International News

New Delhi / Bloomberg Jewellers in India, the world’s second-biggest gold consumer, ended a strike to protest against a new tax announced in the budget after the government assured them the charges won’t lead to harassment by authorities. The strike, which started on March 2, ended after the government agreed not to “trouble the industry” over the excise levy, Ketan ...

Manila / AFP When mystery hackers launched a stunning raid on Bangladesh’s foreign reserves, a plot worthy of a John le Carre spy novel was sparked in the Philippines, exposing the Southeast Asian nation as a dirty money haven. The $81 million stolen from the Bangladesh central bank’s American accounts last month was immediately sent via electronic transfer to the ...

Beijing / Bloomberg Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei downplayed a decision by Moody’s Investors Service Inc. to cut his country’s credit-rating outlook, saying leaders “didn’t care that much” because the move had little market impact. The March 2 downgrade didn’t lead to irrational market behavior or aggressive short-selling, Lou said at the China Development Forum, a gathering of world business ...

Sydney / Bloomberg The Australian government is focusing on boosting jobs and economic growth as it prepares for the annual budget, which is still scheduled to be delivered on May 10, according to Cabinet Secretary Arthur Sinodinos. “The overriding objective is how do various government policies contribute to higher jobs and growth, in other words how do we continue to ...

Singapore / DPA The surging gold price has lifted gold mining stocks in Singapore. The precious metal has jumped almost 20 per cent in price since the end of last year to trade above US$1,250 per ounce in recent weeks. Of the three gold miners listed on the Singapore Exchange, two have bucked the bearish tide across the wider market ...

Paris / AFP The European Central Bank’s plan to buy corporate bonds to help the eurozone economy is boosting the private-sector debt market which promptly responded with a new record-sized company bond. With interest rates near or below zero and few other monetary policy tools left in its arsenal, the ECB announced earlier this month that it would begin buying ...

Bloomberg Iain Duncan Smith, who resigned as U.K. work & pensions secretary last week, denied accusations that his move was aimed at undermining Prime Minister David Cameron amid Conservative Party divisions over the European Union. Duncan Smith told BBC Television’s “Andrew Marr Show” on Sunday he quit solely because the government’s tax and welfare changes are unfair. “This is not ...

Bloomberg Telecom Italia SpA Chief Executive Officer Marco Patuano will resign after clashing with Vivendi SA, the company’s biggest investor, two officials at the carrier said, ending a 2 1/2-year tenure leading Italy’s former phone monopoly. Chairman Giuseppe Recchi will assume Patuano’s duties until a replacement is appointed, the officials said. They asked not to be named because Patuano, 51, ...

Bloomberg Czech policy makers will probably use negative interest rates only if they need another instrument to deter “excessive” capital inflows, according to Jiri Rusnok, the top candidate to become the next central bank governor. “We can’t give up that tool, but at the same time I think the probability of it being used is really low,” Rusnok, who joined ...

Madrid / AFP This year was supposed to be a good one for Spanish builders but the lack of a government three months after an inconclusive general election has put the brakes on economic activity. “Everything that has to do with construction in this country is blocked,” said Carlos Luaces, director general of Spain’s association of sand and gravel producers, ...