Bloomberg The Kremlin indicated that President Vladimir Putin supports new laws punishing online media for spreading “fake news” or material that insults state officials, the latest move in a broad crackdown on dissent in Russia. The upper house of parliament passed the legislation in a near-unanimous vote, and will now send it to Putin for signing. The measures are “undoubtedly” ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s de facto central bank intervened to defend the local currency’s peg against the dollar for second time in days. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) bought $500 million of local currency, according to its page on Bloomberg, after the Hong Kong dollar fell to weak end of its HK$7.75-HK$7.85 trading band. It also purchased $192mn worth at ...

Bloomberg Australia’s consumer confidence slumped in March as households were shaken by a slowdown in economic growth and the prolonged downturn in the property market. Sentiment fell 4.8 percent to 98.8, the weakest reading since September 2017 and meaning pessimists now outnumber optimists, Westpac Banking Corp. said in a statement Wednesday. It said responses during the survey showed “a marked ...

Bloomberg Subdued inflation in India is proving to be a dilemma for Prime Minister Narendra Modi weeks before a crucial vote. While most politicians heading into elections would want to cheer their efforts in taming the inflation dragon — especially in emerging economies like India, where price surges can oust governments — Modi has been restrained about this achievement. That’s ...

Bloomberg China will fall well short of its target of cutting taxes and fees by a record 2 trillion yuan ($298 billion) this year, according to S&P Global Ratings. The government will likely only be able to cut taxes by 1.5 trillion yuan, about 25 percent short of its goal, S&P credit analysts led by Yutong Zou wrote in a ...

Bloomberg Apple Inc. should be probed by the European Union’s antitrust agency over how it allegedly squeezes rival music streaming services, Spotify Technology SA said, escalating a row over how Apple takes a cut of all sales on its app store. The iPhone maker has created an “untenable” situation by imposing ever-changing rules and a 30 percent tax for apps ...

Bloomberg The UK will avoid imposing tariffs on most imported goods in the event of a no-deal Brexit, though officials said prices of key Eu-ropean Union products including beef, cheese and cars will rise. The government said on Wednesday its “balanced approach” aims to offset a spike in prices that consumers would experience in a no-deal departure as a result ...

Bloomberg Volkswagen AG’s main car brand plans to deepen cost cuts and ax more jobs as profits slip in the industry’s shift to electric and self- driving cars. The German carmaker said on Wednesday it will eliminate as many as 7,000 positions — with measures including early retirement and not filling vacant positions — for an annual profit gain of ...

Bloomberg The European Union set new criteria for the use of palm oil in biofuels in a balancing act to avert a trade war with producers in Asia while appeasing climate protagonists at home. The measure approved by the European Commission on Wednesday spells out the type of biofuels from palm oil that may be counted towards the EU’s renewable-energy ...

Good presidents learn while they are in office. Donald Trump, however, is doubling down on many of the same bad ideas he campaigned on. A recent example is an initiative his administration is reportedly developing to force US allies to pay far more for hosting American troops and bases. The initiative flows naturally from the president’s desire to get even ...