August, 2017

• 21 August

  Trump’s cabinet must put country above president

  The exodus of chief executive officers from two of President Donald Trump’s advisory councils led him to disband the panels. That’s no great loss: The councils mostly served political rather than policy purposes. But for those who serve in the highest ranks of government, the issue is different, and quitting is not the answer. It’s hard to fault anyone for ...

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• 21 August

  The dubious demolition policy Israel can’t quit

  

  On April 6, Israeli army Sargent Elchai Taharlev, 20, was standing by a bus stop in the West Bank, when a car driven by a Palestinian purposely veered off the road and killed him. Two months later, Hadas Malka, 23, was standing guard with the border police outside the Old City of Jerusalem when she was killed by three Palestinians ...

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• 21 August

  Emmanuel Macron’s first stab at reforming French economy is rolling along

  

  It’s vacation time in France, and the fleets of buses plying the nation’s highways suggest President Emmanuel Macron’s earliest effort to shake up the economy is catching on. Cheaper and less glamorous than France’s celebrated high-speed trains, buses are hauling ever more travellers. That’s after Macron, then the economy minister, pushed through a law two years ago allowing passenger buses ...

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• 21 August

  Some US ex-spies don’t buy the Russia story

  

  In 2003, when a number of former intelligence professionals formed a group to protest the way intelligence was bent to accuse Iraq of producing weapons of mass destruction, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote a sympathetic column quoting the group’s members. In 2017, you won’t read about this same group’s latest campaign in the big US newspapers. The Veteran ...

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• 21 August

  Global stock markets mixed as focus shifts to central bankers

  

  Bloomberg Stocks struggled for traction at the start of a week set to be dominated by the gathering of central bankers at Jackson Hole amid growing unease about persistent low inflation. Euro-region bonds gained with Treasuries, while the dollar edged lower. The Stoxx Euro 600 Index declined on thin trading volumes as declines in banks and car makers offset gains ...

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• 21 August

  REITs shine in Saudi, trading volume shrinks in Qatar

  DUBAI / Reuters Real estate investment trusts were some of the top gainers on Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange on Monday, a day before the listing of a new trust, but bourses in the region were generally sluggish, especially Qatar. All four listed REITs were among the 10 most heavily traded shares in Riyadh, where the main index edged up 0.2 ...

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• 21 August

  Yellen, Draghi head to ‘Jackson Hole’ with prices missing goal

  

  Bloomberg As the world’s top central bankers gather in Wyoming this week, their relief about a stronger global economy will be tempered by a growing unease that inflation remains inexplicably low. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will be among the officials addressing this year’s installment of the annual conference hosted by the Kansas ...

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• 21 August

  Chinese banks’ leverage falls for first time in 7 years

  

  Bloomberg Chinese banks’ leverage fell for the first time in seven years as the government’s campaign to curb risks in the $40 trillion financial system started to bite. The balances of both interbank assets and liabilities at the end of June declined by 1.8 trillion yuan ($270 billion) from the beginning of the year, the China Banking Regulatory Commission disclosed ...

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• 21 August

  Goldman gets approval for Saudi equities trading licence

  

  Reuters Goldman Sachs received approval to trade equities in Saudi Arabia, joining the growing band of western investment banks and fund managers expanding in the kingdom. Western financial institutions have been looking to tap new opportunities in Saudi Arabia since the government unveiled plans for oil giant Saudi Aramco’s $100 billion initial public offering and introduced reforms to attract foreign ...

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• 21 August

  Guptas sell S. Africa media unit to ally

  Bloomberg Oakbay Investments, the company controlled by the Gupta family that’s having its last bank accounts closed, agreed to sell its South African media interests to management and an ally of the friends of President Jacob Zuma. Oakbay will get $23 million for Infinity Media, which operates news channel ANN7, and 150 million rand for its two-thirds stake in the ...

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