December, 2018

• 10 December

  UK economy loses steam over Brexit woes

  

  Bloomberg The UK economy lost momentum in the three months through October, a further sign of the toll being taken by Brexit uncertainty. Growth slowed to 0.4 percent from 0.6 percent in the third quarter, the Office for National Statistics said on Monday. In October alone, growth was just 0.1 percent, with the economy being spared a third month of ...

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• 10 December

  US service sector rises to near-record level

  Bloomberg A gauge of US service industries unexpectedly rose in November to a near-record level amid gains in business activity and new orders, adding to indications that the sector remains robust in the fourth quarter. The non-manufacturing index rose to 60.7, an Institute for Supply Management survey showed. That compared with estimates for a decline to 59. The advance was ...

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• 10 December

  German rail services resuming after strike

  

  Bloomberg Deutsche Bahn AG is restoring full rail service after suspending all German long-dist- ance trains due to a strike over pay by the EVG union that also affected some local, regional and freight lines. Long-haul traffic is gradually resuming following the walkout’s end at 9 am local time, Deutsche Bahn said on Monday. Passengers should expect restricted service throughout ...

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• 10 December

  Musk blasts SEC in ‘60 Minutes’ interview

  

  Bloomberg Elon Musk, the chief executive officer of both Tesla Inc and Space Exploration Technologies Corp, opened up about his tumultuous year in a wide-ranging interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes.” Musk, 47, told anchor Lesley Stahl that none of his tweets have been censored since he reached a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in October. His problematic ...

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• 10 December

  May delays vote on Brexit deal to avoid huge defeat

  

  Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Theresa May is calling off a crucial vote in Parliament on whether to approve her Brexit deal, according to a person familiar with the situation. The vote in the House of Commons to endorse the terms of the UK’s split from the European Union was due to be held on Tuesday evening but is now set ...

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• 10 December

  Ex-ruling party wiped out as revolutionary wins Armenia vote

  

  Bloomberg Armenia’s former ruling Republican party was wiped out in parliamentary elections that handed a massive majority to the leader of the country’s “Velvet Revolution.” Preliminary results show acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s My Step alliance won 70.4 percent of votes in Sunday’s elections, Armenia’s Central Election Commission reported. The Republicans received 4.7 percent, just short of the 5 percent ...

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• 10 December

  Sweden’s Lofven faces defeat in PM vote

  

  Bloomberg Swedish Social Democratic leader Stefan Lofven is now facing a defeat in a potential prime minister vote after an attempt at forging a broader coalition failed. After a week of talks, the opposition Center Party rejected forming a government with the Social Democrats, throwing negotiations wide open again three months after the Nordic nation’s inconclusive election that saw big ...

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• 10 December

  Russia’s Butina tells judge she wants to change not guilty plea

  Bloomberg Maria Butina, the Russian gun-rights activist who befriended leaders of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Republican Party and then was accused of acting as an undeclared agent of the Kremlin, has decided to change her plea of not guilty to at least one of the two charges she faces. In a court filing, Butina’s lawyers asked a ...

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• 10 December

  Macron pressed on all sides for grand gesture to end crisis

  

  Bloomberg Secluded in his Presidential palace, Emmanuel Macron is looking for a miracle. An angry France is waiting to see if he finds one. Macron was due to address the nation on Monday evening. Everyone, from Yellow Vest protesters to his dwindling number of supporters, is anticipating some solution to end the downward spiral of Europe’s second largest economy, started ...

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• 10 December

  Michael Flynn appears to have come full circle

  

  Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn appears to have come full circle, if you read carefully the sentencing memo by special counsel Robert Mueller recommending that Flynn serve no jail time despite pleading guilty to making false statements to the FBI. The Trump campaign warrior of 2016 who led chants of ‘lock her up’ deriding Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, and then ...

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