International News

  Bloomberg Governments around the globe must protect the independence of central banks to ensure sustainable economic growth, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Tuesday. The former International Monetary Fund chief economist said that central banks are under fire from criticism that is unsupported by evidence. He cited attacks against the Bank of England over Brexit, the ...

  AFP The Chinese army garrisoned in Hong Kong has warned people searching for Pikachu and other virtual monsters to stay off their premises, as Pokemon Go mania sweeps the smartphone-obsessed city. The gaming app landed on Monday in Hong Kong and saw residents more glued to their phones than ever, searching for the cyber creatures in locations ranging from ...

  Bloomberg Steel supply from China, the world’s biggest producer, remains a “big worry” for the global industry, which continues to be under pressure despite an improvement in prices, JSW Steel Ltd. Chairman Sajjan Jindal said. There is “‘huge overcapacity” in China and the industry is worried about how the Asian nation will address the issue, Jindal, who runs India’s ...

  Bloomberg Emerging-market stocks are looking like a smart buy as investors begin to view the developed world, from frequent terror attacks to a troubled European Union, as the sometimes riskier proposition. This year, emerging-nation equities have outperformed their developed peers as concern over a hard landing in China subsided and a rebound in commodity prices propped up export-dependent economies. ...

  Paris / AFP France will pump 3 billion euros into state-controlled electricity company EDF, shareholders decided Tuesday, two days before it is expected to give the final green light to the controversial construction of two nuclear reactors in Britain. At an extraordinary meeting, shareholders approved a 4-billion increase in share capital, of which the French state, which owns 85 ...

  London / AFP British bank RBS has warned businesses they might be charged for depositing money if interest rates are lowered, a week before the Bank of England (BoE) meets to decide whether to ease its policy. “Global interest rates remain at very low levels and in some markets are currently negative. Dependent on future market conditions, this could ...

  AFP The European Commission on Tuesday accepted a proposal by iconic Hollywood studio Paramount to end geographic blocking of its films in licence deals with TV channels. The deal is a small step towards the EU’s dream of building a digital single market, in which the European Union’s 500 million people will no longer be blocked from subscribing to ...

  Bloomberg Brazil’s swap rates rose to the highest level in two months after the central bank said it sees no room to cut borrowing costs that are near a decade high as inflation hasn’t been moderating fast enough. Swap rates on the contract maturing January 2018 rose 0.06 percentage point to 12.88 percent at 10:35 a.m. in Sao Paulo. ...

  Miami / AFP Futuristic technologies that promise to improve people’s strength and smarts by editing genes, implanting brain chips or super-charging blood have raised more concern than enthusiasm among Americans, a poll showed on Tuesday. The survey by the Pew Research Center included more than 4,700 US adults, and is considered a nationally representative sample. When asked about gene-editing, ...

  KUALA LUMPUR / WAM The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) signed on Monday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for an initial period of three years, to establish and implement a non-exclusive framework for the cooperation and collaboration to promote programmes and initiatives that foster the development of the Islamic ...