March, 2016

• 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 »
• 16 March

  Pakistan court lifts travel ban on ex-prez Musharraf

  Islamabad / AFP Pakistan’s top court on Wednesday ordered the government to lift a travel ban on former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, a move that could let him leave the country while awaiting trial for treason. Musharraf’s lawyers say he needs to go abroad for urgent spinal treatment not available in Pakistan. He was placed on the “Exit Control List” ...

  Read More »
• 16 March

  Turkey stability fears as PKK ups offensive

  

  Ankara / AFP Sunday’s suicide car bombing in Ankara has raised fears of an escalation in Turkey’s long-running Kurdish conflict, as the country grapples with the IS threat while relying on a security system weakened by a political crackdown, analysts say. No-one has claimed responsibility for the blast which killed 35 people in the heart of the Turkish capital, but ...

  Read More »
• 16 March

  UN envoy to meet pro-Russia Syrian opposition group at talks

  Geneva / AFP A Syrian opposition group that is close to Russia and tolerated by Damascus will meet UN envoy Staffan de Mistura at peace talks in Geneva, a delegation member said on Wednesday. “We received an invitation to take part in the Geneva talks,” said Fateh Jamous, a member of the so-called Moscow Group, which includes ex-Syrian deputy prime ...

  Read More »
• 16 March

  Syrians dream of Europe ‘miracle’ despite slammed doors

  

  Gaziantep / AFP Borders are slamming shut and European leaders are desperately trying to stem the flow of migrants to their shores—but near the Turkey-Syrian border, Mohammed Bilal is still dreaming of Real Madrid. The 23-year-old from Syria’s war-torn Aleppo province was a promising footballer in his homeland and he still hopes to make it big, despite the European Union’s ...

  Read More »