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  AFP The EU’s 28 member states agreed on Monday to launch free trade talks with Indonesia, despite growing public doubts in Europe about two major transatlantic deals. The deal with Indonesia will build on pacts with other Asian powers such as Singapore and Vietnam. “The EU and Indonesia represent a huge market of 750 million consumers. These negotiations are ...

  Bloomberg Malaysia’s second-largest pension fund plans to buy more bonds with maturities of 10 years and above to hedge against another interest-rate cut as it moves further toward becoming a full-fledged Islamic entity. Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan), which manages about 120 billion ringgit (US$30 billion), is considering lowering its 5 percent minimum return target because of the uncertainty in ...

  Bloomberg Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s plan to begin mobile services at Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd by August has caused incumbent operators led by Bharti Airtel Ltd to cut data tariffs to stem defections. Airtel will offer prepaid customers as much as 67 percent more data for the same fees, according to a statement from India’s largest mobile company Sunday. Idea, ...

  Bloomberg Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings Pte is considering a buyout offer for SMRT Corp, the city-state’s biggest subway operator, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Temasek is weighing an offer to buy all the shares it doesn’t already own in SMRT, according to the person, who asked not to be identified as the information is ...

  Bloomberg Prime Minister Theresa May will make the case for Britain remaining a powerful player in the world after last month’s vote to leave the EU. The premier will use her first appearance in parliament since succeeding David Cameron to argue for renewing the Trident nuclear-weapons system after a weekend in which the team overseeing the divorce from the ...

  Bloomberg Kenya may abandon 10 years of negotiating a trade deal with the EU as part of the regional East African Community bloc and go it alone, to avoid having duties of as much as 30 percent slapped on its exports from October. A so-called Economic Partnership Agreement between Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi and the EU is ...

  BLOOMBERG The ruble extended last week’s rally as exporters bought the currency to pay local dividends and taxes, while some traders speculated that the coup attempt in Turkey will spur investors to seek alternatives in the Russian market. The currency increased 0.7 percent to 63.10 by 12:03 p.m. in Moscow, taking its gain this year to 17 percent, the ...

  Bloomberg The Swiss may have a trick up their sleeves for smoothing relations with their neighbours that the British don’t. The country of 8 million at the heart of Europe will get the chance to hold a second plebiscite on EU immigration, after a 2014 vote that jeopardizes its current arrangement with the bloc. That’s what some in the ...

  Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp. is doubling down on Papua New Guinea, topping a rival offer for InterOil Corp., a gas explorer focused on the Southeast Asian nation. The energy giant’s offer values InterOil at $2.5 billion, including debt, beating an earlier bid from Oil Search Ltd. and Total SA. Exxon already runs Papua New Guinea’s only liquefied natural gas ...

  Bloomberg Gold is in a major bull market and may surge to more than $1,500 an ounce as low interest rates buoy demand and the U.S. presidential election looms, according to DBS Group Holdings Ltd., which foresaw this year’s rally and is now advising investors to buy any declines. “Gold has seen four major bull markets since 1970: this ...