International News

  London / AFP Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Monday warned Britain was heading for a “hard” exit from the European Union against Scotland’s wishes, which could pave the way for independence. In a speech in Edinburgh, the Scottish National Party (SNP) leader cited continuing access to the EU single market and maintaining freedom of movement with the bloc ...

  London / AFP British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday promised a “practical solution” on the Irish border after Britain leaves the European Union in a bid to allay fears about a return to tough checks. She spoke on her first visit since taking office to Northern Ireland, which has what would become the United Kingdom’s only border with ...

  Philadelphia / AFP Republican Donald Trump has drawn level with and even surpassed his White House rival Hillary Clinton as the billionaire enjoys a surge after his party’s nominating convention last week, polls showed Monday. Post-convention bounces are expected for a US presidential candidate who has been in the media spotlight for a solid week. But the surge is ...

  Bloomberg Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager insisted that Democrats are unified as they kick off their nominating convention amid the ouster of Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and said he is “very confident” Bernie Sanders will deliver a rousing speech Monday night in support of the nominee. Speaking at a Bloomberg Politics breakfast on Monday in Philadelphia, Robby ...

  Bloomberg Brazil’s real joined a slide in emerging markets on Monday as policy makers intervened to weaken the currency and economists cut economic forecasts amid uncertainty on budget plans. The real weakened 0.5 percent to 3.2736 per dollar at 10:22 a.m. after the monetary authority placed 10,000 reverse currency swaps, equivalent to buying $500 million in the futures market. ...

  AFP The EU ordered Spain on Monday to recover 140 million euros ($150 million) in illegal state aid set aside for a high speed train test centre that Brussels said was unnecessary. The commission, the EU’s powerful executive arm, in 2015 launched a probe into the plans for the unique testing site mear Malaga where, if completed, trains could ...

  Bloomberg Canada stocks fell the highest level in a year, halting a three-day advance as commodities producers retreated with crude and gold. The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 0.3 percent to 14,555 at 9:56 a.m. in Toronto. The benchmark is up 12 percent in 2016, making Canadian stocks more expensive than their U.S. peers, with a price-earnings ratio of 22.4 ...

  Bloomberg Indian Railways plans to rack up debt to help fund an unprecedented modernization plan. Some 2.5 trillion rupees ($37 billion) of debt is required in the five years through 2020, according to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. That’s more than triple the 692 billion rupees of outstanding Indian Railway Finance Corp. bonds. The network is also exploring non-fare revenue ...

  AFP GAIL India Ltd. is seeking to defer a 20-year contract to buy liquefied natural gas from Gazprom PJSC until the Russian company’s Shtokman project begins production, officials at the South Asian country’s biggest gas transporter said. New Delhi-based GAIL signed a contract in 2012 to buy 2.5 million metric tons a year of LNG from Gazprom starting in ...

  AFP Japan on Monday posted its first half-year trade surplus since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, after the accident sent energy import bills soaring and led to a string of deficits. The world’s third largest economy logged a January-June surplus of 1.8 trillion yen ($17 billion), against a 1.69 trillion yen deficit in the same period last year, the ...