RIODE JANERIO /Bloomberg Latin America’s largest economy contracted less than economists expected late last year as a boost in agriculture output helped offset an overall decline in production. Gross domestic product contracted 1.4 percent in the three months ended in December, after a 1.7 percent drop the previous quarter, the national statistics institute said on Thursday in Rio de Janeiro. ...
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March, 2016
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3 March
Venezuela in disarray as politicians argue about way ahead
BLOOMBERG As Governor Henri Falcon takes his morning jog through Barquisimeto, the hub of Venezuela’s farming heartland, he crosses a bleak landscape. It’s not yet dawn and hundreds of perspiring shoppers are lining up for food, neighborhoods are dark from rolling blackouts and hospitals so crowded that the sick share beds. Falcon is a rarity in a deeply polarized country: ...
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3 March
Neglected interior poses risk for struggling Tunisia
Tunis / AFP Government neglect in central Tunisia, where poverty and unemployment rates are several times the national average, risks undermining the gains of its revolution and creating a breeding ground for extremism, experts say. Five years after Tunisia’s popular uprising, which set the tone for the momentous Arab Spring wave of protests, the wealth gap between its impoverished interior ...
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3 March
Ankara: Turkey-EU meet ‘shouldn’t just be about migrants’
Istanbul / AFP A summit next week between Turkey and the European Union billed as crucial for combatting Europe’s migration crisis should not just be about migrants but also discuss Ankara’s relations with the bloc, a Turkish official said on Thursday. The March 7 meeting in Brussels is seen as a crucial chance for EU and Turkish leaders to take ...
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3 March
Iran: GCC moves against Hezbollah harm Lebanon
Tehran / AFP Iran warned on Thursday that its Gulf Arab rivals were jeopardising Lebanon’s stability by blacklisting the leading force behind its government, Hezbollah, as a terror group. Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that the Shiite militant group, which is one of Iran’s closest allies, was a bulwark against terrorism in the region. “We are proud of ...
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3 March
IS-inspired militants on offensive in Philippines
Manila / AFP Militants fighting in the name of the IS group are escalating attacks in the southern Philippines, analysts said, deepening fears for the volatile region after its main Muslim rebel group failed to seal a peace pact. Gunmen who have pledged allegiance to the extremists controlling vast swathes of Iraq and Syria have instigated a series of deadly ...
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3 March
It’s official: Afghan Taliban leadership is in Pakistan
Islamabad / AFP A top Pakistani official has said for the first time publicly that the Afghan Taliban’s leadership enjoys a safe haven inside his country, which Islamabad uses as a “lever†to pressure the group into talks with Kabul. The admission by Pakistan’s foreign affairs advisor Sartaj Aziz comes after years of official denials by Islamabad that it offers ...
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3 March
UK house prices rise for eighth month as BOE sees risks
London / Bloomberg U.K. house prices rose for an eighth month in February as rental investors rushed to purchase homes before a tax increase, Nationwide Building Society said. The average price of a home climbed 0.3 percent from January to 196,930 pounds ($277,000), the lender said in a statement on Thursday. The annual rate of growth accelerated to 4.8 percent ...
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3 March
Accor, HNA said to bid for Radisson owner Carlson Rezidor
Bloomberg Accor SA, the biggest hotel operator in Europe, and Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co. are among companies considering bids for Carlson’s hotel group, which includes the Radisson and Park Plaza brands, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group could fetch about $2 billion in a sale, and a buyer could be chosen as soon ...
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3 March
Vonovia’s 2015 profit doubles on acquisitions, new revenues
BERLIN / Bloomberg Vonovia SE, the German property company that last month failed in an attempt to buy its largest competitor, said full-year profit more than doubled after it added properties and tapped new revenue sources. Funds from operations excluding sales, a measure of a real estate company’s ability to generate cash, rose to €608 million ($660 million) from €286.6 ...
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