February, 2019

• 13 February

  Europe is weak link for global economy

  

  Bloomberg For all the palpitations that the trade war between the US and China will knock out their economies, it is Europe that increasingly looks like the biggest threat to global growth. Deteriorating demand is evident across the 19-nation euro area as it finds itself squeezed between international and domestic drags. That leaves its expansion at risk of barely topping ...

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• 13 February

  EU hits ‘gas law’deal with Nord Stream 2 loopholes

  

  Bloomberg European Union negotiators agreed on new natural-gas rules that preserve a concession to Germany over its controversial plan to import more of the fuel from Russia. Representatives of EU governments and the European Parliament approved a revision to gas-market legislation while scaling back hurdles for the planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The deal in Strasbourg, France, keeps intact a ...

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• 13 February

  Kim keeps nuclear grip despite easing tensions

  

  Bloomberg The commander of US forces in South Korea cited a “palpable” decline in tensions amid US-North Korean peace talks but cautioned there’s little evidence that Kim Jong- un is willing to give up his nuclear arsenal. “Today is Day 440 since the last strategic provocation” by North Korea through a missile or nuclear test, Army General Robert Abrams told ...

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• 13 February

  14 die in stampede at Nigeria’s Buhari rally

  Bloomberg Fourteen people died in a stampede at Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s election rally in the southern city of Port Harcourt, Punch reported. The accident occurred as supporters of the All Progressives Congress party were leaving the stadium where Buhari, who is seeking re-election, made a speech, the Lagos-based paper said, citing University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital spokesman Kem ...

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• 13 February

  Duterte’s media critic arrested in Philippines on libel cherges

  Bloomberg Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, head of online media company Rappler Inc. that’s been critical of President Rodrigo Duterte, was arrested in her office for libel. State investigators escorted Ressa out of the Rappler office and brought her to their headquarters in Manila after serving the warrant at about 5:20 p.m local time on Wednesday, based on the media agency’s ...

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• 13 February

  Italy faces criticism in EU parliament

  

  Bloomberg Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte faced a backlash in the European Parliament for the populist actions of his two deputy premiers. Members of the European Union assembly used Conte’s appearance at a “Future of Europe” debate to warn about the future of Italy under Matteo Salvini and Luigi Di Maio, the two powers in the country’s anti-establishment coalition government. ...

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• 13 February

  Brexit talks head for late showdown

  Bloomberg Theresa May and the European Union are heading for a high-stakes, last-minute gamble that will decide whether the UK leaves the bloc with or without a deal, people familiar with both sides said. On March 21 — just a week before Britain is due to exit the EU — the prime minister will have the chance to win a ...

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• 13 February

  Trump leaves Macron doubting US commitment to Nato

  

  Bloomberg On a damp Tuesday evening in December, most of France was focused on the Yellow-Vest crisis that had seen demonstrators smashing up Paris. But holed up in his Elysee palace, President Emmanuel Macron and his team were dealing with a greater threat to the status quo not just in France, but across the western world. A White House contact ...

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• 13 February

  Stocks advance as trade hopes grow; dollar steady

  

  Bloomberg Stocks extended gains around the globe on Wednesday after President Donald Trump signaled a more conciliatory stance towards China, fueling hopes of a breakthrough in the trade war when talks get underway later in the week. The dollar edged higher along with Treasuries. Futures on the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones climbed as investors awaited earnings reports from ...

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• 13 February

  China’s high-stakes bid to boost stocks risks stoking bubble

  

  Bloomberg Beijing is walking a tightrope between reviving its downbeat equity market and engineering another bubble. China’s securities regulator has started to remove many of the curbs designed to keep out speculators, signaling an end to the highly restrictive era that started when a boom in the country’s stocks turned to bust in 2015. The result has been an intensifying ...

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