March, 2017

• 15 March

  Obamacare takes hit with new health plan

  

    Bloomberg A new estimate showing that 14 million Americans could lose health coverage by next year under the GOP Obamacare-replacement plan leaves House Republicans in a bind with its dire picture of the bill’s effects heading into the 2018 congressional elections. Even as the Trump administration challenged the estimate from the Congressional Budget Office, several Senate Republicans said the ...

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• 15 March

  Britain scraps tax plan, leaving budget hole and credibility to fix

  

    Bloomberg UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond scrapped a plan to increase tax on the self-employed, after a storm of criticism from legislators in his own ruling Conservative Party. Hammond was accused of breaking a manifesto pledge not to hike national insurance contributions, made by the Tories before they won the 2015 election, when he announced the proposal ...

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• 15 March

  UK jobless rate dips, pay slows

    Bloomberg The UK jobless rate matched its lowest since 1975 in the three months through January but Britons are seeing their wages go nowhere. Unemployment unexpectedly declined to 4.7 percent, matching the rate it last reached in 2005, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. The number of people in work rose by 92,000 to 31.9 million, the ...

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• 15 March

  Americans spend more on ‘optimism’ about economy

  

    WASHINGTON / AP Americans spent only slightly more last month at retail stores compared with January, a sign of consumer caution despite rising optimism about the economy. The Commerce Department said Wednesday retail sales ticked up a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent in February, after a much bigger gain of 0.6 percent the previous month. January’s gain was revised higher. ...

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• 15 March

  Canada’s Tucows bets on ‘mobile phone customers’

  

    Bloomberg After a decade-long hibernation following the dot-com crash, Canada’s Tucows Ltd. is roaring back to life with an acquisition and a deepening effort to win over disgruntled US mobile phone customers. The Toronto-based internet services provider is the largest re-seller and manager of domain names after Scottsdale, Arizona-based GoDaddy Inc. Its customers are firms like Squarespace Inc. and ...

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• 15 March

  Audi raided by German prosecutors in diesel scandal fallout

  

    Bloomberg Volkswagen AG’s Audi brand was raided by German prosecutors as investigations into the manipulation of diesel engines continue to weigh on the automaker more than a year after revelations of emissions cheating. More than 100 police took part in searches Wednesday at the company’s main sites in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm as well as seven other locations across Germany. ...

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• 15 March

  American homebuilder sentiment surges to 12-year high in March

    AP US homebuilders are feeling more optimistic about their sales prospects than they have been since the high-flying days of the housing boom. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Wednesday jumped to 71 this month. That’s up six points from 65 in February and the highest reading since June 2005. Readings above 50 indicate ...

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• 15 March

  Suicide bomber hits Damascus justice building, killing 30

  

    DAMASCUS / AP A suicide bomber detonated his explosives’ vest inside the main judicial building in the Syrian capital on Wednesday, killing at least 30 people and wounding many others, state media said. The official news agency, SANA, said another suicide explosion struck a restaurant in Rabweh district of Damascus, leading to an identified number of casualties. The bombing ...

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• 15 March

  EU chief dismisses ‘threats’ of British exit without a deal

    BRUSSELS / AP European Council President Donald Tusk warned Britain on Wednesday that leaving the EU without any formal agreement would harm the UK most. With Britain set in coming days to launch two years of negotiations preparing its departure, Tusk responded to “threats” from across the English Channel that it might be best to walk away without a ...

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• 15 March

  Germany convicts 4 for ‘far-right terror group’

    BERLIN / AP Three men and a woman were sentenced to prison terms between three and five years on Wednesday for forming a far-right terrorist group in Germany with a plan to bomb refugee homes. The Munich state court ruled that the four founded the so-called Oldschool Society in August 2014. The group grew to have about 30 members ...

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