Rome / AFP The Italian government has decided to dissolve the town council of Brescello for fear that its local institutions have been infiltrated by the mafia. The decision was taken following a ministerial meeting on Wednesday. While dozens of other town councils in southern Italy have faced a similar fate in the past, it was the first time …

  In a bid to revive its flagging economy, China has gone back to its old ways, with rapid credit growth sparking a pick-up in the “old economy” sectors of construction, housing and manufacturing. However, keeping the good times rolling by delaying reforms could yet bring bigger problems for the world’s second-largest economy, according to analysts. On Friday, Asia’s economic …

A new Cybersecurity Act will be tabled in Singapore’s parliament next year, Singapore’s minister for communications and information, Yaacob Ibrahim, announced on April 11. According to Yaacob, the bill is aimed protecting the country’s critical information infrastructure. The bill will empower the year-old Cyber Security Agency (CSA) to “manage cyber incidents and raise the standards of cybersecurity providers in Singapore,” …

  There are sometimes good reasons to be worried about the U.S. national debt. The debt has to be serviced, and that requires collecting taxes, which distort the economy. If government debt gets so large that the only way to avoid a default is to hold down interest rates forever, those low rates can eventually have negative effects on the …

  BLOOMBERG A gauge of commodities headed for a five-month high, spurred by gains from metals to soy beans, and weighing on government bonds as the European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged at its latest policy meeting. Steel reinforcement bars jumped to a 19-month high in Shanghai, buoyed by an improving Chinese property market. Brent crude held near $46 …

  ABU DHABI / EMIRATES BUSINESS The Emirates Securities Market Index has increased by 0.88% to close at 4718.79 points. Accordingly the Market Capitalization has gained AED 6.68 billion attaining AED 765.45 billion. A total of 0.95 Billion Shares were traded with a total value of AED 1.24 billion during the trading session of 21-04-2016 through 10671 transactions. The number of companies …

  Frankfurt / AFP European Central Bank (ECB) held its key interest rates steady on Thursday, but analysts believe it could pave the way for new stimulus measures soon, despite growing resistance in Germany. The ECB’s governing council voted, as expected, to keep the benchmark “refi” refinancing rate at its current all-time low of zero percent, after cutting it to …

  MILAN / Reuters Italy’s market regulator gave the green light on Thursday for struggling lender Banca Popolare di Vicenza to list on the Milan stock exchange with a 1.76 billion euros ($2 billion) initial share offer, to be underwritten by a new bank bailout fund. Popolare di Vicenza, Italy’s eighth-largest lender, needs to raise the money to plug a …

  Ankara / AFP Turkey’s central bank cut a key interest rate at the debut meeting of its new governor in a move aimed at reassuring skittish investors but that disappointed the government. The bank said the overnight marginal funding rate was trimmed 50 basis points, as expected by analysts, to 10 percent from 10.50 percent. It left the one-week …

  SYDNEY/ Reuters Australian banks on Thursday promised unprecedented reforms to protect consumers and boost transparency following revelations of misconduct and ahead of a federal election set to be fought partly over calls for tougher sector oversight. The package includes reviewing sales commissions, supporting whistle-blower employees and black-listing individuals for poor conduct, the Australian Bankers Association (ABA) said. The politically …