Bloomberg The UK economy grew at its fastest pace in six months in July, an unexpectedly strong performance that will allay fears Britain is facing a possible pre-Brexit recession. The economy recorded growth across the board, with the dominant services sector enjoying its best month this year. All else being equal, it will expand 0.4 percent in the third quarter ...
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Google may ‘stonewall’ antitrust probes, state AGs are warned
Bloomberg Republican Senator Josh Hawley warned state attorneys general (AG) expected to announce an antitrust probe of Alphabet Inc’s Google on Monday that they should expect formidable defensive tactics, no matter how cooperative the company has promised to be. “They will probably stall, stonewall, deflect, deny, threaten,†Hawley, a Missouri freshman who investigated the company when serving as his state’s ...
Read More »German trade surplus widens as exports rise
Bloomberg Germany posted its biggest trade surplus in four months as exports showed a surprise gain. The foreign trade balance stood at 21.4 billion euros ($23.6 billion) in July, up from 16.6 billion euros the previous month, according to the Federal Statistics Office. Shipments abroad rose 0.7 percent from June, defying economist estimates for a decline. The data provide some ...
Read More »Ferrari unveils two new spider models
Bloomberg Ferrari NV unveiled two new cars in a record year in terms of model range renewal, a move that will likely allow the Italian supercar maker to boost sales and increase average prices. On Monday, the Maranello-based company in Northern Italy revealed a sports car equipped with its most popular mid-rear-mounted 720-horsepower V8 engine, called F8 Spider, and a ...
Read More »Ken Griffin spends $99mn for Florida beachfront house
Bloomberg Ken Griffin’s splurge on luxury real estate properties shows no signs of abating. The hedge fund titan spent $99.1 million for a beachfront house adjacent to his existing Palm Beach estate, according to the Palm Beach Post, citing sources with knowledge of the transaction and a deed filing. A Palm Beach County document confirmed the purchase price, but didn’t ...
Read More »Putin’s system survives local polls as some cracks appear
Bloomberg Simmering popular anger led to setbacks for Russia’s ruling party in closely watched races in Moscow, even as the Kremlin used its tight control of the electoral system to ensure wins for its handpicked candidates in gubernatorial votes elsewhere. After weeks of the biggest anti-Kremlin demonstrations in seven years in the capital this summer, the United Russia party lost ...
Read More »Taiwan woos Solomon Islands amid China tilt
Bloomberg Taiwan and the Solomon Islands put on a display of friendship on Monday, pledging to deepen ties, even as rumors persist the Pacific nation is close to severing relations in favour of China. President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan and the Solomon Islands would work together to strengthen bilateral ties as she met its foreign minister Jeremiah Manele. “Taiwan and ...
Read More »UK group starts legal bid to ensure PM follows law
Bloomberg A British human-rights group is bringing a legal challenge to ensure that Prime Minister Boris Johnson abides by a government bill after one of his ministers criticised the legislation that requires an extension to the Brexit deadline. Liberty has applied for a judicial review, though it said it would withdraw the application if the prime minister confirmed that he ...
Read More »Failed Afghan talks bring out Trump foreign policy setbacks
Bloomberg Donald Trump took the presidency vowing to bring his deal-making savvy to American foreign policy, yet his love for grand gestures and personal diplomacy has fallen short with North Korea, China and the Mideast. Now Afghanistan can be added to the list. In a series of tweets, the president dispatched with a secret plan to host Taliban and Afghan ...
Read More »Slew of anti-immigrant attacks spur security crackdown in South Africa
Bloomberg South African authorities are cracking down on the perpetrators of a series of xenophobic attacks that left at least 12 people dead, Police Minister Bheki Cele said. The police arrested 639 people so far, Cele told reporters in Johannesburg, the nation’s economic hub where unrest flared again a day earlier. He conceded there was “anti-foreign sentiment†within the country. ...
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