Reuters

By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday said its executive board has approved members to use their Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), or IMF reserve assets, to acquire so called hybrid capital bonds issued by multilateral development banks.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), which had both championed the idea, welcomed the move, with officials... (continue reading...)

(Reuters) - A barge crashed into a bridge on the Texas coast on Wednesday, forcing the closure of the only roadway to a small island off the city of Galveston, city officials said.

No injuries were reported and the Pelican Island Bridge remained standing after the barge ran into it around 10 a.m., although oil has spilled into the water as a result of the collision, the city of Galveston said in a statement.

The Pelican Island Bridge is... (continue reading...)

By Lisandra Paraguassu and Leonardo Benassatto

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (Reuters) - The despair in Nilton Muradaz Junior's eyes is unmistakable as he looks at the vast lake that was once his farm and home, but now shows little sign of the animals, equipment and buildings he lost in the floods devastating Brazil's southernmost state.

"For the dream and life that we created here to be taken away like this is heartbreaking. I don't even have... (continue reading...)

LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury has warned Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) that its access to the U.S. financial system could be restricted because of its Russian dealings, according to a person who has seen a letter detailing the threat.

The May 6 letter is the strongest warning yet to the biggest Western bank in Russia and follows months of pressure from Washington, and Europe, as they try to toughen up sanctions against... (continue reading...)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hedge fund Renaissance Technologies added a new long position in GameStop and significantly increased its position in AMC Entertainment during the first quarter, putting it in position to benefit from the meme stock mania sweeping through the U.S. equity market this week.

Renaissance added 1,004,958 shares of videogame retailer GameStop during the quarter, which had a value of approximately $12.6 million at the end of March,... (continue reading...)