Classic Layout

UK Conservatives seeking Brexit deal before EU election

Bloomberg Theresa May is still pursuing a Brexit deal that would get the UK out of the European Union before elections next month. With negotiations with the opposition Labour Party set to continue next week, there’s still time for parliament to settle on a deal before the May 23 vote, Conservative Party Chairman Brandon Lewis said in an interview with ...

Read More »

Voting begins in Spain with PM in contest

Bloomberg Spanish voters deliver their verdict on Sunday on whether Socialist PM Pedro Sanchez should form a new government after the collapse of his administration less than a year after he took power. Turnout by Sunday afternoon was higher than in the 2016 general election, with 41 percent of the 37 million eligible voters casting ballots for the 350 seats ...

Read More »

Australia caps refugee intake ahead of polls

Bloomberg PM Scott Morrison’s government pledged to freeze Australia’s refugee intake for the next three years as it thrust immigration to the heart of its campaign for re-election. The number of asylum-seeker visas granted each year will be kept at 18,750 for the next term of government if the Liberal-National coalition retains office on May 18, Minister for Cities Alan ...

Read More »

Indonesian president’s rival extends olive branch after disputed election

Bloomberg One of Joko Widodo’s top political opponents said he’s open to working with the Indonesia president following a disputed election this month, raising hopes for a peaceful outcome. Prabowo has refused to accept unofficial quick counts that show Widodo, known as Jokowi, has won a second term in office. Election authorities have until May 22 to release official results. ...

Read More »

China fugitive flees again as Hong Kong eyes extradition law

Bloomberg Fugitive Lam Wing-kee has been protected by rules dating back to the time of the former British colony’s handover to China that prevent extradition of Hong Kong citizens to the mainland. Now, that protection could be lifted by a proposed amendment to the law, and Lam is not the only one who is worried. “The impact would be huge” ...

Read More »

Biden is best candidate to beat Donald Trump

Joe Biden’s limitations as a presidential candidate are so obvious that they’re almost a litany: He’s too old, too white, too male, too touchy-feely, too loquacious. But he has one huge plus: He may be the person who could move Donald Trump out of the White House. Biden rightly put the obligation of replacing Trump at the center of his ...

Read More »

Why Abe should postpone tax hike

With Japan’s economy softening, its central bank needs to at least consider further steps to support growth. There’s one major hurdle, however, and only Prime Minister Shinzo Abe can remove it. A 2 percent hike in consumption tax, scheduled for October, would shore up Japan’s fiscal position and thus its ability to pay for an aging population. Yet this plan ...

Read More »

5G struggles of Huawei make Nokia’s life harder

You’d think all the pressure on Huawei Technologies Co. would make life easier for archrivals Nokia Oyj and Ericsson AB. In some senses, things have got harder. The US has intensified criticism of Huawei over the past year, saying its network equipment is vulnerable to exploitation by Chinese state-sponsored actors. That’s led to various bans in Australia, New Zealand and ...

Read More »

Brexit’s financial turf war is entering a new phase

Rarely have policymakers seemed so keen to snap the links that connect global markets, even at the risk of economic self-harm. Theresa May’s dogged pursuit of a Brexit that takes Britain out of the European Union’s (EU) single market and customs union is an obvious own goal, considering the City of London’s global position. The UK’s intransigence has already sent an ...

Read More »

India’s secret stimulus should be a warning sign

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has an election to fight. So naturally, his government is touting statistics that show 7 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the fiscal year that ended last month, despite skepticism from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) among others. As for jobs, the official version is that since there’s such high growth in output, they ...

Read More »
Send this to a friend