Bloomberg Rockets have been fired at two Iraqi air bases this week where American military forces are stationed, a US official said. The attacks, on the Al Asad base on Tuesday and Balad on Thursday were believed to be the work of militants with ties to Iran, according to the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. ...

Bloomberg Boris Johnson is heading for a clear victory in next week’s UK general election, according to senior officials in both his ruling Conservatives and the main opposition Labour Party. Speaking on condition of anonymity, five senior figures drawn from the two biggest parties said Johnson’s campaign promise to “get Brexit done” is winning ground in Labour heartlands in northern ...

Bloomberg Joe Biden said he would not rule out appointing donors as ambassadors, but wouldn’t make decisions about those roles based on someone’s financial contributions. “Nobody in fact will be appointed by me based on anything they contributed,” he told a group of reporters aboard his “No Malarkey” bus in Decorah, Iowa. “But, for example, you have some of the ...

Bloomberg Iran released the Chinese-American graduate student Xiyue Wang on Saturday as part of a prisoner swap, US officials said. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif confirmed that the US freed Iranian scientist Massoud Soleimani. Soleimani was “delivered to Iranian officials in Switzerland,” Iran’s foreign ministry said on its Telegram channel. Zarif later tweeted photos of himself with his countryman. ...

Bloomberg India’s economy may be faltering, but its $2.1 trillion stock market has been powering to new highs as foreign investors pile into country’s shares, betting the worst may have already passed. Economic growth is at the lowest since before prime minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. The economy expanded 4.5% in July-September, slowing for a sixth straight ...

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp and Kotak Mahindra Capital Co are among banks Indian billionaire Radhakishan Damani picked for another planned stake sale in Avenue Supermarts Ltd, owner of the DMart brand, said people with knowledge of the matter. Damani selected the banks as he prepares to pare his stake in India’s largest listed retail chain by selling about 5.2% ...

Bloomberg Soybean futures climbed for the fourth straight day as officials signalled optimism that the US and China will reach a trade deal. China was processing applications for tariff waivers on imports of US soy, a procedural step that could set the stage for a broader agreement. The Asian nation is the top consumer of each commodity, and US shipments ...

Bloomberg Japan is looking to raise defence spending to a record 5.3 trillion yen ($49 billion) for the year starting on April 1, partly to develop a next-generation fighter jet, the Nikkei reported, without saying where it obtained the information. The amount compares with 5.26 trillion yen earmarked for defence for this fiscal year and includes more than 10 billion ...

Bloomberg SoftBank Group Corp’s massive investment in WeWork triggered a multi-billion-dollar writedown and a rare apology from founder Masayoshi Son. But one analyst argues the deal is likely to work in the end and SoftBank will have the “last laugh.” Chris Lane of Sanford C Bernstein says WeWork can have a bright future if SoftBank overhauls the business plan and ...

Bloomberg India’s real estate, construction and infrastructure industries are in “deep trouble,” and non-bank finance companies which lend to these sectors should have their asset quality reviewed, former central bank Governor Raghuram Rajan said. There is also “significant distress in rural areas,” Rajan wrote in an opinion piece in India Today magazine. He said India is in a growth recession, ...