International News

Bloomberg Canadian regulators extended by three months Petroliam Nasional Bhd.’s application to build a liquefied natural gas terminal on the nation’s Pacific coast so the Malaysian company can provide more information about the project’s environmental impacts. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency announced the extension in a filing after Pacific NorthWest LNG, as the project is known, detailed changes to its ...

Bloomberg Chile’s economy grew less that expected in the fourth quarter, expanding at the second-slowest pace in six years, as two years of weak growth was exacerbated by a renewed decline in manufacturing. Gross domestic product grew 1.3 percent from a year earlier, the central bank said on its website. From the previous quarter, GDP expanded 0.1 percent. Increased fiscal ...

Bloomberg Argentina’s peso is the world’s most volatile currency, and that’s fine with the central bank. Big swings are usually not something policy makers want. Officials around the world have procedures in place to ward off the rapid ups and downs that make it difficult for businesses to plan and leave savers nervous about staying in the national currency. But ...

Beijing / AP China’s top planner tried to reassure foreign companies they are welcome in its slowing, state-dominated economy in a speech on Sunday aimed at dispelling growing anxiety Beijing is squeezing them out of promising industries. Speaking to an audience that included executives of top global companies at a government-organized conference, Xu Shaoshi pledged to “promote two-way opening up ...

Astana / Bloomberg Kazakhs are going to the polls in early parliamentary elections called after President Nursultan Nazarbayev warned of a “real crisis” facing the Central Asian nation because of the slump in oil prices. Six parties are competing for 98 elected seats in the 107-member parliament, which also has nine appointed delegates. Voting on Sunday begins at 7 a.m. ...

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 ...