October, 2019

• 14 October

  Assad sends Syrian troops north as Turkish offensive escalates

  

  Bloomberg Syrian government forces pushed closer to the Turkish border after striking a deal with Kurdish fighters, as Washington’s decision to abandon its allies reverberated on the battlefield. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his offensive into Syria is necessary to push back Kurdish militants and resettle refugees, but the rapid advance has drawn international condemnation, accusations of war crimes ...

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• 14 October

  Catalan leaders jailed for attempt to break up Spain

  

  Bloomberg Catalan separatists who tried to break away from Spain in 2017 were handed jail sentences of up to 13 years by the Supreme Court in a ruling that marks a watershed in relations with the troubled region. Former Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras was handed the stiffest sentence while eight other activists were given lesser terms of between nine ...

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• 14 October

  Tunisia professor poised to win presidency

  

  Bloomberg Law professor Kais Saied is poised for a landslide victory in Tunisia’s presidential election, a result that would give the political outsider a strong mandate to pursue the constitutional changes he says are needed to complete the nation’s 2011 revolution. An exit poll by Sigma Conseil pointed to Saied winning 76.9% of ballots in the run-off vote and his ...

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• 14 October

  HK police say homemade bomb targeted officers

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong police said a radio-controlled improvised explosive device was detonated near a police car on Sunday evening, the first time one has been used during months of unrest. The device was set off in Mong Kok in Kowloon about 10 meters (33 feet) away from a police car that had come to the scene to clear barricades, Suryanto ...

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• 14 October

  Johnson uses Queen’s speech to set out election platform

  

  Bloomberg Boris Johnson set out his ambitions for governing Britain with an outline plan for what he will do if he wins the general election that’s expected to be triggered within weeks. The British prime minister promised a focus on domestic issues if he can “get Brexit done,” as he used the pomp and ceremony of a speech to Parliament ...

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• 14 October

  India court halts JSW’s $2.8b purchase of Bhushan Power

  

  Bloomberg An Indian court temporarily halted JSW Steel Ltd’s $2.8 billion purchase of insolvent Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd, a move that hurts the South Asian nation’s effort to clean up the world’s worst bad-debt pile. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) ordered a freeze on payment by the Sajjan Jindal-led mill and took objection to the Enforcement Directorate, ...

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• 14 October

  India’s state-run firm delivers best trading debut in two years

  

  Bloomberg Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corp (IRCTC) more than doubled on the first day of trading, the best debut for a mainboard listing since 2017, after its public float emerged as the most sought after for the nation’s state-run firms. Lured by IRCTC’s monopoly status, investor demand exceeded shares on offer by 112 times, eclipsing the government-owned Housing & ...

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• 14 October

  Record slump in Chinese auto market continues in September

  

  Bloomberg Chinese auto sales fell in September for the 15th month in 16, extending their unprecedented slump despite government efforts to support the world’s largest car market. Sales of sedans, sport utility vehicles, minivans and multipurpose vehicles dropped 6.6% from a year earlier to 1.81 million units, the China Passenger Car Association (PCA) said. The only increase since mid-2018 came ...

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• 14 October

  Tencent streams NBA games as Chinese state TV blackout persists

  Bloomberg Tencent Holdings live-streamed two National Basketball Association (NBA) games played outside of China on Monday, even as the nation’s top broadcaster shuns the league because of a controversy around Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. The Chinese social media giant aired a game between the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors and another between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Minnesota Timberwolves, according to ...

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• 14 October

  Chinese shoppers, investors losing their appetite for gold

  

  Bloomberg China’s shoppers and investors lost their appetite for gold this year — and there’s little expectation of any major improvement in 2020 as slowing growth and higher prices crimp consumer spending. Jewellery consumption is forecast to drop 4% to about 660 tons this year, according to forecasts from Metals Focus Ltd, while a decline of more than 20% to ...

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