June, 2019

• 11 June

  Bandits take over valley that was Haiti’s breadbasket

  

  Bloomberg In Haiti’s historic breadbasket, a dozen farmers worked in ankle-deep water, stooped under a piercing blue sky in a lush region dominated for generations by rice fields, and more recently by roving bands of armed men. The gunmen, linked to an infamous gang leader named Arnel Joseph, have been waylaying travellers in the Artibonite Valley, driving out police and ...

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• 11 June

  The United States is at war, in cyberspace

  

  One of the least-discussed but perhaps most consequential comments by special counsel Robert Mueller in his appearance before reporters was his blunt counterintelligence assessment: “Russian intelligence officers, who are part of the Russian military, launched a concerted attack on our political system.” The US military, backed by Mueller’s findings and those of the intelligence community, has responded by developing a ...

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• 11 June

  The only way to fix Italy’s mess

  

  There’s one worrying aspect about the decision by Brussels to trigger a disciplinary process against Italy – and, no, it’s not the prospect of financial sanctions. It’s that the European Commission report, which states that Italy hasn’t made enough progress in cutting its debt, lands at a time of utter political chaos in Rome. The ruling League and Five Star ...

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• 11 June

  Thomas Cook is offering a one-day holiday in the sun

  Like the offer of a week’s vacation in the sun amid a washout summer at home, some good news has arrived at last for Thomas Cook Plc’s shareholders: Fosun International Ltd. is interested in a potential bid for the beleaguered British travel company’s tour operating arm. An approach from the Chinese group, which already owns an 18% stake in Thomas ...

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• 11 June

  Shutting down internet don’t make anyone safer

  Around the world, governments are hitting on a modish new idea: Turn the internet off. Sometimes they mean it literally. Methods vary, but the trend is clear enough. Countries are increasingly ordering telecoms and other companies to block network access, shut down messaging services, or otherwise restrict digital applications or websites, usually citing public order or national-security concerns. In extreme ...

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• 11 June

  Southeast Asia should keep taking the world’s junk

  

  Southeast Asian nations no longer want your trash. Last week, Malaysia announced it was sending 3,300 tons of scrap plastics including CDs, insulated electric cables and milk jugs back to countries ranging from Australia to Bangladesh, Canada, China and Japan. Days later, the Philippines shipped back 69 containers of dirty Canadian diapers and other refuse brought into the country between ...

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• 11 June

  Wall Street outguns Europe’s banks, again

  

  Pity Europe’s banks. For years, they have been in retreat, losing business in their own back yards to Wall Street rivals. Now the battlefront is shifting – but what looks like an opportunity to gain ground may be just the opposite. In wholesale banking, the pursuit of growth has moved away from the dealing floor – where revenue has been ...

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• 11 June

  Cryptocurrency winners are starting to emerge

  

  The value of all cryptocurrencies in circulation is about $275 billion, which is around the same level as late November 2017. But a lot has happened in between, with values soaring to more than $800 billion at the every end of that year, and then plunging to barely $100 billion in late 2018. The wild swings are not unlike the ...

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• 11 June

  US stocks struggle to hold gains amid focus on trade

  

  Bloomberg US stocks struggled to hold onto a sixth straight gain as investors weighed the outlook for trade talks and interest rate policy. Treasuries were steady and the dollar edged higher. The S&P 500 Index erased most of its advance near midday as gains in tech hardware makers were offset by losses for industrial companies. Mining and automobile shares pulled ...

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• 11 June

  Third day of gains for equities as investors eke out value in India

  

  Bloomberg Indian equities capped a third day of gains as investors picked out value in a market that’s one of the region’s best-performers this year. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.4 percent to 39,950.46 at the close in Mumbai, paring a larger gain, and the NSE Nifty 50 Index advanced by the same magnitude. India’s key equity indexes have ...

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