March, 2016

• 3 March

  Pound rally ends as British economy loses momentum

  

  Bloomberg The pound ended its longest run of gains in seven months versus the euro and struggled to maintain a rally against the dollar as evidence mounted that the U.K. economy is losing momentum. Sterling retreated against 12 of its 16 major counterparts after a February index of U.K. services, which account for about three quarters of the nation’s output, ...

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• 3 March

  Russia’s services industry grows for first time in five months

  Bloomberg Russia’s service industry grew for the first time in five months as a weaker ruble spurred exports, adding to signs that the recession gripping the world’s largest energy exporter is easing. The Russia Services Business Activity Index rose to 50.9 in February from 47.1 in January, according to a statement released Thursday by Markit Economics. The gauge had held ...

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• 3 March

  UK services index plunges to lowest in almost three years

  Bloomberg A U.K. services gauge dropped in February as concerns about global growth, market volatility and the possibility of a British exit from the European Union rattled the biggest part of the economy. The Purchasing Managers Index published by Markit Economics on Thursday fell to 52.7 — the lowest since March 2013 — from 55.6. Economists had forecast a reading ...

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• 3 March

  German government should give electric cars a good jolt

  

  Bloomberg Germany is falling woefully short of its target to have one million electric vehicles on the streets by 2020 so it feels the need to do something. Enter the taxpayer: the government is considering a €5,000 ($5,419) incentive to lure would-be buyers. That money could be better spent. Electric vehicles’ share of German sales: 0.4% The industry has a ...

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• 3 March

  N Korea fires missiles after UN imposes tough sanctions

  

  Seoul / AfP North Korea fired six short-range projectiles into the sea on Thursday in a show of defiance just hours after the United Nations adopted the toughest sanctions to date on Pyongyang over its fourth nuclear test and rocket launch. Limited displays of military firepower have become a routine response by North Korea to international pressure over anything from ...

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• 3 March

  Istanbul police kills 2 female leftist militants

  Istanbul / AfP Turkish police killed two female leftist militants who hurled grenades and opened fire at an Istanbul police station on Thursday, officials said. The two women—members of the outlawed ultra-leftist Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party–Front (DHKP-C)— had taken refuge in an apartment after their attack. Police then launched an assault on the apartment, and the two were “neutralised”, Istanbul ...

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• 3 March

  Migrants sew mouths to protest ‘Jungle’ demolition

  Calais / AFP A group of Iranian migrants sewed their mouths shut in a disturbing protest at the ongoing demolition of the “Jungle” migrant camp in the French port city of Calais on Thursday. AFP journalists said at least nine Iranians had stitched their mouths shut in the southern half of the camp, which is being gradually demolished by French ...

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• 3 March

  Trump’s rise spooks Europe

  

  London / AFP Europe’s bemusement at the rise of Donald Trump has switched to concern as his presidential campaign has gained ground in what observers said was a warning to traditional parties about ignoring populists. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier this week spoke about the “politics of fear” in the US campaign in a thinly-veiled reference to Trump and drew ...

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• 3 March

  Ukraine accuses rebels of firing missiles ahead of peace talks

  

  Kiev / AFP Ukraine on Thursday accused pro-Russian insurgents of firing large-calibre weapons at its forces in advance of new peace talks in Paris aimed at ending the 23-month war. The charge came one day after Kiev and rebel envoys agreed to halt live-fire exercises along the 500-kilometre front splitting eastern separatist territories from the rest of the West-leaning former ...

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• 3 March

  India’s 2016 budget: Politics meets economics

  

  The annual budget of India is often an expression of not only the economic direction of the country over the coming year, but also the political intentions of the ruling party. The 2016 budget, which was presented in the Indian parliament on Monday, however, contains more political substance than economic heft. It reveals the political thinking of the Bharatiya Janata ...

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