September, 2019

• 10 September

  Asia trade pact at ‘point of no return’

  

  Bloomberg Global trade tensions could derail a landmark regional agreement encompassing 16 countries including India, China and Australia if a deal is not struck by November, said Indonesian Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita. Negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, have reached the “point of no return” as increasingly hostile trade tensions could dampen a deal seven years ...

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• 10 September

  Trade war gloom getting ‘scary’: Volkswagen

  

  Bloomberg Volkswagen AG and other carmakers warned that trade tensions risk dragging the global economy into a recession as the fallout starts to hit consumers. The gloom of the US and China’s tit-for-tat tariffs cast a shadow over the Frankfurt Auto Show this week, where carmakers were seeking to whip up interest in critical new electric models. The geopolitical volatility ...

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• 10 September

  EU names Irish Brexit critic to lead trade talks with Britain

  

  Bloomberg Ireland’s Phil Hogan is set to be the European Union’s next trade commissioner, an appointment that puts the bloc’s relationship with the UK right at the heart of policy making. Hogan, an outspoken critic of Brexit and the British government’s approach to the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, was nominated by incoming European Commission President Ursula von der ...

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• 10 September

  Electrolux to cut 1,700 jobs

  

  Bloomberg Electrolux AB will cut almost 1,700 jobs and take a charge of 1.6 billion Swedish kronor ($164 million) to reduce spending as the Swedish household-appliance maker battles increased raw material and tariff costs. The redundancies will affect about 875 white-collar jobs, and about 800 staff at the company’s factory in Jaszbereny, Hungary, the Stockholm-based company said in a statement. ...

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• 10 September

  Almost 2mn more Americans uninsured in 2018, says US

  

  Bloomberg The number of Americans without health insurance increased by almost 2 million people in 2018, according to new data released by the US Census Bureau on Tuesday. The increase in the rate of uninsured, from 7.9 percent in 2017 to 8.5 percent last year, is particularly remarkable given the falling unemployment rate during that period, since most Americans get ...

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• 10 September

  HK’s Lam opposes US bill as protesters appeal to Trump

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam pushed back against protester calls for the passage of US legislation that would require annual assessments of the city’s special trading status and allow sanctions on Chinese officials. “The Hong Kong government doesn’t agree on foreign parliaments passing bills to intervene in Hong Kong affairs, and we feel deep regret,” Lam told a regular ...

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• 10 September

  Trump’s approval falls on recession fears: Poll

  

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s economic approval rating has dipped to 46 percent from 51 percent in July, as the majority of Americans fear a recession in the next year, a new Washington Post-ABC News polll finds. The survey shows some vulnerability in one of the Trump camp’s main arguments for re-election — that the US economy is strong — as ...

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• 10 September

  Kim tests more weapons after fresh bid for US talks

  

  Bloomberg North Korea delivered a pointed message to the Trump administration — firing two “short-range projectiles” into its eastern seas hours after saying it was willing to restart nuclear talks with the US. The launches began shortly before 7 am local time on Tuesday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The incident came shortly after a top North Korean ...

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• 10 September

  Johnson to work for Brexit deal with EU

  

  Bloomberg After parliament blocked his Brexit strategy, and then refused to give him the election he wanted, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is promising to work for a deal with the European Union (EU). The British premier suffered his sixth consecutive defeat in a vote in the House of Commons, after his attempt to get approval for a snap poll ...

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• 10 September

  Bulgaria official charged with espionage for Russia

  

  Bloomberg Bulgaria charged the head of a pro-Russian civil-society group with espionage, alleging he supplied information to help shift the Balkan nation’s geopolitical trajectory. The move could complicate ties between the two countries, which have remained cordial — particularly in the energy sector — despite Bulgaria’s membership of the European Union and NATO. In a possible sign of tougher rhetoric ...

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