January, 2019

• 27 January

  Trump’s spat with Seoul raises fears of US pullback

  

  Bloomberg Just as President Donald Trump looks to make peace with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, his administration is putting fresh strain on the US’s seven-decade alliance with South Korea. At issue is the Trump administration’s insistence that South Korea accepts as much as a 50 percent increase in what it pays for US military protection, including subsidizing the nuclear-capable ...

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• 27 January

  Stone didn’t work for me near election, says Trump

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump lashed out at media again on Twitter after a longtime ally’s indictment, saying that “Roger Stone didn’t even work for me anywhere near the Election!” Special Counsel Robert Mueller has charged longtime Trump adviser Stone with attempting to undermine government investigations by lying about his links between Trump’s campaign and WikiLeaks. Stone’s arrest could carry serious ...

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• 27 January

  Latam nations rally around Trump in break from past

  Bloomberg Until recently, it would have been unthinkable for a majority of Latin American countries to rally around US President Donald Trump’s push for regime change in Caracas. In a quick succession of statements, eleven Latin countries followed Trump’s lead to recognize Juan Guaido, the leader of Venezuela’s national assembly, as the country’s interim president. That’s a far cry from ...

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• 27 January

  Maduro drops demand ‘US diplomats leave Venezuela’

  

  Bloomberg Venezuela abandoned its decision to sever diplomatic ties with the US, stating that each country agreed to keep a so-called interest section open in their respective capitals. The announcement that the missions would remain open was a retreat after days of bellicose rhetoric prompted by the US decision to recognize National Assembly leader Juan Guaido as the nation’s rightful ...

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• 27 January

  Zimbabwe sheds fear amid desperation

  

  Bloomberg In four decades of independence, Zimbabwe’s rulers have been able to deploy the security forces to crush protests even as the southern African nation sank deeper into economic crisis. Judging from the latest bout of unrest, that may no longer be true. Crowds showed little fear as they poured onto the streets of the capital, Harare, and other major ...

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• 27 January

  Ivory Coast’s president to likely seek third term

  Bloomberg Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara declined to rule out running in next year’s presidential election amid speculation he will seek a third term, a move that the opposition says would be unconstitutional. “I want to organize the RHDP during the first quarter of this year so that we can pick our candidate next year,” Ouattara told ministers and supporters ...

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• 27 January

  EU tax bill faces no-deal Brexit conundrum

  

  Bloomberg A no-deal Brexit could create yet another headache for the European Union as it prepares to hand dozens of UK-based companies a tax bill that is expected to top $1.5 billion. With just over two months left until Britain’s scheduled departure date of March 29, time is running out for the European Commission to order the UK to recoup ...

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• 27 January

  Uber open to outside investors for self-driving unit, says CEO

  

  Bloomberg Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said it was “possible” the ride-hailing giant would look for outside investors for its self-driving car unit, but isn’t currently searching for backers. The company’s pouring large, undisclosed sums of money into its Advanced Technologies Group, which includes the company’s self-driving car research as well as plans to build VTOL (vertical ...

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• 27 January

  Sweden’s jobless rate up for a second month

  Bloomberg Swedish unemployment rose for a second month in December as job seekers flocked to the labour market at the tail-end of a long economic expansion. The seasonally-adjusted rate rose to 6.4 percent, up from a revised 6.2 percent in November, Statistics Sweden said. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a rate of 6.2 percent in December. Swedish unemployment remains ...

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• 27 January

  Strong demand, tight job market prompt US firms to raise prices

  

  Bloomberg Strong US demand and a tight job market have given companies a chance to raise prices coming into this year, and they’re testing the waters gingerly. From consumer goods and airlines to railroads, businesses made attempts to recover higher costs including rising pay for workers, or simply lifted prices to try to boost profit margins amid healthy sales, according ...

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