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Bloomberg A trade deal between the US and Japan that cuts tariffs on some agricultural products and industrial goods took effect on Wednesday, with little indication the two sides would meet a pledge to soon start a new round of talks broadening the pact. Under the deal, Japan reduced tariffs on beef and additional US agricultural products to the same …

MUKALLA / WAM The UAE, through its humanitarian arm, the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), provided 35,144 food parcels weighing 2,840 tonnes to the residents of Hadramaut Governorate during the Year of Tolerance 2019, benefitting 175,720 people who are members of vulnerable Yemeni families. At the end of Year of Tolerance, ERC distributed 100 food parcels weighing eight tonnes, which targeted …

Bloomberg Oil in New York capped its biggest annual increase since 2016, as Opec’s production cuts tempered supplies while a trade pact between the US and China buoyed the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate futures fell 1% yet climbed 34% this year as Opec and its allies cut production and a trade deal between Washington and Beijing neared. With …

Bloomberg China’s central bank will increase the supply of cheap funding to banks by cutting the amount of cash they need to hold as reserves, a move aimed at putting a floor under economic growth in 2020. The required reserve ratio for commercial lenders will be lowered by 50 basis points from January 6, unleashing about 800 billion yuan ($115 …

Bloomberg The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) science advisers rebuked the agency over its 2018 proposal to slash automobile fuel efficiency and emission standards, saying tougher rules charted during the Obama administration may have better outcomes than the plan to replace them. Members of the EPA’s Science Advisory Board, which reviews major agency actions, said there were significant weaknesses in the …

Bloomberg A consortium led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Varde Partners LP will buy 65.75 billion rupees ($922 million) of debt from an Indian power company at a 38% discount, in one of the largest restructuring deals outside the nation’s bankruptcy court. Creditors of RattanIndia Power Ltd will sell the debt via an asset reconstruction company controlled by the …

Bloomberg The Federal Reserve may have succeeded in thwarting major year-end turmoil in funding markets, but 2020 is likely to bring a whole new set of concerns. The US central bank has been injecting liquidity into markets through repurchase-agreement operations since mid-September in a bid to keep control of short-end rates. Earlier this month the Fed ramped up its offerings …

Bloomberg European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde’s promise to learn German has prompted some suggestions on what her first important word should be — including from a German colleague. In response to an informal Twitter poll, incoming Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel suggested Lagarde should start with “Vertrauen,” or “trust.” Schnabel didn’t elaborate on her word choice in the …

Bloomberg The Taiwan dollar strengthened past 30 versus the greenback for the first time in 18 months. The currency rose as much as 0.6% to 29.965 per dollar on and closed at 30.106 in Taipei. The Taiwan dollar has climbed about 3.4% in the second half as the best performer among the world’s major currencies. Taiwan’s financial markets were expected …

Bloomberg China’s central bank said it’ll keep monetary policy flexible and work to lower funding costs for businesses as the economy still faces strong headwinds. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will work to ensure the transmission of monetary policy and use market-focused reform mechanisms to lower the real interest rate for loans, according to a quarterly report. It will …