March, 2016

• 16 March

  ‘Scandal’ script aped by real USA presidential debates

  Los Angeles / AFP “Scandal” showrunner Shonda Rhimes revealed her writers had been forced to change sections of dramatic dialogue after seeing their lines spoken for real in the US presidential debates. The ABC political thriller features a presidential race which mirrors the current battle for the Republican and Democratic nominations—and a White House hopeful in upcoming episodes who bears ...

  Read More »
• 16 March

  Myanmar’s Suu Kyi thanks supporters after prez election

  

  Naypyidaw / AFP Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi thanked her supporters on Wednesday and sounded a hopeful note for the future, in her first comments after lawmakers approved her chosen proxy to become the nation’s first civilian president in decades. The veteran activist said she was proud of MPs from her National League for Democracy for rallying around Htin Kyaw, ...

  Read More »
• 16 March

  Vast anti-terror operation under way in Brussels after shootout

  

  Brussels / AFP A vast police operation was under way in Brussels on Wednesday after a Kalashnikov-wielding assailant was killed and four officers wounded during an anti-terror search linked to the Paris attacks. Federal prosecutors were to hold a news conference at 0930 GMT amid widespread media reports that two suspects were either arrested or still on the run, possibly ...

  Read More »
• 16 March

  Osborne cuts company tax, targets sugar as growth slows

  

  Bloomberg Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced a further cut in the main rate of U.K. company tax and put a levy on sugary drinks as he warned the U.K. economy will grow less quickly in each of the next five years than previously forecast. In his annual budget speech to the House of Commons, Osborne said corporation tax ...

  Read More »
• 16 March

  Pound declines a third day as Osborne lowers UK growth outlook

  Bloomberg The pound weakened for a third day as U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne lowered the nation’s growth outlook in his annual budget. The U.K. currency dropped the most in three weeks against the dollar on Tuesday. Osborne said Wednesday the Office for Budget Responsibility revised its forecast for U.K. economic growth this year to 2 percent from ...

  Read More »
• 16 March

  Gazprom seeks to explore Switzerland with Russia’s first Eurobond this year

  

  Bloomberg Gazprom PJSC, the world’s largest natural-gas producer, is tapping the Swiss capital markets with the first foreign benchmark bond sale from Russia this year. The state-run gas monopoly is offering 500 million Swiss francs ($505 million) of notes due Nov. 30, 2018 with a coupon of 3.375 percent, according to a person familiar with the deal who asked not ...

  Read More »
• 16 March

  Germany’s bonds underperform as it sells 10-yr securities

  Bloomberg Germany’s government bonds underperformed their higher-yielding euro-area peers as the nation sold 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) of 10-year debt. Italy’s sovereign bonds advanced, along with most major euro-region securities, while German 10-year bunds were little changed. The yield on Europe’s benchmark securities has climbed about seven basis points since the day before the European Central Bank’s policy decision ...

  Read More »
• 16 March

  Deutsche Boerse agrees to buy LSE to create European titan

  

  Bloomberg Deutsche Boerse AG succeeded in its third attempt to acquire London Stock Exchange Group Plc. The deal would create a titan of European trading as long as regulators give it their blessing and rival suitors don’t scupper the agreement. While the companies declared it a merger of equals, Deutsche Boerse stockholders will get 54.4 percent of the enlarged group ...

  Read More »
• 16 March

  EU leaders push migrant plan ahead of Turkey summit

  

  Brussels / AFP European leaders launch a charm offensive to win backing for a migrant deal with Turkey on Wednesday, seeking to heal rifts between member states on the eve of a key summit with Ankara. EU president Donald Tusk warned that hard work lay ahead to finalise the deal, after Cyprus threatened to derail it over long-standing disagreements with ...

  Read More »
• 16 March

  New debris found in Reunion ‘unlikely’ from MH370

  Sydney / AFP A second piece of debris found on the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion was “unlikely to be from an aircraft”, Australian authorities leading the search for missing flight MH370 said Wednesday. The only part of the missing Boeing 777, which vanished two years ago with 239 passengers and crew on board, that has so far been ...

  Read More »