In 1961, US President John F. Kennedy set a goal of placing Americans on the moon by the end of the decade. Eight years later, on July 20, 1969, his ambition was fulfilled. For the next three years, American astronauts made regular, albeit brief, visits to the lunar surface. The journeys ended in December 1972, when Apollo 17 departed a ...

When Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG pulled their merger talks at the end of last month, there was an audible sigh of relief at the European Central Bank (ECB). The deal was bound to raise eyebrows among the supervisors, as it would have concentrated the risk of a mega-bank in a single country, while offering few credible efficiency gains ...

It’s only a matter of time before European countries start taxing tech multinationals, first individually and then in a coordinated way. The question really is how digital taxes will work, and so far, the Czech Republic appears to have the best idea. It became clear in March that France’s push for a Europe-wide tax on Big Tech’s local revenues would ...

Bloomberg The global stock selloff triggered by worries over the outlook for trade extended into a third day, with US equity-index futures and European shares tracking declines across Asia. The pound slipped as hopes for a Brexit breakthrough faded. Contracts for the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average had been stable for much of the European morning, ...

Bloomberg Producers of household items have been India’s best stock market bets for years. But the consumption slowdown in the world’s fastest-growing major economy is rubbing the sheen off these shares. The 74-member S&P BSE Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Index, which has had only one down year since 2006, has bucked the gains in the nation’s benchmark measure. And some of ...

Bloomberg Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida pushed back against speculation in financial markets the central bank will cut interest rates to boost softening inflation up to its 2 percent target. “I don’t think we’re at that place now,” Clarida said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Michael McKee in Washington. “We think the policy in place now will get ...

Bloomberg The appointment of the next European Central Bank (ECB) head could potentially be delayed until just weeks before President Mario Draghi’s term expires amid a swathe of top European Union vacancies. That’s one of the scenarios being discussed among EU diplomats, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified. The complexity of upcoming ...

Bloomberg New Zealand’s central bank cut interest rates to a fresh record low and hinted at the chance of a further reduction if necessary, becoming the first among developed-world economies to ease policy this cycle. Governor Adrian Orr and his newly-formed Monetary Policy Committee decided that recent unexpected weakness in inflation and hiring warranted the Reserve Bank’s first rate cut ...

Bloomberg Banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. are set to be fined imminently by the European Union over collusion on foreign-exchange trading, according to two people with knowledge of the probe. The European Commission may announce fines as soon as this week as part of a settlement that sees the lenders get reduced penalties for agreeing not ...

Bloomberg Societe Generale SA failed to halt the slide in its investment bank in a quarter where the key equities business and stronger capital levels were bright spots for Chief Executive Officer Frederic Oudea. Profit at the unit that houses the trading operations declined 16 percent in what’s usually its strongest period. While earnings were dragged down by fixed-income trading, ...