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Brexit foes corner May as crunch vote looms

Bloomberg Theresa May is surrounded. On one side, the UK prime minister has the European Union, sharpening its knives to defend the club of 27 remaining members against British “cherry picking” during Brexit talks. On the other side is her own Conservative party, split into two feuding tribes, either one of which could topple her from power. It’s the domestic ...

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Congo opposition leader says state cancelled his passport

Bloomberg Democratic Republic of Congo opposition leader Moise Katumbi said the authorities revoked his passport and won’t allow him to replace it. Katumbi was advised by Belgian airport services, after returning from a trip to Israel, that his semi-biometric passport had been withdrawn from the system. A request to the Congolese Embassy in Belgium for a full biometric passport was ...

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In a world of uncertainty, yield curves are certain

This week was billed as the most important of the year in terms of the global economy, with the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of Japan (BoJ) all meeting to set monetary policy, high level economic data out of the US ranging from inflation to retail sales, the fallout from the disastrous Group of Seven (G-7) meeting, ...

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China’s banks are still in trouble

You wouldn’t know it from the government’s optimistic pronouncements, but China’s banks are still under significant stress. Although the latest plan to help them out won’t solve any fundamental problems, it will buy time — maybe enough to come up with better ideas. By several measures, Chinese banks are strained. Their official loan–to-deposit ratio increased from 65.8 percent in June ...

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Draghi’s masterclass in something for everyone

The European Central Bank’s (ECB) policy meeting was a masterclass from President Mario Draghi in how to ride two horses at once: calling time on quantitative easing while keeping a dovish tone. The bond-buying program will end this year — but the governing council paired this with a clear message that interest rates won’t rise before the end of summer ...

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Coal isn’t safe even in its Asian fortresses

The latest review of BP – one of world’s leading integrated oil and gas companies – of the world’s appetite for energy, contained a startling chart indicating that coal’s grip on electricity generation has not changed in 20 years. There were clear signs of a shift occurring at the margin when you looked at growth in different types of power ...

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Argentina’s IMF package could trigger ugly blowback

Markets welcomed the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $50 billion rescue stabilization package last week, which seems to be stabilizing the peso. But the financial umbrella will be costly. Rightly or wrongly, Argentines blame the IMF for precipitating their country’s worst economic crisis. In the eyes of many voters, the mere association will damage President Mauricio Macri’s standing. As detrimental, the ...

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Bitcoin’s greater fools have gone into hiding

Bitcoin’s price was supposed to go to the moon. Yet over the past six months, from high to low, the linchpin of the entire cryptocurrency craze has shed 66 percent of its value. It’s an unraveling almost on par with the Nasdaq index during the dot-com bust, or US bank equities in the financial crisis. Thankfully, the wider economy has ...

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AirAsia doesn’t need a doctorate in the house

Samsonite International SA Chief Executive Officer Ramesh Tainwala resigned this month after a short seller highlighted issues with how he’d presented his educational history. Investors in AirAsia Bhd. should take notice. After all, co-founder Tony Fernandes is another notable Asian CEO who’s not been shy of boasting academic credentials that are less than they first appear. At a time when ...

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US stocks pare losses as oil rally gives a lift; dollar steady

Bloomberg US stocks shook off the worst of their losses as oil rose before a key OPEC meeting this week. Equities declined in Europe and Asia amid concern over the escalating protectionist standoff between China and the US. The S&P 500 came off its lows of the day as energy shares advanced along with software makers. The Stoxx Europe 600 ...

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