January, 2017

• 26 January

  China releases new list of items banned for export to NKorea

    BEIJING / AP China has released a new list of items banned for export to North Korea, ranging from wind tunnels to plutonium, following a new round of United Nations sanctions and complaints from U.S. President Donald Trump that Beijing was not doing enough to pressure its communist neighbor. The step was seen by one leading expert on North ...

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• 26 January

  Humanitarian groups seek halt to war between Myanmar govt, rebels

  

    Yangon / AP Twenty-two humanitarian and development groups have called for a halt to fighting between Myanmar’s government and ethnic rebels in the country’s north and for the protection of civilians affected by the conflict. The groups signing the statement, circulated Thursday, include the International Rescue Committee, Oxfam, Plan International and Save the Children. “We are alarmed about incidents ...

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• 26 January

  Trump revives auto efficiency debate with vow to ease rules

  

    Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s pledge to ease environmental regulations hands automakers a second chance to amend the US vehicle efficiency standards that the Obama administration sought to finalize in its final days. In a White House meeting, with the chief executives of General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, Trump called environmental regulations “out of ...

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• 26 January

  Unilever falls as slow start casts pall over consumer sector

    Bloomberg Unilever shares fell after saying it will get off to a slow start in 2017, casting gloom over the European consumer-staples industry as the sector’s earnings season kicks off. Fourth-quarter underlying sales rose 2.2 percent, the maker of Dove soap said in a statement, the worst result in two years and below the 2.6 percent gain seen by ...

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• 26 January

  Spain unemployment falls to 7-year low

    Bloomberg Spanish unemployment fell to a seven-year low in the fourth quarter in a boost for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who has made job creation the centerpiece of his administration. The jobless rate dropped to 18.6 percent in the three months through December, the National Statistics Office said in Madrid on Thursday. That’s down from 18.9 percent in the ...

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• 26 January

  UK Brexit boom sees economy plagued by ‘old concerns’

  

    Bloomberg The UK economy is maintaining its stellar performance since the Brexit vote, but the reasons may be cause for concern. Growth beat expectations again in the fourth quarter, coming in at 0.6 percent, but the make-up of the performance hints at ongoing weak links. The expansion is still being almost entirely driven by services and consumer spending, continuing ...

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• 26 January

  Google parts with lobbyist amid Trump-led power shift

  

    Bloomberg After at least 12 years together, Alphabet Inc., the parent of Google, won’t be represented by one of Washington’s most prominent lobbying groups, a firm with long-standing ties to the Democratic party and Hillary Clinton. The Podesta Group — whose chairman, Tony Podesta, is a major Democratic fundraiser and the brother of Clinton’s former campaign manager — is ...

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• 26 January

  Apple sues chipmaker Qualcomm in China over technology fees

  

    AP Apple Inc. has filed suit in China challenging Qualcomm Inc.’s fees for technology used in smartphones two years after Chinese regulators fined the chipmaker for its licensing practices. Two lawsuits filed by the iPhone maker accuse Qualcomm of abusing its control over essential technology to charge excessive licensing fees, a Beijing court said on its microblog. It said ...

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• 26 January

  Coders who ease machine-human communication in high demand

    Bloomberg Next time you’re searching for a new job, look to Siri for inspiration. Coders who can help machines communicate with people are in high demand. Software engineers who program computers to understand human speech saw US demand for their labor grow faster than workers with any other skill, according to data from last quarter compiled by Upwork, a ...

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• 26 January

  FB takes aim at fake news with new ‘trending’ formula

  

    SAN FRANCISCO / AP Facebook is updating its “trending” feature that highlights hot topics on its social networking site, part of its effort to root out the kind of fake news stories that critics contend helped Donald Trump become president. With the changes announced, Facebook’s trending list will consist of topics being covered by several publishers. Before, it focused ...

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