October, 2016

• 4 October

  Japan’s business confidence at multi-year low

  

    Tokyo/ AFP Business confidence among Japan’s largest manufacturers is at its lowest since Tokyo introduced measures to kick-start the struggling economy more than three years ago, a central bank survey showed in a report. The Bank of Japan’s closely watched Tankan report comes after data showing weak growth in the second quarter and as soft inflation and spending figures ...

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• 4 October

  UK sees ‘Global Britain’ as tactic, not slogan

  

    The key difficulty facing the U.K. as it leaves the European Union is easy to articulate: how to curb the free movement of people while maintaining vital trading relationships with its peers. It’s increasingly clear that two premises underpin the government’s position on the trade issue: first, that the other EU 27 members will realize there’s no economic benefit ...

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• 4 October

  Could the UK get early elections? Don’t bet on it

    Within days of taking office, British Prime Minister Theresa May ruled out holding an early general election to seek a mandate of her own. But the strength of her Conservative Party’s polling — with leads of between six and 15 points in surveys conducted during September — has resulted in continued speculation. Indeed opposition parties have been preparing for ...

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• 4 October

  Colombia needs a Plan B for a peaceful future

    To widespread dismay, Colombians voted on Sunday to reject an agreement that might have ended Latin America’s longest-running armed conflict — a decades-long insurgency that has taken more than 220,000 lives, displaced more than 10 percent of the country’s people, and inflicted enormous economic damage. The upset underlines the risks of government by referendum — as if further proof ...

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• 4 October

  Strong thrust to Islamic economy crucial

    Despite the market headwinds, Islamic economy is gaining traction. And recent studies substantiate the fact that the segment offers hope to achieve economic stability. Strong retail demand and proactive regulations have boosted the Islamic banking sector. According to rating agency Moody’s, the growth of Islamic banking is outpacing conventional banking. Another study said the compound annual growth rate or ...

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• 4 October

  Deutsche Bank touches a nationalist nerve

  

    The International Monetary Fund warned three months ago that Deutsche Bank posed a potential systemic threat to the global financial system. Today the problems facing Germany’s largest lender are fueling a different kind of risk: that of a growing nationalist backlash in Germany. On Monday, the chairman of the German parliament’s economics committee Peter Ramsauer gave an interview to ...

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• 4 October

  Ex-con stigma explains why American men don’t work

    About 7 million American men of prime working age (25 through 54) are not in the labor force, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That means they don’t have a paid job and haven’t been actively looking for one. This figure does not include those in jail or prison. It does include students and men staying home to ...

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• 4 October

  Trump’s 1995 return shows good tax policy at work

  

    The big news this weekend was the leak of Donald Trump’s 1995 tax returns to the New York Times. The returns showed that in that year, Trump claimed $916 million worth of business losses; those losses, said the Times, “could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years.” Liberal social media ...

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• 4 October

  Syria army advances in Aleppo after USA drops Russia talks

  

    Aleppo / AFP Syrian regime forces advanced against rebels during intense street battles in the heart of Aleppo on Tuesday, after the United States abandoned talks with Russia aimed at reviving a ceasefire deal. The UN rights chief appealed for action to halt the “ghastly avalanche of violence” unfolding in Syria’s second city, which is reeling from some of ...

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• 4 October

  Suicide attack on Syria wedding kills 34

    Hasakeh / AFP A suicide bomber struck a wedding in northeast Syria as the bride and groom were exchanging vows, killing 34 people and wounding dozens, the local Kurdish government said. The bomber blew himself up late Monday in the village of Tall Tawil in Hasakeh province where a Kurdish party official was getting married. The IS extremist group ...

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