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Wall Street may be facing an uncomfortable four years after President-elect Joe Biden's team confirmed on Monday it planned to nominate two consumer champions to lead top financial agencies, signaling a tougher stance on the industry than many had anticipated. Gary Gensler will serve as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Trade Commission member Rohit Chopra will head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau .  Progressives see the agencies as critical to advancing policy priorities on climate change and social justice. Wall Street-friendly Republicans on Monday criticized Biden for bowing to leftists, warning the picks would be divisive. 'The Biden team is pandering to members of the far-left,' Patrick McHenry, lead Republican on the House of Representatives finance panel said of Chopra, while warning Gensler should 'resist pressure to commandeer our securities disclosure regime to try to fix non-economic issues or social problems.' Tougher...

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has asked Pfizer if he can buy COVID-19 vaccines directly from the drug manufacturer to speed up the vaccination process because the US government is not providing enough supply. Cuomo wrote to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Monday with his request after slamming the Trump administration for not increasing the supply of vaccine doses New York is receiving despite increasing the number of people now eligible. So far, New York has used up just over one million of the 1.8 million doses the state has been allocated.  There are currently 7 million New Yorkers eligible for the vaccine after the federal government expanded the criteria to include those aged over 65.  In his letter to Pfizer, Cuomo asked if he could bypass the federal government and buy direct from the manufacturer because they weren't part of Operation Warp Speed.  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wrote to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Monday with his request after slamming the Trump administration for not...

The Reserve Bank of Australia is expecting house prices to surge by 30 per cent during the next three years because of record-low interest rates. Despite the Covid recession, national house prices rose by 3.7 per cent in 2020, with values in regional areas soaring by 7.1 per cent, CoreLogic data showed. Beach havens like Byron Bay and Noosa did even better, with property values surging by upwards of 16 per cent in one year. Far from discouraging home buyers, the economic crisis and a temporary halt to immigration coincided with price records being set in 39 of Australia's 88 statistical regions, as more people could work from home. The Reserve Bank of Australia is expecting house prices to surge by 30 per cent during the next three years because of record-low interest rates of just 0.1 per cent. Pictured are Sydney eastern suburbs houses The worst economic crisis since the 1930s Great Depression saw the RBA in November cut interest rates to a record-low of 0.1 per cent and three of...

A fisherman who risked his life by swimming to his tinny in crocodile infested waters has survived to tell the tale. Shocked tourists watched on in horror as a fisherman chanced his luck off Crab Claw Island in the Northern Territory last Friday, just days after a four metre saltwater crocodile relocated to the same Bynoe Harbour waters.  Footage filmed by Darwin resident Gino Luglietti shows the man swimming as fast as he can to his boat 30 metres from the shore. This fisherman survived a 30m dash to his tinny in crocodile-infested waters 'That is one brave dude,' a man is heard in the video. 'Is he going to make it?' Onlookers are then heard urging fisherman on to make it to safety. 'Ten metres, come on. He's getting there. He's pretty close,' the man is heard saying. Mr Luglietti said the fisherman received a round of applause from stunned island visitors once he reached the safety of his tinny. He can't believe the fisherman ignored signs on the...

British Airways has launched a new range of £1,935 carry-on suitcases made with parts of its retired Boeing 747 planes. The airline's BOAC Speedbird suitcases pay tribute to the planes which were removed from service last year. Only 150 suitcases will be on sale and each one will contain a different fragment from a 747 in the bag's interior. British Airways has launched a new range of £1,935 carry-on suitcases made out of its retired Boeing 747 planes The airline's BOAC Speedbird suitcases pay tribute to the planes which were removed from service last year Only 150 suitcases will be on sale and each one will contain a different fragment from a 747 in the bag's interior The last British Airways 747 took off for one final time in December before being retired due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic The glossy white suitcase has a hand-painted retro Gold Speedbird emblem on the case and a navy leather trim. British Airways teamed up with luggage company Globe-Trotter...

The harrowing first police radio and 999 calls reporting the Manchester Arena bomb attack have been played to the inquiry. In one call, a desperate parent who was in the City Room foyer when the bomb was detonated, can be heard telling and ambulance controller he is looking for his daughter. The ambulance call handler could be heard asking: 'Is the patient breathing?' The parent, who has not been identified, replies : 'I'm at the MEN Arena in Manchester. There's a bomb just gone off in the foyer. My ears are still ringing, I was in the foyer when it went off. The call handler said: 'Is the patient breathing? I need you to remain calm. Is the patient conscious?' The caller said: 'I don't know there's a load of people lying about on the floor, loads of blood. Please come as a fast as you can.' The harrowing first police radio and 999 calls reporting the Manchester Arena bomb attack have been played to the inquiry. Pictured: The inquiry continue...

A 108-year-old Italian woman has become one of the oldest people in the world to get a Covid-19 vaccine, months after she survived a coronavirus infection, her retirement home said. Fatima Negrini, who is due to turn 109 on June 3, received the jab on Monday along with other residents of the Anni Azzurri San Faustino care home in Milan, Italy.  'The arrival of the vaccine for her and all guests and staff represents a moment of great happiness and a first step towards a return to peaceful everyday life inside the facility,' said Matteo Tessarollo. Fatima Negrini, who is due to turn 109 on June 3, received the jab on Monday along with other residents of the Anni Azzurri San Faustino care home in Milan, Italy Negrini became one of the oldest people in the world to get the jab, months after she survived a coronavirus infection  When Negrini, who was born two years before the First World War began, shook off the virus last year, the Corriere della Sera newspaper quoted her as saying...