January, 2019

• 12 January

  No US troops have yet been removed from Syria: Pentagon

  

  Bloomberg The US hasn’t begun withdrawing troops from Syria, the Pentagon said in the military’s most extensive comments yet as questions about President Donald Trump’s timeline and strategy for pulling troops from the eight-year conflict there continue to fuel confusion. “We have taken a number of logistical measures to support an ordered withdrawal,” Commander Sean Robertson, a Defense Department spokesman, ...

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• 12 January

  Trump lashes out at FBI on Russian probe

  

  Bloomberg Donald Trump lashed out on Saturday following a New York Times report that the FBI had opened a probe in 2017 to determine if the president had been working, knowingly or unknowingly, on behalf of Russia. In a series of early-morning tweets Trump said that the agency had opened a probe “for no reason and with no proof, after ...

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• 12 January

  Qaddafi son wants Libya vote as soon as possible

  Bloomberg Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, the fugitive son of former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, supports holding presidential elections as soon as possible, a representative said, criticising the United Nations envoy to Libya for his proposal to hold the vote only by year-end. “Any delay creates more problems,” Mohamed al-Qailoushi, an aide to Saif al-Islam, said by phone. “The only solution is ...

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• 12 January

  Alliance in Indian state threatens Modi’s re-election bid

  

  Bloomberg Two powerful regional parties announced they will fight elections together in India’s most populous state, threatening Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bid to retain power in federal elections due by May. Mayawati, leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Akhilesh Yadav, head of the Samajwadi Party, jointly said they will together contest 38 each of the 80 parliamentary seats in ...

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• 12 January

  Sweden nears end to political gridlock

  

  Bloomberg Sweden is nearing an end to a record-long political stalemate after Social Democratic leader Stefan Lofven struck a deal across the aisle to remain in power and deny influence to the country’s growing nationalist party. The accord comes after four months of tumultuous talks, but risks raising the ire of voters who demanded change in an election that handed ...

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• 12 January

  Venezuela oppn leader seeks to replace Maduro

  

  Bloomberg A large crowd blocked a major avenue in eastern Caracas to protest President Nicolas Maduro’s swearing-in, a ceremony that perpetuated what the opposition and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have labeled a “usurpation.” About a 1,000 people gathered to listen to Juan Guaido, the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly. The body is the country’s only remaining opposition-controlled ...

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• 12 January

  Why China is clinging to state capitalism

  

  American officials traveled to China this week in an effort to end the bitter trade war between the two countries. The main obstacle to a settlement is natural rivalry: The United States is trying to protect its position as the most important superpower; and China is serving notice that it covets that status for itself. What further complicates matters is ...

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• 12 January

  Macron boxed himself into a corner

  

  The Gilets Jaunes movement is splintering after Emmanuel Macron shelled out billions of euros to appease French citizens fed up with the high cost of living. But plenty are still taking to the streets, with turnout of about 50,000 across France last weekend. The violence is proving hard to contain. Rioters used a forklift truck to break into the offices ...

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• 12 January

  Next is showing retail may have skipped a meltdown

  Britain’s retail sector isn’t saving the best for last. Next Plc has kicked off the post-Christmas reporting season with what looks like a pretty decent performance. True, sales in stores were slightly worse than expected, while its forecast for full-year profit has been trimmed slightly. But that’s due to higher sales of lower margin items, such as beauty, and better-than-expected ...

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• 12 January

  The Fed and PBOC are no longer poles apart

  A pleasing synchronicity is edging back into the world economy, at least in terms of monetary policy. Let’s hope it’s not too late. Wasn’t the “synchronised global upswing” narrative – all the rage in 2017 – retired last year? That doesn’t mean courses can’t be recalibrated. The signal late last week of a pause in interest-rate hikes from the Federal ...

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