Bloomberg The Trump administration released rules for a tax break designed to encourage economic development in distressed areas throughout the US by making it easier to invest in businesses and real estate in low-income communities. Wall Street banks, private equity firms, real estate developers and others have been eagerly awaiting the regulations, which the administration said will spur $100 billion ...

Bloomberg Blackstone Group LP plans to convert to a corporation from a publicly traded partnership, a step that opens up the stock for inclusion in indexes, after watching two rivals benefit from the move. The shares jumped in early trading. Changing company’s structure will increase the firm’s “ability to reach a dramatically larger audience,” Chief Executive Officer Stephen Schwarzman, said ...

Bloomberg Canada recorded smaller trade deficits than expected in the first two months of 2019 on a rally in oil prices, but figures show the nation’s exporters are still struggling. The nation posted a smaller-than-expected C$2.9 billion ($2.2 billion) deficit in February, and Statistics Canada revised down its initial deficit forecast for January by C$1 billion. Yet, the improved trade ...

Bloomberg The first few weeks of trading in Lyft Inc.’s stock have not gone well, and that’s unlikely to change any time soon. Lyft’s share price has dropped nearly 19 percent since debuting late last month, prompting some investors to sue the company, alleging the ride-sharing service provider overstated its market position when it went public. Questions about growth and ...

Bloomberg The San Francisco Bay Area and Boston are likely at the top of the list of US regions to work for tech job seekers. But for techies interested in building the next generation of autonomous cars or supersonic jets, smaller cities may offer better opportunities. Job-seekers have good reason to search outside the top tech hubs because smaller centers ...

Bloomberg Sri Lanka’s government has blamed local extremist group National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) for one of Asia’s deadliest terrorist attacks in years, and said other nations had shared intelligence warnings ahead of the blasts. The death toll rose to 290 in the coordinated blasts on Easter Sunday at churches and luxury hotels, which the government said were carried out by ...

Bloomberg The Philippines was struck by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake on Monday afternoon that shook buildings in the capital and prompted the evacuation of thousands onto the streets of Manila. At least eight people have died, according to local media. The quake occurred 1 kilometre from Gutad, located to the northwest of Manila, according to the US Geological Survey. The ...

Bloomberg Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a frosty response to comic Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s landslide election as Ukraine’s new president, with the Kremlin saying it was “premature” to offer congratulations on his victory. “Moscow respects the choice of the Ukrainian people, especially since this choice is very obvious,” though it’s too soon to consider possibilities for Putin and Zelenskiy to work ...

Bloomberg A government-backed candidate scored a razor-edge victory in the first round of North Macedonia’s presidential election and will advance to a runoff against an opposition figure who opposes the deal that opened the way to western integration. Stevo Pendarovski, the coordinator for the country’s accession talks to NATO, won 42.8 percent in the vote, according to the Electoral Commission, ...

Bloomberg Donald Trump returned from a long Easter weekend in Florida to a new political landscape, one where his administration is at last freed from Robert Mueller’s pursuit yet laid bare in all its dysfunction by the special counsel’s report. Trump arrived to his Mar-a-Lago resort with the swagger of a conquering hero, after Mueller reiterated that he had found ...