February, 2022

• 18 February

  Spying scandal sparks split in Spain’s opposition

  

    Bloomberg Spain’s main opposition party descended into chaos as senior officials were accused of mounting an espionage operation against a rising star who poses a threat to the party leader. The fight broke out after local newspapers reported that the People’s Party had hired private detectives to dig up information on the brother of Madrid’s regional president, Isabel Diaz ...

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• 18 February

  Malawi reports first wild polio case in three decades

  

    Bloomberg The first wild polio virus case in 30 years has been confirmed in Malawi, sparking concern that the disease that causes paralysis could spread from the only two countries where it is endemic, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Malawian case in the capital, Lilongwe, has been tied to a strain of the virus found in an outbreak in Pakistan’s ...

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• 18 February

  UK may stop Russian firms raising money in London

  

    Bloomberg Boris Johnson said the UK proposes to stop Russian firms from raising capital in London’s financial markets, part of measures targeting Vladimir Putin’s administration if it decides to invade Ukraine. The move is part of a “very tough package of sanctions” that’s “ready to go,” the British prime minister said in a pooled TV interview in London. Johnson ...

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• 18 February

  Biden administration seeking additional $30bn for Covid-19

  

    Bloomberg Biden administration officials told lawmakers that they plan to seek $30 billion in new spending to combat the Covid-19 pandemic in conjunction with a $1.5 trillion government funding package lawmakers want to complete by March 11. Department of Health and Human Services officials made the informal pitch to lawmakers, with a formal White House request expected at a ...

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• 18 February

  Italy opens up competition for lucrative beach resort licenses

  

    Bloomberg Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi pushed through long-delayed changes on how Italy assigns licenses for public beaches, despite the opposition of one of the parties backing his government. The government approved a plan to set up competitive tenders for the lucrative licenses from 2024, which allow bathhouses and resorts to be built on public land in exchange for ...

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• 18 February

  Inflation jumps to 5.1% in Canada

    Bloomberg Canadian consumer price inflation accelerated to a new three-decade high in January, adding to pressure on the Bank of Canada to start raising interest rates as early as March 2. Annual inflation was 5.1% last month, up from 4.8% in December, Statistics Canada reported in Ottawa. Economists were anticipating inflation would be unchanged in January. The average of ...

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• 18 February

  Deutsche Bahn prepares $23bn sale of Schenker

  

    Bloomberg German national railway operator Deutsche Bahn AG has taken the first concrete steps to prepare for a potential sale or listing of its DB Schenker logistics unit, which could be around 20 billion euros ($23 billion). The government-owned company is working with a consultant and legal advisers to ready the business for a possible transaction later this year, ...

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• 18 February

  Stocks, futures advance on planned US-Russia talks

  

    Bloomberg Stocks rise on Friday as planned talks between Russia and the US over Ukraine alleviated some investor gloom about geopolitical risks. Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index and US equity futures advanced after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for talks in Europe next week. On Thursday, President Joe Biden warned that ...

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• 18 February

  Temasek-backed fund amasses $10b for global foray

  

    Bloomberg 74-year-old Ng Kok Song has built one of Singapore’s fastest-growing investment companies with plans to make it a global player. Avanda Investment Management’s assets have more than doubled to around $10 billion since it was co-founded by Ng in mid-2015 — soon after he retired from sovereign wealth giant GIC as its chief investment officer following a 42-year ...

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• 18 February

  Dubai summit set to unlock mega food security potential

  

    DUBAI / WAM A new wave of business opportunities spanning the global food ecosystem will be unlocked at the ground-breaking Food For Future Summit and Global Agtech Expo later this month as the industry looks to address an impending agricultural shortfall that could fail to produce enough to feed the world’s anticipated 10 billion population by 2050. More than ...

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