International News

  BARCELONA / AP With sunny days getting longer and lazier, sparkling beaches warming up and terrorism fears driving customers away from other Mediterranean destinations, Spain and Portugal are reaping an economic bonanza from tourism. While most in the cash-strapped nations are welcoming the influx, some locals have been exasperated by the crowds of tourists. In the first two months of ...

  Bloomberg   Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen threw her support behind a growing consensus at the central bank in favor of another interest rate increase soon, while steering clear of specifying the timing of such a move. “It’s appropriate — and I’ve said this in the past — for the Fed to gradually and cautiously increase our overnight interest ...

  Bloomberg Treasuries traders who delayed holiday getaway plans on Friday took away a clear message from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen — a mid-year interest-rate hike may be on the way. Yellen’s remark that the Fed will raise rates “probably in the coming months” drove benchmark two-year note yields higher for a third consecutive week. The comments at an ...

  Bloomberg Argentine President Mauricio Macri announced an amnesty on an estimated $500 billion of unregistered funds stashed abroad to pay pensioners and help fund a multi-billion dollar infrastructure program. The funds will pay a tax of zero percent to 15 percent depending on the amount and when they are brought back into the country, the government said in a ...

  Bloomberg Jawbone Inc. is set to be a much smaller company, according to reports that it’s ending production of its fitness trackers and seeking buyers for its speaker business. The closely held company has put its speaker business up for sale, Fortune said, citing anonymous sources, in a report on its website. Later, Tech Insider reported that Jawbone has ...

  Bloomberg Brazil’s real extended its worst week since December and stocks fell as speculation the country’s political crisis will escalate dimmed expectations that Acting President Michel Temer will be able to restore confidence in Latin America’s biggest economy. The real led losses among the world’s major currencies this week after recordings released by newspapers suggested that Temer’s PMDB party ...

  Tokyo / AFP Japan passed a law regulating virtual currency, after the country found itself at the epicentre of a multi-million dollar embezzlement scandal following the spectacular collapse of the Tokyo-based MtGox Bitcoin exchange. Once one of the largest, most established exchanges for the cryptocurrency, MtGox collapsed in 2014 after a suspected theft worth nearly half a billion dollars, which ...

  Beijing / AP China accused the United States on Thursday of hampering trade after Washington imposed duties of up to 450 percent on Chinese steel in its latest response to a flood of low-priced imports. The Ministry of Commerce complained US regulators discriminated against Chinese suppliers by using incorrect standards for deciding what production cost and market prices should ...

  Sydney / AFP A multi-billion-dollar deal to break up Australian logistics giant Asciano between local and international suitors hit a hurdle on Thursday after a key corporate regulator raised concerns about reduced competition at ports. The Aus$9.05 billion (US$6.5 billion) takeover, announced in March, would see the rail, freight and ports operator’s assets split between a consortium led by ...

  Hong Kong / AP Chinese technology giant Lenovo said on Thursday it posted a net loss last year, as its smartphones struggle to keep apace with Apple and Android rivals and as the market for personal computers fizzles. The Beijing-based company, which has traditionally manufactured computers but has been trying to broaden its smartphone business after scooping up Motorola ...