International News

  New Delhi / Tribune News Service Healthcare providers in India are expected to spend $1.2 billion on information technology (IT) products and services in 2016, an increase of 3.4% over 2015, according to research firm Gartner, Inc. The spending includes expenses on internal services, software, IT services, data centre, devices and telecom services, the research firm said. “IT services, ...

  Sydney / AFP Severe coral bleaching on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef could cost it more than a million visitors a year and huge sums in lost tourism revenue, a survey said on Tuesday. The World Heritage-listed reef which teems with marine life experienced an unprecedented bleaching earlier this year that saw much of it whiten and almost a quarter ...

  New York / AFP Two days before Britain’s referendum on breaking with the European Union, the largest US banks are preparing for a catastrophic scenario that could cost them billions of dollars. Amid the volatile atmosphere in Britain, the banks are outwardly keeping a straight face. “We are locked down on this,” said Michael Duvally, spokesman for Goldman Sachs, when ...

  Bloomberg Brazil’s government says it struck a deal with state treasuries that’s designed to alleviate their fiscal crises without placing too much of a burden on federal coffers. The deal on the 427 billion reais ($126 billion) that states owe the federal government was reached in a meeting between Acting President Michel Temer and governors on Monday. It will ...

  Bloomberg Corn from Brazil is heading to the U.S., the world’s biggest exporter, just as the South American country grapples with a shortfall of the grain. The vessel, Samsun, is estimated to arrive Aug. 12 at port in Wilmington, North Carolina, an area with many poultry and hog operations, according to a sailing schedule from the state’s port authority. ...

  Bloomberg Sugar prices in Brazil, the world’s biggest producer and exporter, have surged to a record, but that’s not enough to entice processors to increase investment, Louis Dreyfus Commodities Co.’s sugar unit says. While making the sweetener has become profitable again, companies are still reluctant to boost capacity as many still struggle with a debt hangover from the previous ...

  Bloomberg In two years, pipeline giant Enterprise Products Partners LP will be capable of processing 800mn cubic feet of natural gas a day in an energy-rich stretch of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico known as the Delaware Basin — 20 times what it could handle in 2012. Behind this rapid expansion in one of America’s most prolific oil ...

  Moscow / Bloomberg Vladimir Putin is considering selling part of Russia’s corporate crown jewels to China and India as the president struggles to meet spending commitments before his possible re-election bid in less than two years. Russia is seeking buyers for 19.5 percent of state oil champion Rosneft OJSC and would prefer a joint deal with the two nations ...

  Tokyo / AFP Japan fell into a trade deficit in May, the first since January, the finance ministry said on Monday, as renewed yen strength pressured exports. Japanese exports fell for all major regions, including the nation’s biggest trading partner China, as concerns linger over a slowdown in the largest Asian economy as well as other emerging markets. The ...

  Bangkok / Tribune News Service The Revenue Department is poised to offer a personal income tax exemption of 10-15 years to foreign experts as part of its relentless effort to draw inbound direct investment to jump-start private investment. The tax waiver would be offered to experts in specific fields that can help strengthen the country’s competitiveness. It is not ...