April, 2016

• 5 April

  British farmer fears losing Brussels lifeline as Brexit looms

  

  Thetford / AFP Toby Bulgin’s face wrinkles worriedly as he surveys his farm and contemplates the looming vote on Britain’s EU membership that could leave his livelihood hanging in the balance. The sunbathed fields, bleating lambs and birdsong on his farm in Norfolk, eastern England, seem a long way from the European Union’s corridors of power in Brussels. But Bulgin ...

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• 5 April

  Puerto Rico investors sue to stop development bank payments

  

  Bloomberg Hedge funds holding debt in Puerto Rico’s Government Development Bank sued to stop the island’s key fiscal entity from making payments to local government agencies as it faces a growing cash shortage and the prospect of insolvency. The funds, which include affiliates of Brigade Capital Management, Claren Road Asset Management and Solus Alternative Asset Management, accused the bank in ...

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• 5 April

  USA increases 2017 Medicare rates less than expected

  Bloomberg Health insurers that offer private Medicare Advantage plans will get a smaller-than-expected increase in payments next year. The U.S. is raising payments to the insurers by 0.85 percent on average, according to a statement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, down from the 1.35 percent boost proposed in February. Payments to individual insurers can vary, because CMS ...

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• 5 April

  Debt-ridden Vale exits Thyssenkrupp steel venture

  Bloomberg Vale SA, the world’s largest iron ore producer, is selling its share in Brazilian steel mill venture CSA to German partner Thyssenkrupp AG for a “symbolic price,” the company said, part of a strategy to dispose of non-core assets to help bolster its balance sheet. The miner based in Rio de Janeiro will exit the venture by unloading its ...

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• 5 April

  Petrobras chairman, board split on gasoline price cuts

  

  Bloomberg Petrobras Chairman Nelson Carvalho has opposed a management proposal to reduce the price of gasoline in a bid to boost sales, said a person familiar with the discussions. Jorge Celestino, the head of refining, proposed a price cut at a time Petrobras is losing market share, said the person, who asked to remain anonymous because the discussions aren’t public. ...

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• 5 April

  Canada’s shrinking petroleum industry braces for more job cuts

  

  Bloomberg After almost two years of sinking oil prices and at least 40,000 job cuts, Canada’s petroleum industry still isn’t finished tackling its bloated operations. The next round of layoffs has already begun with Cenovus Energy Inc. and Murphy Oil Corp. announcing workforce reductions last week. Ongoing cuts by Suncor Energy Inc., Encana Corp. and others will likely result in ...

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• 5 April

  Canada trade deficit widens to Can$1.9 bn in February

  AFP Despite slashing oil imports, Canada’s trade deficit with the world widened to Can$1.9 billion (US$1.5 billion) in February, according to the government statistics agency. The figure is up from Can$628 million (US$476 million) the previous month, and about one billion dollars more than the street expected. Exports fell 5.4 percent from a record high in January to Can$43.7 billion ...

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• 5 April

  Total US trade grows in Feb pushing deficit higher

  Bloomberg US international trade grew in February after a steady fall since 2014, but still remained lower than year-ago levels, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. Exports and imports were both higher after sinking to nearly five-year lows in January, a mark of the overall slowdown in global trade as well as the plunge in commodity prices. Exports rose by ...

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• 5 April

  Minsk Group holds talks to end Nagorny Karabakh clashes

  

  Vienna / AFP Talks to end the worst violence in decades in the disputed territory of Nagorny Karabakh kicked off in Vienna on Tuesday. The meeting gathered Russia, the United States and France in the so-called Minsk Group, spearheading attempts to end a low-key conflict that revived bloodily and dangerously last Friday. Analysts say the crisis could set a spark ...

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• 5 April

  N Korea video shows rocket attack on South’s president

  Seoul / AFP An official North Korean website released a new propaganda video portraying a multiple rocket attack on South Korea’s presidential Blue House and other government buildings in Seoul. It was uploaded on Monday to the DPRK Today website, which had released another video 10 days before depicting a nuclear attack on Washington. Tensions have been rising on the ...

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