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Orban ally sells coal plant before overhaul

Bloomberg The Hungarian conglomerate controlled by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s closest business ally sold the country’s biggest coal-fired power plant to the state in a U-turn after the premier agreed to the European Union‘s climate deal. The transaction on Matrai Eromu plant, signed on Monday between Opus Global Nyrt and state-owned energy group MVM Zrt, means that the projected $1 ...

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Are Trump’s trade wars over, or enjoying a truce?

President Trump has essentially declared victory in his relentless trade wars against China and Mexico, but whether this is a lasting triumph or just a truce remains to be seen. Even Trump may not know what comes next. Here’s a summary of what’s happened recently. First, China. It agreed to buy substantial amounts of US exports over the next two ...

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Sweden’s hike holds a lesson for ECB

If you’re searching for an example of how not to deal with negative rates, look no further than Sweden. The Riksbank chose to raise its repo rate back to zero, after years of negative rates, but it’s not at all clear why. Sweden’s economic outlook hardly suggests a hike is needed. Inflation is running at 1.7%, which is just below ...

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