the regulator, prompting worry from some observers that the losses will hinder the SEC's performance in detecting fraud and promoting financial stability. Reporting by Douglas Gillison in Washington and Chris Prentice in New York; Editing by Freya Whitworth Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Chris Prentice Thomson Reuters Chris Prentice reports on financial crimes, with a focus on securities enforcement matters. She previously covered commodities markets and trade policy. She has received awards for her work from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing and the Newswomen's Club of New York.
Reuters
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Trans women could face challenges in men's game, says British trans woman player
May 2 (Reuters) - Natalie Washington, a British transgender woman who plays women's football, said the Football Association's move to ban trans women from the sport could force many transgender women out of football completely. Washington, who is also the campaign lead for the group Football v Transphobia, said returning to men's football would be potentially unsafe and mentally challenging. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. Transgender women will be banned from playing in women's soccer in England from June 1 after the FA changed its policy following a UK Supreme Court ruling that only biological women met the legal definition of a woman under equality laws. The governing body said they were in the process of contacting registered transgender women currently playing in England to explain the changes and how they can continue to stay involved in the game. The Scottish FA has also banned transgender women from women's football. Washington, one of around 28 trans women registered to play amateur football in England, told the BBC the policy change was shocking. "It is a de facto ban for transgender women from football more generally, realistically, particularly people who have been playing in women's football for decades," the 41-year-old said in an interview on Thursday. "It's going to be very mentally challenging and actually potentially physically dangerous for those people to go back and play in the men's game - if they ever even did play in the men's game. "So really this is pushing those people out of football altogether." Washington, who has undergone genital reconstruction surgery, previously played in a men's league but joined a women's team in 2017, the BBC said. "I didn't feel it was a safe place to transition," she said of men's football. "The effect that hormones have had means when I do play an occasional five-a-side kickabout with men, I don't feel like I can compete with men my sort of age and with similar physical characteristics." The FA had allowed transgender women to play in the women's game as long as they kept their testosterone levels below 5 nanomoles per litre (n/mol) for at least 12 months. Former chairman of the FA David Triesman, told local media there should be "consequences for the most senior FA officers" who took the decision to previously allow transgender women in women's soccer. "The FA has finally seen sense. It would have been the utmost foolishness to disregard the Supreme Court," he said. Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Kate Mayberry Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Reuters
30-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Amundi CEO says UniCredit accounts for about 100 billion euros in assets under management
A logo of Amundi is seen outside the company headquarters in Paris, France, February 3, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab PARIS, April 30 (Reuters) - UniCredit ( opens new tab accounts for roughly half of Amundi's ( opens new tab assets under management (AUM) in Italy, as the leading distributor for the French asset manager in its biggest foreign market, Amundi CEO Valérie Baud said. KEY QUOTE "The UniCredit networks ... represent around 100 billion euros out of our more than 2,250 billion euros in outstanding (AUM) today," Baudson said. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. "We organised around 3,000 meetings with UniCredit group advisers ... and we launched almost 30 funds for UniCredit in 2024 too. So that shows the extent of our relationship and, moreover, the customer satisfaction... (is) excellent." WHY IT MATTERS The distribution accord between UniCredit and Amundi, which runs out in 2027, could become either a bargaining chip or a bone of contention, with Amundi's parent company Credit Agricole ( opens new tab set to play a key role in UniCredit's takeover plans for Banco BPM ( opens new tab. Credit Agricole CEO Philippe Brassac said on Wednesday the French bank "would decide in a few weeks" whether to tender its BPM stake under the bid. CONTEXT Credit Agricole became a BPM investor in 2022 after a previous aborted takeover attempt by UniCredit and is now its biggest shareholder, with a near 20% stake. The French bank is keen to protect its commercial partnerships in Italy, which include the UniCredit contract struck by Amundi in 2017, when it paid 3.6 billion euros to buy the Italian bank's fund business. BY THE NUMBERS Amundi had 198 billion euros in AUM in Italy at the end of March, one fifth of its total in France and down from 208 billion euros at the end of 2024. ($1 = 0.8809 euros) Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Writing by Valentina Za; Editing by Kirsten Donovan Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Reuters
29-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Booking Holdings posts upbeat quarterly results helped by international travel
app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken February 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab April 29 (Reuters) - Online travel agency Booking Holdings (BKNG.O), opens new tab beat analysts' expectations for first-quarter profit and revenue on Tuesday, as sustained demand for international travel helped the company offset weakness in the U.S. amid fears of a recession. The company has been benefiting from a sustained rise in tourism to Southeast Asian destinations from high-income Chinese tourists. This has also helped drive up the price of lodgings and travel services in the region. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. However, U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on imports have caused widespread worries of a recession, resulting in a pullback in consumer sentiment as well as in discretionary spending. Earlier today, hotel operator Hilton Worldwide (HLT.N), opens new tab cut its forecast for 2025 room revenue growth, becoming the first U.S.-based hotel operator to temper its outlook as consumer spending on travel takes a hit from a global trade war. Booking posted an adjusted profit of $24.81 per share for the quarter ended March 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of $17.33 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. "There is uncertainty in the market around the near-term geopolitical and macroeconomic environment," said CEO Glenn Fogel. Total room nights for Booking came in at 319 million nights during the quarter, an increase of 7% from last year. It posted first-quarter gross bookings of $46.7 billion, a year-over-year increase of 7%. Total quarterly revenue was $4.76 billion, up from $4.41 billion a year earlier. Analysts, on average, estimated revenue at $4.59 billion. Reporting by Aishwarya Jain and Abhinav Parmar in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
