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India gears up for ‘make or break’ budget

New Delhi / AFP India’s government is expected to deliver on promises to overhaul the tax regime and ramp up public spending in its budget on Monday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi bids to shore up his sagging reputation as a reformer. The business-friendly premier came to power almost two years ago with promises to overhaul Asia’s third-largest economy and ...

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G20 nations face slowing global growth at Beijing meet

Shanghai / AFP G20 finance ministers gather in Shanghai from Friday with the global economy assailed on multiple fronts, from China’s slowing growth to weak commodity prices, amid simmering disagreements over how best to face the challenges. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday warned risks of a “derailed recovery” are growing, citing China’s faltering economy, falling oil and commodities ...

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Foxconn to takeover Sharp for US$8.77bn

Tokyo / AFP Money-losing Sharp on Thursday accepted a multi-billion-dollar bailout from the parent of Taiwan’s Foxconn, ending speculation over its uncertain future with the first foreign takeover of a major Japanese electronics firm. Sharp — which has teetered on the edge of bankruptcy for years — had been mulling rival offers from Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision, better known as ...

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Thai exports suffer worst drop in 4 years

Bangkok / AFP Thai exports fell by nearly nine percent in January, their worst drop in more than four year as economic woes continue to pile up on the kingdom’s military rulers, government figures released Thursday showed. Once one of Southeast Asia’s most vibrant and successful economies, Thailand has struggled with lacklustre growth fuelled by more than a decade of ...

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ENEC showcases corporate excellence initiatives

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business As part of the Knowledge Forums that were launched in 2014, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) in coordination with the Office of the Abu Dhabi Excellence Program at the Secretariat of the Executive Council (GSEC), showcased its government excellence experience, initiatives and projects at the forum which was held at Dusit Thani hotel in ...

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Brexit tripling chance of UK falling into recession

BLoomberg Fancy another recession? Economists say voting to leave the European Union would dramatically increase the U.K.’s chances of heading down that road. As Britons contemplate their place in the 28-nation bloc before June’s referendum, respondents to a Bloomberg survey said the probability of a slump spikes to 40 percent in the event of an “out” vote. That compares with ...

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Blues as plunging currency pounds British vacationers

Bloomberg Rachel Holdsworth has the “Brexit” blues. The 38-year-old London resident is anxious that her already expensive planned holiday to Norway is getting pricier with each passing day. The pound is sinking under the weight of worry that her fellow subjects will vote to quit the EU. “How much I pay will be entirely dependent on the exchange rate,” says ...

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Bank of England must be ready to tackle risks, says Cunliffe

Bloomberg Bank of England Deputy Governor for Financial Stability Jon Cunliffe said risks to the UK outlook have increased and policy makers must be ready to act if needed. In a speech in London, Cunliffe said the global and domestic expansion has been weaker than he expected, pay growth will probably remain subdued and “deeper structural factors” may be at ...

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German govt bonds resilient to inflation, raise outlook for ECB

Bloomberg Investors are clinging to their German government bonds, looking beyond a report on Thursday that’s predicted to confirm that euro-area inflation accelerated last month to the fastest rate since 2014. As more forward-looking measures signal the European Central Bank is struggling to meet its longer-term consumer-price objectives, the yield on benchmark German 10-year securities stayed about 0.1 percentage point ...

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Consumer spending drives UK growth as investment slumps

Bloomberg Consumer spending drove the U.K. economy to a 12th straight quarter of growth as the global slowdown took its toll on exporters and business investment slumped. Household spending rose 0.7 percent between October and December, helping to counter a second quarter of declining exports and the biggest drop in business investment in almost two years, the Office for National ...

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