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Some large U.S. lenders, including Bank of America and Citibank, are working on launching stablecoins at a time when the country is looking to adopt more crypto-friendly regulations, Reuters reported.

BofA CEO Brian Moynihan said on Wednesday the bank is working on launching a stablecoin, and investors can expect the lender to move forward with it, without giving a timeline.

Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value, are usually pegged to a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar and are commonly used by crypto traders to move funds between tokens.

"We feel both the industry and ourselves will have responses. We've done a lot of work," Moynihan, CEO of the second-largest U.S. bank, said, according to Reuters.

The Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to adopt rules to bar companies from connecting undersea submarine communication cables to the United States that include Chinese technology or equipment, Reuters reported.

"We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China," FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. "We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership, and access as well as cyber and physical threats."

The United States has for years expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and the potential for espionage. The U.S. has broad data security concerns about the network of more than 400 subsea cables that handle 99% of international internet traffic, according to Reuters.

Since 2020, U.S. regulators have been instrumental in the cancellation of four cables whose backers had wanted to link the United States with Hong Kong.

South Korea's top court upheld on Thursday a not-guilty verdict for the chairman of Samsung Electronics Jay Y. Lee, backing two lower court rulings clearing him of accounting fraud and stock manipulation related to an $8 billion merger in 2015, Reuters reported.

The Supreme Court's verdict permanently removes a long-running legal distraction for Lee as Samsung plays catch-up in a global race to develop cutting-edge AI chips.

The Supreme Court upheld an appeals court's ruling dismissing all the charges in the case involving the merger a decade ago between two Samsung affiliates, Samsung C&T (028260.KS), opens new tab and Cheil Industries, which prosecutors said was designed to cement Lee's control of the tech giant.

A lower court last year had also cleared Lee of the charges, according to Reuters.

Canadian retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard on Thursday pulled its $47 billion bid to buy Seven & i Holdings, citing a lack of constructive engagement by the Japanese retailer, Reuters reported.

The surprise move ends what could have been the largest foreign takeover of a Japanese company as Circle K operator Couche-Tard sought to create a global convenience store giant by acquiring the company behind 7-Eleven.

"There has been no sincere or constructive engagement from 7&i that would facilitate the advancement of any proposal, contrary to comments made publicly by 7&i representatives," Couche-Tard said in a letter to its board of directors.

"Rather, you have engaged in a calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay, to the great detriment of 7&i and its shareholders," the letter said, according to Reuters.

Now the country has witnessed the influence of monsoon winds with the impact of a low pressure area located nearby Uttarpradesh of India. 

The monsoon's low-pressure line, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, is near the average location. 

There will generally be cloudy weather across the country, with chances of light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunder and lightning in some areas of Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudurpashchim Provinces this afternoon. 

According to the Department, there may be heavy rainfall in one or two areas of Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudurpashchim Provinces . 

There is a likelihood of light to moderate rainfall and snowfall in some areas of the high hills and mountainous regions of the country. Some areas of the Tarai region in Lumbini and Sudurpashchim Province are likely to have gusty winds. 

In view of a risk of floods, landslides, and debris flow, the department has urged the residents in the areas to adopt precautionary safety measures in urban and Terai regions. 

It has been informed that water levels in large and small rivers and rivulets may rise, potentially affecting daily life, agriculture, health, tourism, and transportation on roads and air traffic near river areas. 

Newly appointed Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Bhagwati Neupane took the oath of office and secrecy before President Ram Chandra Paudel. 

The oath taking ceremony was held on Wednesday at the Office of the President, Shital Niwas. 

The Head-of-the-State had, on the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, appointed Neupane to the post on Tuesday. 

Vice President Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav, Prime Minister Oli, National Assembly (NA) Chair Narayan Prasad Dahal, ministers, chiefs of security bodies, chiefs of the constitutional bodies, Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal and political leaders were present on the occasion. 

Prior to this, Neupane, was the Chief Whip of the CPN-UML in the National Assembly.  

She assumed office upon reaching the Singha Durbar Wednesday itself. 

A public holiday has been declared in Karnali Province on Thursday i.e. the first of the month of Sharawan in the Lunar Calendar. 

The provincial government has decided to grant a public holiday on the occasion of Shawan Sankranti as well as Deuda festival.

Speaker Devraj Ghimire has expressed confidence that the Land Bill pending in the Parliament will be passed soon. 

Addressing a program to distribute land ownership certificates to the landless residents of Arjundhara Municipality in the district today, he said that the land problem that has been surfacing for years will be solved after the enactment of a new law on land by the Parliament. 

Mentioning that hundreds of landless people need to be made owners of land, he recalled that the previous commission had complained of problems in the distribution of certificates due to the high cost of revenue.

He said that after the current government reduced land revenue to five percent, the number of people willing to take loans is increasing. 

Today, 96 homeless residents of Arjundhara Municipality-11 received land ownership certificates.