May, 2018

• 22 May

  Britain borrows less than forecast in first month of fiscal year

  

  Bloomberg Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond received a boost on Tuesday as figures showed Britain borrowed less than predicted in the first month of the new fiscal year. Spending exceeded revenue by 7.8 billion pounds ($10.5 billion) in April, the smallest deficit for the month since 2008, the Office for National Statistics said. A shortfall of 8.5 billion pounds ...

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• 22 May

  EU hunts for formula to avert deeper US trade row

  

  Bloomberg The European Union scrambled to come up with a strategy to avoid US tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum, signaling a readiness to accept American import quotas and to slash some EU duties in return for a permanent waiver. With an EU exemption from the metal levies due to lapse on June 1, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom indicated ...

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• 22 May

  Intel finds another chip exploit, says fix in place

  

  Bloomberg Intel Corp, the biggest maker of computer processors, said it found another way to attack computers related to the chip security flaws announced earlier this year. The means to protect against the vulnerability is already in place and there is no evidence of it having been used to hack computers, Intel said in a statement on its website. “We ...

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• 22 May

  Bitcoin a shadowy new realm as US weighs security clearances

  

  Bloomberg As the Pentagon struggles to recruit a more tech-savvy workforce, it’s facing the confusion of many an old-timer: What to make of people who invest or trade in Bitcoin. The question is whether owning Bitcoins or lesser-known cryptocurrencies such as Ripple and Ethereum is an indicator of risky personal behaviour — one that should flag extra scrutiny in security ...

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• 22 May

  Trump set to meet Moon as doubts shroud Kim summit

  

  Bloomberg South Korean President Moon Jae-in, a champion of talks between the US and North Korea, will look to restore momentum for an unprecedented summit between the foes in a White House visit on Tuesday. Optimism for next month’s meeting in Singapore between President Donald Trump and leader Kim Jong-un was punctured last week by a North Korean threat to ...

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• 22 May

  Paul Manafort accuses Mueller prosecutors of smearing him with leaks

  

  Bloomberg Lawyers for Paul Manafort accused prosecutors working with Special Counsel Robert Mueller of smearing their client through unflattering media accounts that originated with illegal grand jury leaks. The lawyers urged US District Judge TS Ellis III to hold a hearing focusing in particular on communications involving Andrew Weissmann, one of the Mueller prosecutors, with the Associated Press. Manafort, a ...

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• 22 May

  Najib queried as task force seeks to recover funds

  Bloomberg The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission questioned former Prime Minister Najib Razak over 1MDB, as a special task force hones in on recovering assets from the troubled state fund. The commission is compiling evidence and reaching out to two important witnesses to build a case on SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB, Mohd Shukri Abdull, chief commissioner at the anti-graft ...

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• 22 May

  Opposition discovers road map to defeat Modi

  

  Bloomberg India’s divided opposition has seized on a new way to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s powerful Bharatiya Janata Party: bringing national and regional rivals together to take on the ruling party. The reversal of the BJP’s fortunes in the southern state of Karnataka — where it won the most seats but was ousted by a coalition composed of the ...

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• 22 May

  Italy: A novice premier may face rival puppet-masters

  Bloomberg The way things are shaping up in Italy, the next prime minister will have to manage two heavyweight ministers with no power base of his own. And it’ll be his first proper job in politics. Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio said he’s proposed Giuseppe Conte, a 53-year-old law professor from Florence University to lead a coalition government after ...

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• 22 May

  UK’s Johnson warns PM May against calling snap election

  

  Bloomberg Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has urged Theresa May not to contemplate calling another early election, after reports that members of parliament are preparing for a snap vote later this year because of the turmoil of Brexit. “We had a general election in June last year, which followed hard on the heels of a referendum, which itself followed hard on ...

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