February, 2017

• 2 February

  Romania’s president seeks to annul graft law amid protests

    BUCHAREST / AP Romania’s president said on Thursday he would ask judges to declare unconstitutional a government decree that dilutes what qualifies as corruption, after hundreds of thousands protested against the measure. President Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday that he would take the emergency decree to the Constitutional Court, which is the last legal resort to stop the law. ...

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• 2 February

  US puts Iran ‘on notice’ after missile test, won’t elaborate

  

    WASHINGTON / AP The White House has issued a cryptic warning that the US will act against Iran unless it stops testing ballistic missiles and supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen, but declined to say what retaliatory actions the US would pursue. Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, forcefully denounced Iran’s behavior in his first public remarks since ...

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• 2 February

  Mattis hits North ahead of talks with S Korea, Japan

  

    SEOUL / AP In his first public remarks abroad as US defense secretary, Jim Mattis on Thursday criticized North Korea for provocative acts and said he would consult with South Korean and Japanese officials about whether the current strategy for getting the North to curtail or eliminate its nuclear and missile programs is adequate. Mattis spoke to reporters aboard ...

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• 2 February

  Fillon fights to keep alive French presidential candidacy

    PARIS / AP Francois Fillon’s embattled right-wing candidacy for the French presidency faced more revelations on Thursday casting doubt on the legitimacy of his wife’s taxpayer-funded work and fueling questions about whether the former front-runner’s campaign is now damaged beyond repair. Allegations that Penelope Fillon was handsomely paid as a parliamentary aide, first reported by French weekly Canard Enchaine ...

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• 2 February

  Toyota paces US sales decline as carmakers boost discounts

  

  Bloomberg Toyota Motor Corp. led major carmakers reporting lower US sales in January, even as an industry trying for another record year piled on discounts to keep showrooms busy. Deliveries fell about 11 percent for both Toyota and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. Sales also dropped for General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., pacing a 1.8 percent decrease for the ...

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• 2 February

  Canada manufacturing sector providing no cure for economic ills

  

    Bloomberg Canada’s economy may be returning to health after an oil shock, but keeping up that momentum could hinge on whether manufacturers show more resilience. Gross domestic product grew 0.4 percent in November after a surprise 0.2 percent contraction the prior month, Statistics Canada said, and advances in exports and jobs have economists projecting fourth-quarter growth at a 1.6 ...

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• 2 February

  Europe’s volatility curve gets kinky ahead of French vote

    Bloomberg France’s election is making Europe’s markets nervous. Traders, already wearied from the 2016 gyrations that followed Brexit, Donald Trump’s victory and Italy’s referendum, are pricing in a surge in volatility for April, when the first round of French voting will occur. The scandal threatening to unhinge Republican candidate Francois Fillon’s run for the presidency has raised concerns that ...

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• 2 February

  Trump’s visa changes a boost to Canada’s CGI

  

    Bloomberg Changes from the Trump administration on work visas will be a boost to Canadian information technology provider CGI Group Inc., a major US government contractor that briefly gained notoriety a few years ago for its role in the Obamacare rollout. The Montreal-based company, which employs more than 11,000 people south of the border, said it’s less exposed than ...

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• 2 February

  USA probes Panasonic’s unit for alleged bribery violations

    Bloomberg A Panasonic Corp. inflight entertainment and communications systems subsidiary is under investigation by US authorities for allegedly breaking bribery and securities laws. Panasonic Avionics Corp. is being probed by the US Department of Justice and Securities and Securities Exchange Commission for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Osaka-based company said in a statement on Thursday. Panasonic said ...

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• 2 February

  A modest proposal to solve inequality

  

    Tight labour markets shrink income inequality by causing employers to bid up the price of scarce labor, so policymakers fretting about income inequality could give an epidemic disease a try. This might be a bit extreme but if increased equality is the goal, Stanford’s Walter Scheidel should be heard. His scholarship encompasses many things (classics, history, human biology) and ...

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