International News

  Bloomberg Germany agreed to provide Iran with a 1.2 billion euro ($1.27 billion) credit line to help finance a rail project , according to an official at the Central Bank of Iran. The facility — through state-run lender KfW IPEX — will help fund the development of the Tehran to Mashhad railway, the official said, asking not to be ...

  BERLIN / AP Swiss voters rejected a plan to force their government to accelerate the country’s exit from nuclear energy in a referendum Sunday, turning down an initiative that would have seen the last plant shut in 2029. A majority of cantons (states) voted against the plan. Under Switzerland’s direct democracy system, proposals need a majority of both cantons ...

  AP Holiday shoppers eager to snag big discounts turned to the internet in record fashion this week, one tracking company said, driving online sales on Black Friday to a new high. Consumers spent $3.34 billion shopping online on Friday, a 21.6 percent increase from the same day last year, according to Adobe, which tracks online retail transactions. More than ...

  LONDON / AP Dakota Access oil pipeline protesters will not follow a government directive to leave the federal land where hundreds have camped for months, organizers said Saturday, despite state officials encouraging them to do so. Standing Rock Sioux tribal leader Dave Archambault and other protest organizers confidently explained that they’ll stay at Oceti Sakowin camp and continue with ...

  Bloomberg Smothered by increasingly toxic air, India is moving to the forefront of a global push to use more of cleaner natural gas in vehicles. The country’s state-run gas companies are charting ambitious plans to extend the use of natural gas to trucks and scooters, and build infrastructure for long-haul travel on the fuel. Their optimism is reflected in ...

  Bloomberg Japan’s consumer prices fell for an eighth straight month — the longest streak of declines since 2009-2011, underlining how distant the nation is from achieving its 2 percent inflat- ion target. Consumer prices excluding fresh food, the Bank of Japan’s primary gauge of inflation, dropped 0.4 percent in October from a year earlier (forecast -0.4 percent.). Overall consumer ...

  Bloomberg AEP Investment Management Pte, which invests in commercial real estate in Asia Pacific, is considering listing some of its assets through a Singapore initial public offering, people with knowledge of the matter said. AEP has held talks with investment banks about potential exit options, including a real estate investment trust IPO comprising properties held by funds it manages, ...

  Bloomberg Singapore, on track to post its worst economic performance since the 2009 global financial crisis this year, is bracing for more uncertainty as rising protectionism poses risks for the export-dependent nation. While the government is forecasting economic growth of as much as 3 percent in 2017 — double the maximum it sees for this year — the city-state ...

  Bloomberg Granola and oatmeal lovers in the US may need to prepare for some sticker shock. Oat production in Canada, the world’s biggest exporter, is set to plunge after rain and snow delayed harvests across the Prairie Provinces. Because the crop spent too much time in wet fields, grain quality declined, which means more will end up as livestock ...

  Geneva / AP Like other countries after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, Switzerland pledged to abandon nuclear power in coming years. But anti-nuclear advocacy groups say the Swiss government’s timetable isn’t fast enough, and have pushed for a referendum this weekend that would hasten the planned exit. Swiss voters cast ballots on an initiative championed by environmentalists and nuclear foes ...