Bloomberg China denounced a rare message from Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to Taiwan’s president as “wrong and very dangerous,†as tensions between the two sides flared anew over US overtures toward the democratically ruled island. The Ministry of National Defense said in a statement on Wednesday that the military would “take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard†China’s sovereignty, ...
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Mozambique seeks help to fight ‘insurgency’
Bloomberg Mozambique called for regional help in fighting an emboldened group of insurgents in the country’s gas-rich north who’ve aligned with the IS. The appeal by President Filipe Nyusi is the government’s strongest admission yet that it’s struggling to contain an insurgency that began in 2017 and has grown rapidly in both sophistication and confidence in recent months. It’s temporarily ...
Read More »Ukraine’s Zelenskiy walks back his one-term pledge
Bloomberg The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who campaigned on promises to lead for just one term, said he’d consider a second as the challenges facing his country have grown. “I’ll think about a second term,†Zelenskiy told a news conference on Wednesday in Kiev marking his first year in the job. “One term won’t be enough to complete the whole ...
Read More »Mnuchin set to exhaust all $500bn in virus loan fund
Bloomberg Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he plans to use all of the $500 billion that Congress provided to help the economy through direct lending from his agency and by backstopping Federal Reserve lending programs. Mnuchin said he has pledged to use $195 billion of those funds so far, and will use the rest after determining how best to deploy ...
Read More »UK inflation rate falls below 1% in April
Bloomberg UK inflation slowed to the weakest level since 2016 in April as energy prices fell and the coronavirus lockdown put the brakes on economic activity. The prospect of persistently low inflation will fuel speculation that more action is needed from the Bank of England, intensifying the debate among policy makers over taking rates below zero for the first time. ...
Read More »Argentina debt proposals far apart with deadline looming
Bloomberg Argentina and creditors seeking to hash out a $65 billion bond restructuring are still far apart, just days away from a deadline that could plunge the country into default. Talks have continued since bondholders sent two counterproposals, but there’s a gap of about 20 cents on the dollar between the government’s offer and the most aggressive creditors, according to ...
Read More »Facebook to limit offices to 25% capacity
Bloomberg Facebook Inc. will limit offices to 25% occupancy, put people on multiple shifts and require temperature checks when it lets employees back into workplaces beginning in July, according to people familiar with the matter. The social media company outlined to staff globally how it plans to handle a return to major job sites starting July 6, providing a glimpse ...
Read More »ECB’s loan package to give European funding markets a break
Bloomberg European funding markets have thus far been stubborn in correcting. This may be about to change. A new European Central Bank (ECB) loan facility for tackling the pandemic, known as PELTRO, will be allotted. The interest rate will be 25 basis points below ECB’s main refinancing operations, currently 0%. While it’s less tempting than the upcoming TLTRO III, another ...
Read More »US, Europen stock futures mixed on vaccine doubts; yields, oil drop
Bloomberg US and European equity futures were mixed along with stocks in Asia as reports on Moderna Inc.’s coronavirus vaccine added to concern that a successful way to beat the pandemic remains a long way off. Treasuries held an overnight advance. Japan and India saw the bulk of gains in a mixed Asian session, with Shanghai and Hong Kong in ...
Read More »India stocks rise for second straight day
Bloomberg Indian stocks rose, set for a second straight day of gains, as some investors bet there’ll be enough liquidity to support the economy as the nation gradually exits from the world’s biggest lockdown. The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.7% to 30,410.91 as of 9:42 am in Mumbai, while the NSE Nifty 50 Index rose by a similar magnitude. Both ...
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