Bloomberg Lebanon is holding its first parliamentary elections in nine years, a pivotal moment for the country as it tries to ease a crippling debt burden and avoid being dragged deeper into some of the Middle East’s escalating crises. Polls opened on Sunday morning under a new law based on proportional representation that’s meant to more accurately represent Lebanon’s complex ...

Bloomberg North Korea said US sanctions aren’t the reason behind its willingness to remove nuclear weapons from peninsula, accusing its adversary of trying to ramp up tensions ahead of a summit between leaders of the countries. The US is misleading the public by saying its sanctions are working, KCNA said on Sunday. America isn’t being helpful if it continues to ...

Bloomberg Rudy Giuliani suggested that Donald Trump plans to pull the US out of the Iran nuclear agreement, pointing to the presence in the president’s inner circle of new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and long-time foreign policy hawk John Bolton. “We have a president who is tough,” Giuliani said at a conference organised in Washington by the Organization of ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump renewed a threat to close down the federal government when current funding runs out in September if immigration reforms and funding for a wall on the US border with Mexico aren’t forthcoming. “We may have to close up our country to get this straight,” Trump said during an event in Cleveland focused on the benefits of ...

Bloomberg Theresa May declared her “absolute determination” to make a success of Brexit as she came under new pressure from Conservatives on both sides of the Brexit debate. Writing in the Sun newspaper on Sunday, the British prime minister pledged to leave the European Union’s single market and the customs union and build “a new relationship with EU partners that ...

Bloomberg Italy may be at a turning point to end a two-month political deadlock as Five Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio signalled he’s ready to give up his quest to be prime minister as a way to begin talks with the League’s Matteo Salvini on forming a government. “I want to do a political government with the League based ...

Bloomberg It’s not what have you done for me lately. For companies in the S&P 500 Index, it’s what will you do for me next. And that’s proving a thorny question for US equity bulls. Another week of stellar earnings reports has gone by without any payoff in stocks. Even Friday’s rally, the biggest in almost a month, couldn’t turn ...

Bloomberg Once again, the pound’s fortunes lie with the Bank of England. Traders will scrutinise the central bank’s policy decision on Thursday for any signs that an interest-rate hike this year is still in the cards. A lot of bad news has already been baked into the UK currency and a “relatively hawkish hold” from the BOE could push it ...

Bloomberg BP Plc is weighing an acquisition of some of BHP Billiton Ltd.’s energy assets as the British oil major seeks more US shale, according to people familiar with the matter. The London-based company is working with Morgan Stanley to advise on the plans, said the people, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. BP is weighing ...

Bloomberg AltaGas Ltd.’s proposed $4.6 billion buyout of WGL Holdings Inc. took a step closer to approval, with the two companies announcing a potential settlement with several groups in the District of Columbia. The settlement in principal may be a sign that the D.C. Office of People’s Counsel and other local organizations won’t oppose the deal, and was announced in ...