outbreak on a coronavirus variant. cnn has previously reported that the lab was studying coronaviruses in bats but it is unclear how closely related the variants were to the strain which started the pandemic. as for the energy department s new assessment, it is described as low confidence and a minority view apparently within the intelligence community. that said, it sparked new calls today from transparency from china. we would wish to see from the prc a greater degree of responsibility, a greater acknowledgment that it is in the interests of the chinese people, yes, we better understand the origins of covid-19, but it is in the or to understand the origins of covid-19. today s development also prompted to leading house republicans to send letters demanding the state department of energy and the fbi to provide testimony and documents related to the ongoing probe of the ten pandemics origin. china s foreign minister also weighed in, calling on relevant parties to quote,
hello and welcome to the programme. a group of big american banks has injected 30 billion dollars into a smaller regional bank, first republic, which had been seen as at risk of failure. it comes as fears grow of a crisis in the global financial sector. shares in european banks hit a two month low after the eurozone s central bank hiked interest rates by a half of one percent. the us treasury secretary, janet yellen, has insisted the us financial system remains sound despite a series of bank collapses. you i can reassure the members that the banking system is sound and that americans can feel confident that the deposits will be there when they need them. these actions demonstrate a resolute commission data may commitment that our financial system remains strong that our depositors remain safe. our north america correspondent, peter bowes joins us now. questions: so peter, what s prompted janet yellen to strike such a reassuring tone there? it has, for about a week now since
voice-over: live from our studio in singapore, - this is bbc news. it s newsday. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america, and around the globe. eleven of america s biggest private banks have stepped forward with a $30 billion rescue package for the troubled first republic bank. fears had been growing that the regional lender might be at risk of failure, as a result of market turmoil. the us treasury secretary, janet yellen, insists the rescue deal is evidence of resilience in the country s banking system. ican i can reassure the members of the committee that our banking system is sound, and that americans can feel confident that their deposits will be there when they need them. this week s actions demonstrate our resolute commitment to ensure that our financial system remains strong, and that depositors s savings remain safe. our north america correspondent, peter bowes, told us what prompted janet yellen to strike such an upbeat note. for about a week now, since the collaps
a group of big american banks has injected $30 billion into a smaller regional bank, first republic, which had been seen as at risk of failure. it comes as fears grow of a crisis in the global financial sector. shares in european banks hit a two month low, after the eurozone s central bank hiked interest rates by a half of 1%. us treasury secretary janet yellen insists the us financial system remains sound, despite a series of bank collapses. let s cross to los angeles, and speak to our north america correspondent, peter bowes. peter bring us up on what the latest is and what is going on. it clearly is a big boost for first republic was that there were fears it could go under just like silicon valley bank did last week, and this $30 billion, from 11 major banks, that includejp morgan chase, citigroup as well, crucially important to keep first republic alive, because first republic alive, because first republic is a very prominent banker in california, in los angeles, over the
welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. a group of big american banks has injected $30 billion into a smaller regional bank, first republic, which had been seen as at risk of failure. it comes as fears grow of a crisis in the global financial sector. shares in european banks hit a two month low after the eurozone s central bank hiked interest rates by 0.5%. our north america correspondent peter bowes has more. this clearly is a big boost. there were fears he could go underjust like silicon valley bank did last week, and this $30 billion from 11 major banks that includejp morgan chase, citigroup as well, crucially important to keep first republic alive because first republic alive because first republic is a very prominent bank here in california in los angeles, over the last few days we have seen people queueing outside to take their money, their investments out of that bank and placed them with other larger banks, such as been their concern that it cou