August, 2016

• 15 August

  Religious liberty is different for the military

  

    How much leeway should Marines have to express their religious beliefs? According to Congress, religious liberty laws apply with full force to the military. But last week the highest court in the armed forces put some limits on claims by active-duty personnel. Those limits cut against recent trends in Supreme Court jurisprudence — but they make a lot of ...

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• 15 August

  Blue corners of Pennsylvania went red, but won’t matter

  

    Albert R. Hunt The lunch group in Monessen, Pennsylvania, is evenly divided between Trump supporters and Trump opponents. But the dark mood across the whole room suggests why this working-class town might end up favouring him in November. Monessen, once a steelmaking hub, has steadily lost plants, jobs and population over the decades. Along Donner Avenue, there are more ...

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• 15 August

  Gulf markets diverge, Egypt settles at 14-month high

  

    Reuters Stock markets in Dubai, Qatar and Egypt climbed to multi-month highs on Monday but Saudi Arabia was dragged lower by banking shares vulnerable to economic pressures due to low oil prices. Dubai’s index rose 1.0 percent to end at 3,602 points, just below technical resistance at its April peak of 3,605 points, as trading volume more than doubled ...

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• 15 August

  European stocks little changed as DAX erases annual decline

  

    Bloomberg European shares were little changed, with Germany’s DAX Index erasing its annual drop, as investors assessed recent gains in light of the outlook for earnings and economic growth. Rebounding automakers posted the best performance of the Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s 19 industry groups. Volkswagen AG’s 1.4 percent advance buoyed the DAX, which entered a bull market last week, ...

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• 15 August

  Indonesia airlines cleared to fly into United States

  

    AGENCIES Indonesia, an aviation market with one of the world’s worst safety records, had its air-safety rating upgraded by the US Federal Aviation Administration, a move that may add momentum to flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia’s expansion plans. The Southeast nation’s transport ministry said it received a letter from the U.S. embassy saying Indonesia got elevated to Category 1, ...

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• 15 August

  WeChat soon at 35,000ft in China

  

    Bloomberg Millions of flyers in China may soon see their wish come true: authorities are considering lifting restrictions on the use of mobile phones on planes, paving the way for wider in-flight connectivity that is now available only in developed markets. A legislation to amend regulations that limit the use of electronic devices on board is underway and the ...

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• 15 August

  Macy’s plans to close 100 stores, boost online investment

  

    AP Macy’s plans to close about 100 stores next year and boost its online investments, the nation’s largest department store chain said, as it tries to become more nimble in an increasingly fierce market. The closures represent close to 14 percent of its stores under the Macy’s brand. The company, which operates Bloomingdale’s stores as well, said it would ...

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• 15 August

  Londoners cut house prices to lure buyers

  

    Bloomberg London properties are taking longer to sell this month, despite a summer price cut, as Brexit uncertainty compounds the dampening effect of the holiday season. Homes in the UK capital are staying on the market for five days more than in May, the month before Britons voted to leave the European Union, property website Rightmove Plc said in ...

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• 15 August

  Mid-America nears $4bn Post Properties deal

  

    Bloomberg Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc., a real-estate investment trust, is close to a deal to buy Post Properties Inc. for about $4 billion as demand for rental properties booms, The Wall Street Journal reported. Post Properties shareholders will get 0.71 share of new MAA stock for each share in a deal, according to the newspaper’s website, which cited people ...

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• 15 August

  Singapore home sales at highest in a year as prices drop

  

    Bloomberg The number of new homes sold in Singapore rose to the highest in a year in July, with buyers snapping up new projects after almost three years of price declines. Developers sold 1,091 units last month, compared with 536 in June, according to data released Monday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. That’s the highest since July 2015, when ...

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