July, 2017

• 18 July

  Zarif : Iran won’t seek nuclear arms as Trump knocks deal

  

  Bloomberg Iran’s foreign minister said his nation’s vow not to seek nuclear weapons “never expires,” even as the Trump administration accused the Islamic Republic of violating the “ spirit” of a 2015 accord easing sanctions. “Iran is committed to not producing nuclear weapons,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. ...

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• 18 July

  Russia demands US return properties as talks fail

  

  Bloomberg Russia stepped up pressure on the US to return seized diplomatic compounds in one of the first tests of whether Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin can convert the personal rapport of their initial meeting into improved relations. After talks in Washington between US Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, the Foreign Ministry in ...

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• 18 July

  Australia creates home affairs ministry to boost terror fight

  Bloomberg Australia will create a Home Affairs ministry to boost anti-terrorism links between government agencies, in the nation’s biggest security shakeup in more than 40 years, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said. To be led by current Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton, the portfolio will be based on the UK’s Home Office and have oversight of federal police, ...

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• 18 July

  Rio’s iron ore slowdown a boost to rebounding prices

  

  Bloomberg A cut by Rio Tinto Group to its full-year iron ore shipping guidance is set to bolster prices that have rebounded into a bull market on stronger-than-expected demand in China. Iron ore futures in Singapore surged as the world’s No. 2 exporter flagged on Tuesday that cargoes from Australia are expected at about 330mn metric tons in 2017. That’s ...

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• 18 July

  Micro-finance rebound shows rural India recovering from cash ban

  

  Bloomberg India’s vast rural hinterland, which makes up 70 percent of the South Asian country’s population, is showing signs of recovery from last year’s cash crunch, boosting optimism that increased spending will help the broader economy regain its vigor. The micro-finance industry is rebounding, real rural incomes are rising and unemployment is falling, according to brokerage Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd. ...

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• 18 July

  Home prices surge in China’s smaller cities as risks spread

  

  Bloomberg Home prices surged in China’s smaller cities even as property curbs dragged down values in Beijing and Shanghai in June, highlighting the challenge for authorities trying to limit bubble risks. New-home prices, excluding government-subsidized housing, rose month-on-month in 60 of 70 cities, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. That compared with 56 in May. In Beijing, prices ...

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• 18 July

  Sunac shares plunge over ‘Wanda scrutiny’

  Bloomberg Sunac China Holdings Ltd. shares and bonds plunged after a local media report that domestic banks are reviewing its credit risk following a deal to buy assets from Dalian Wanda Group Co., a firm that has attracted scrutiny from China’s leaders for its prolific deal binge. The shares fell 7.3 percent to HK$15.94, in Hong Kong after earlier plunging ...

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• 18 July

  Dollar falls as ‘reform hopes’ dim

  

  Bloomberg US stocks fell and the dollar slid to an 11-month low as President Donald Trump’s economic revitalization agenda once again faltered. European shares dropped amid earnings disappointments, and gold climbed to the highest in two weeks. The greenback lost ground against all but one of its G-10 peers on signs Trump’s health-care reform bill is effectively dead in its ...

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• 18 July

  Region falls; weak earnings hit Egypt

  

  DUBAI / Reuters Middle East stock markets fell on Tuesday as a tumble by real est-ate developer DAMAC caused Dubai to break a seven-session ris-ing streak and weak corporate earnings helped to pull down Egypt’s bourse. The Egyptian blue chip index, which had closed at a record high on Monday, sank 1.7 percent in rising turnover – a negative technical ...

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• 18 July

  In blow to OPEC unity, Ecuador exits deal to reduce oil output

  

  Bloomberg Ecuador has dealt a blow to OPEC unity by announcing it will start raising oil production this month, arguing it needs the money. OPEC has for years cheated on its own agreements, particularly when oil prices fail to recover after an output cut. But Ecuador has taken the rare step of saying publicly it will increase production, making it ...

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