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Chevron gets new setback for giant Oz gas project

Sydney / AFP Australia’s largest resources project will stop production for up to 60 days owing to mechanical issues, US energy giant Chevron said on Wednesday, in the latest setback to hit the US$54 billion plant. Chevron’s Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project off Australia’s northwest coast — one of the world’s biggest — started production in early March and ...

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Samsung regains smartphone share with new phones

MUMBAI / Reuters Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is regaining smartphone share in India with a revamped line-up packed with special features including a safety mode for motorcyclists, as rival Apple Inc readies a renewed push into the world’s fastest-growing market. Long the leader in price-conscious India, the South Korean giant had been losing ground to local rivals such as Micromax ...

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Poland holds rates at record amid deflation

Bloomberg Poland’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a 13th month as its revamped policy council defies expectations for deeper monetary easing in the face of the longest bout of deflation in 60 years. The 10-member panel on Wednesday left the seven-day reference rate at a record-low 1.5 percent, matching the predictions of all 34 economists surveyed ...

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Germany’s auction of negative-yielding securities highlights gloomly outlook

Bloomberg Germany’s two-year note sale on Wednesday provided more evidence that an increasingly gloomy economic outlook in the euro zone keeps driving investors to buy negative-yielding securities in return for their safety — and potential capital gains. The country’s bonds, which have returned 4.4 percent percent this year, were mostly little changed as Europe’s largest economy allotted €3.24 billion of ...

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Turkish lira drops on calls for lending rate cut

Bloomberg The lira fell the most in emerging markets after Turkey’s Economy Minister became the latest official to call for interest rate cuts, stoking concern that politicians are interfering in monetary policy. Speculation that global growth is faltering also contributed to the drop. The currency lost 0.6 percent to 2.8488 per dollar, the weakest level in more than a week, ...

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SNB to issue new 50-franc banknote on April 12

Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank unveiled its new 50-franc ($52) note on Wednesday, the first in a series that features nature rather than portraits of famous men and women. The 50-franc bill, which will begin to be issued on April 12, was designed with the theme of wind and depicts a dandelion, mountains and a para-glider. Other notes in the ...

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‘Brexit’ no barrier to UK stock values at premium

Bloomberg Doubts are mounting about the future of the U.K.’s membership in the European Union, but you wouldn’t know it from the country’s stocks. Rather than being punished for a lack of certainty, they’ve become the most expensive ever relative to others in the region. The valuation of companies in the FTSE 350 Index climbed to 15.5 times estimated earnings ...

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Brokers upended as Obama toughens retirement accounts

Bloomberg US brokers managing retirement accounts must adhere to tough new standards under an Obama administration rule released on Wednesday that aims to protect millions of savers from conflicted investment advice. The Labour Department regulation, which gave the industry some concessions from an earlier proposal, puts a capstone on President Barack Obama’s efforts to rein in Wall Street and level ...

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Ontario selling Hydro One stake in $1.3 billion share agreement

Bloomberg Ontario is selling a stake in Hydro One Ltd. for C$1.71 billion ($1.3 billion) five months after completing Canada’s largest initial public offering since 2000. In the so-called bought deal, where banks commit to buying the entire offering for resale to investors, the province is selling 72.4 million shares of Hydro One at C$23.65 apiece, the Toronto-based utility said ...

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Argentina’s Prat-Gay leaves debt deadline move with holdouts

Bloomberg Argentina called on bondholders to give the country more time to repay about $12 billion in debt still owing from its 2001 default as a court hearing prevents the government from making the payment within the deadline. The New York Appeals Court will begin to hear the case on April 13, one day before Argentina has to make the ...

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