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(AWP Alliance News) - US and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, but President Trump has yet to give his final approval, Axios on Thursday reported. However, the report, which cited two US officials and a regional source involved in the mediation efforts, said that US President Donald Trump has yet to give his final approval. The report noted the signing of the MOU would be the most significant diplomatic breakthrough since the war started, but a final agreement that tackles Trump's nuclear demands would still require further intensive negotiations. 'This is an agreement to get everybody to the table. We will work out the details in the negotiations,' one of the US officials told Axios. US officials said terms of the deal were mostly agreed to as of Tuesday, but both sides still needed approval from senior leadership. The US officials claimed the Iranians later came back and said they had the necessary approvals and were prepared to sign but Trump did not immediately sign off on the deal. The US officials said the 60-day MOU will state that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will be 'unrestricted.' A US official said this means no tolls and no harassment and that Iran will have to remove all mines from the strait within 30 days. The US naval blockade will also be lifted, and the MOU will include an Iranian commitment not to pursue a nuclear weapon. By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

(AWP Alliance News) - Sales of new single-family homes in the US fell in April, while inventory levels and the median sales price increased, according to data released Thursday by the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing & Urban Development. New home sales fell 6.2% month-on-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 622,000 in April from 663,000 in March. The figure came in below the 670,000 reading expected by the FXStreet-cited consensus. Compared with a year earlier, sales were down 11% from 701,000. The inventory of new homes for sale at the end of April rose 1.7% from March to 489,000, though it was 2.2% lower than a year before. At the current sales pace, this represented a supply of 9.4 months, up from 8.7 months in March and above the 8.6 months recorded in April 2025. The median sales price of new houses sold in April increased 8.0% from March to USD422,500 and was up 2.2% from USD413,600 a year earlier. The average sales price edged up 0.7% month-on-month to USD508,800, although it was 1.1% lower than the April 2025 average of USD514,300. By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

(AWP Alliance News) - The European Central Bank keeping rates on hold in April was a 'close call', minutes released Thursday said, the latest sign that the bank is preparing to raise the cost of borrowing. The Frankfurt-based central bank for the 21 countries that use the euro held its key deposit rate at two percent in April, where it has been since June last year.  But analysts and markets have pencilled in rate hikes for later in the year as the Middle East war and Iran's near total closure of the Strait of Hormuz drive up energy prices, feeding into broader inflation. Adding to evidence of a hawkish shift in ECB communications, Thursday's minutes said keeping rates where they were had been 'a close call', conditional on the bank stressing it was keeping a close eye on prices. 'A number of members noted that the decision was a close call and that they would not have opposed raising rates at the current meeting,' they said. The ECB's rate-setters backed a hold 'provided that communication stressed the Governing Council's firm commitment to setting monetary policy to ensure that inflation stabilised at the target,' they added. Though evidence of second-round effects that could further fuel inflation such as wage rises was so far limited, the minutes said, it was clear that there was upwards pressure on inflation. The Middle East conflict 'would last longer than had been expected, with the energy price shock proving more persistent and its repercussions broadening,' members said according to the minutes. 'Upside risks surrounding the inflation outlook had intensified,' the minutes added. ECB chief economist Philip Lane told Nikkei in an interview released Tuesday that the bank would likely revise its inflation forecast upwards at the June meeting, hinting that a rate hike could be on the way. Higher interest rates usually hold down inflation by reducing demand, often at the expense of economic growth, as borrowers feel the pain of paying more interest on money they borrow. source: AFP Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.