Hanoi, Vietnam / AFP President Barack Obama said on Monday he remained confident the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal would be ratified in the United States despite strong political opposition in Washington. “The reason I remain confident is it’s the right thing to do,” he told reporters in Vietnam where he is currently on a three-day visit. “I have not ...

    Bloomberg This month, Telefonica SA was able to raise the price of landline phone service in Argentina for the first time since 2000 — by a whopping 192 percent. The increase in the line-rental fee to about 38 pesos ($2.70) a month from 13 pesos in the carrier’s second-largest Latin American market comes after 16 years of government-frozen ...

  Bloomberg Oil dropped for a fourth day as producers in Canada worked to resume operations after wildfires curbed output and Iran continued to raise exports amid a global surplus. July futures slid as much as 1.5 percent in New York. Cooler weather is helping to control a blaze in the heart of Canada’s oil-sands region and allowing Suncor Energy ...

BLOOMBERG Brazil economists forecast lower interest rates this year on the expectation incoming central bank president Ilan Goldfajn will ease monetary policy to stimulate growth. Economists reduced their 2016 Selic forecast to 12.75 percent from 13 percent the prior week, according to the weekly Focus survey conducted May 20. They also raised their IPCA inflation forecast to 7.04 percent, from ...

  The cross-country demonstrations currently taking place in Vietnam to protest massive fish die-offs along the central Vietnamese coast are truly remarkable. Not only were demonstrations at this scale unheard of even five years ago, but they beg the question of why thousands of demonstrators as far off as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are subjecting themselves to the ...

  Dalton Lin SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS Taiwan’s new president, Tsai Ing-wen, finally delivered her keenly anticipated and closely watched inaugural speech on May 20. China had made it clear ever since Tsai’s election that if she hoped for the peaceful and cooperative cross-strait relations over the past eight years to continue, she needed to come to terms with the ...

  BLOOMBERG Commodities slid, led by metals, while U.S. stocks fluctuated as investors awaited more clarity on the timing of the Federal Reserve’s next increase in interest rates and the outlook for inflation. The yen strengthened. Oil fell for a fourth day after Iran said again that it won’t countenance freezing output until its production is back at pre-sanctions levels, ...

  Bloomberg Cracks in the foundation of the bull market in U.S. stocks are quickly spreading. The Wall Street deal-making machine that powered 2015 to one of the biggest years ever for mergers and acquisitions has slowed, and that means the pop to stock prices that investors could count on from corporate transactions has been reduced. While there are still ...

  Dubai / Reuters Stock markets in the Gulf trod separate paths on Monday, with Saudi Arabia’s market lagging while the two main markets in the United Arab Emirates held on to small gains. Riyadh’s index was down 1.2 percent after an hour of trade amid a sell-off in petrochemical shares after oil prices weakened. Brent oil was down 0.9 ...

  Dubai / Bloomberg Dubai investor Selim Fendi plans to open Monaco’s first gold refinery in early 2017 to meet demand from local and global jewelers looking to make sure they aren’t using metal from conflict areas. Aurum Monaco SAM will produce up to 1 metric ton of gold a month in its first year, with capacity to boost that ...