October, 2017

• 16 October

  Iraq forces seize Kirkuk areas in advance on Kurdish-held region

  

  BAGHDAD / Reuters Iraq’s central government forces launched an advance early on Monday into territory held by Kurds, seizing a swathe of countryside surrounding the oil city of Kirkuk in bold military response to a Kurdish vote last month on independence. The government said its troops had seized Kirkuk airport and had taken control of Northern Iraq’s oil company from …

  Read More »
• 16 October

  EU vows to save Iran deal, fears for N Korea mediation

  

  LUXEMBOURG / Reuters The European Union vowed on Monday to defend a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and urged US lawmakers not to reimpose sanctions after President Donald Trump chose not to certify Tehran’s compliance with the accord. Germany and France led a chorus of warnings to the United States, normally the EU’s closest foreign policy ally, …

  Read More »
• 16 October

  Catalan leader defends claim to independence

  

  Bloomberg Catalan President Carles Puigdemont defended his region’s claim to independence as the Spanish government signaled it will move ahead with the process of suspending self-rule this week. In a letter to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Puigdemont said his focus for the next two months will be dialogue and called for a face-to-face meeting as soon as possible, insisting …

  Read More »
• 16 October

  Venezuela regime wins 17 governor races

  Bloomberg Venezuela’s autocratic regime claimed wins in 17 of the 23 states holding governor elections on Sunday, results that defied polls predicting widespread gains by the opposition. The government kept polling stations open hours past the scheduled 6 p.m. closing. Election officials emerged about 10:15 p.m. to announce the results. Votes were still being counted in one state. “This only …

  Read More »
• 16 October

  Merkel’s hand weakens ahead of coalition talks after state loss

  

  Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads into potentially laborious talks this week to form a national government weakened after her Christian Democratic Union suffered a defeat in Volkswagen AG’s home state. Three weeks after Merkel’s CDU won the federal ballot, her party posted its worst election result in Lower Saxony since 1959 and lost in the state to the Social …

  Read More »
• 16 October

  US-Turkey dispute hinges on a gold dealer facing trial

  

  At the center of the increasingly bitter dispute between the US and Turkey is a demand by an irate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that American prosecutors free a Turkish-Iranian gold dealer who’s about to go on trial on money-laundering and fraud charges. The confrontation sharpened, as Erdogan protested in Ankara that the businessman, Reza Zarrab, was being squeezed as a …

  Read More »
• 16 October

  How to guide global investors

  

  If you are adding to your long-term holdings of stocks and other risk assets at current market valuations, you are likely to be betting — knowingly or not — on a combination of three drivers of future returns; or you are planning to sell your holdings to someone who is or will be making that bet. Understanding the importance of …

  Read More »
• 16 October

  OPEC’s output curbs put pressure on RIL oil refinery

  

  Being sophisticated in the age of output curbs by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) can prove a disadvantage, as the operator of the world’s biggest oil refining complex is discovering. Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL) 1.24 million barrel-a-day facility in Gujarat features highly advanced units designed to process the globe’s heaviest types of crude, which have historically been cheaper …

  Read More »
• 16 October

  Tariffs on solar panels would kill jobs in the US

  The US solar industry is threatened by one of President Donald Trump’s more destructive impulses: his eagerness to punish supposedly unfair trade practices. By next month, the US International Trade Commission, having unanimously ruled that American solar-panel makers are harmed by competition from Asian and other rivals, will recommend what tariffs or other import penalties the president should impose. The …

  Read More »
• 16 October

  Iran’s a distraction. Urgent problem is Kurdish oil

  

  The drama around President Donald Trump and Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal has grabbed the oil world’s attention. This gaze should shift west. Rising tensions in northern Iraq could have a much more immediate impact on oil flows that could lead prices higher, and squeeze producers and refiners. The collapse of so-called IS in Iraq ought to be a …

  Read More »