International News

  Moscow / AFP Russia said it had temporarily suspended its demand for full repayment of a disputed $3-billion loan to Ukraine, saying it wanted to give the new government in Kiev time to “assess the situation”. “We have given the new Ukrainian government an extension to assess the situation with a clear head, to reevaluate its position and open ...

  Bloomberg Rosneft OJSC, Russia’s largest oil producer, plans to increase its dividend as the government seeks more funds from state corporations to bolster public finances. The company board has recommended increasing the payout to shareholders to 35 percent of its 2015 profit, or 11.75 rubles a share. The dividend would amount to 124.5 billion rubles ($1.87 billion) and represents ...

  Margate / AFP The artist J M W Turner will appear on the new £20 note, Bank of England governor Mark Carney announced. The new design will include Joseph Mallord William Turner’s self-portrait and his 1838 oil painting “The Fighting Temeraire”. “Turner is perhaps the single most influential British artist of all time,” Carney said. “His work was transformative, ...

  Bloomberg Electricite de France SA plans to sell about €4 billion of new shares and deepen cost cuts to bolster its finances as the company works to decide whether to move forward with a controversial nuclear power plant project in the U.K. EDF will submit a plan for the capital increase by the closing date of its 2016 accounts, ...

  Hanover / AFP Opponents of a proposed transatlantic trade deal hope to draw tens of thousands onto German streets Saturday, on the eve of a visit by US President Barack Obama. Obama’s trip — to open an industrial technology fair in the northern city of Hanover and hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders — was intended ...

  Tokyo / AFP Mitsubishi Motors shares nosedived again on Thursday as panic selling wiped about $2.5 billion off the automaker’s market value in response to its shock admission that it cheated on fuel-efficiency tests. The embarrassing revelation is the latest in a string of recent scandals to hit Japanese firms, while German giant Volkswagen struggles to restore its badly ...

  Kuala Lumpur / Bloomberg Malaysia is selling global Islamic bonds against the backdrop of an increase in credit risk amid a dispute between a troubled state-investment company and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund over debt obligations. The government is marketing $1 billion of Shariah-compliant notes due in 2026 at 135 basis points over Treasuries and $500 million of bonds ...

  Panama City / AFP Japan on Wednesday agreed to finance a $2.6 billion monorail Panama intends to have built by 2022 as an extension of its young metro system, the Panamanian government said. “This financing Japan is giving us today is recognition of the solidity and credibility of Panama,” a statement quoted President Juan Carlos Varela saying during a ...

  New Delhi / Bloomberg The returns for overseas investors in India’s ambitious 100-gigawatt solar programme are about to get a big leg-up. And no, New Delhi won’t be paying the producers much more than the rock-bottom tariff of 4.34 rupees (7 cents) per kilowatt-hour. So where will the extra profit come from? Speaking in London, Indian Power Minister Piyush ...

    Bloomberg U.K. retail sales posted their biggest monthly decline in more than two years in March as Britons bought less of everything from food to clothing. The volume of sales excluding auto fuel fell 1.6 percent from February, the most since January 2014. Total sales dropped 1.3 percent. Both far exceeded the modest declines forecast in a Bloomberg ...