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Cars burn in Irish assault on ‘repossessed house’

Bloomberg A number of men attacked security guards and set cars on fire at a repossessed house in western Ireland, as anger at repossessions since the financial crisis bubbled over. As many as 20 men armed with baseball bats attacked the rural property in Co. Roscommon, state broadcaster RTE reported. A number of people were injured, with three requiring hospital ...

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India offers $1.4bn to Maldives amid tussle with China

Bloomberg India has offered the Maldives $1.4 billion through a credit line and budgetary support as the tiny island nation’s new government pivots from a pro-China foreign policy to one focussed on its close neighbour India. The loan agreement came after talks between newly-elected Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders discussed regional ...

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UN sees tougher US relationship without Haley as envoy

Bloomberg United Nations diplomats surprised by how they managed to cope with President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda are worried that things are only going to get tougher in 2019. It’s not State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert — Trump’s pick to replace departing Ambassador Nikki Haley — who’s raising concerns. It’s her boss, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, and National ...

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Good luck to the Fed

The nine-year economic recovery is dead. Long live the recovery. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) — the Federal Reserve’s main policymaking body — meets this week to decide whether or not to raise interest rates. No matter what it does, the decision is likely to be criticised. Since late 2015, the Fed has increased short-term interest rates eight times ...

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Italy’s 2% pledge is just cosmetic

Italy’s populist government has pledged to the European Commission that it will lower its deficit target to 2 percent of national income next year. For a cabinet that vowed to defy the ‘bureaucrats’ in Brussels, this is a stunning climb-down. But unless Rome is ready to row back on some of the key pledges included in its 2019 budget, it ...

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Something weird is going on with German debt

Falling yields on German government debt is the sign of a classic ‘risk-off’ mentality. As fear grows, investors plump for safety. But where’s the crisis in Europe? Yields on 10-year bunds have fallen steadily by 30 basis points in the past two months. And German notes out to eight years are now in negative territory. It’s hard to fathom why. ...

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May’s delaying tactics makes Brexit worse

It’s unclear what UK Prime Minister Theresa May hoped to get from leaders of the European Union (EU) at their recent summit. As things turned out, she got less than nothing — a public brush-off that further weakened her standing at home, if that were possible. Her Brexit strategy has collapsed, and nothing is to be gained by persisting with ...

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The bubble is losing air. Get ready for a crisis

The ‘everything bubble’ is deflating. The fact that it’s happening relatively slowly shouldn’t blind us to the real threat: The world is dangerously underestimating how hard it’ll be to deal with the fallout once it pops. Frothy markets can’t disguise the warning signs. The shift to tighter monetary policies in the West is putting pressure on global equity and real ...

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Having biggest private jet doesn’t always help

By rights, wealthy finance types should adore Bombardier Inc. The Canadian aerospace and train manufacturer’s Global 7500 is the biggest business jet around and can fly non-stop from New York to Hong Kong reaching almost the speed of sound. It’s yours for a mere $73 million. To describe the cabin as roomy is an understatement. There are four separate “living ...

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