Bloomberg Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden stood in front of the Civil War battlefields of Gettysburg to offer a pledge to unify the country as his campaign entered its final four weeks and his support appears to be growing. “Today, once again, we are a house divided,†Biden said using a phrase made famous by President Abraham Lincoln. “This must ...
Read More »US ‘disappointed’ by razed naval facility in Cambodia
Bloomberg The US Embassy in Phnom Penh said on Wednesday it was “disappointed†Cambodia had razed an American-built military facility that symbolised friendship between the countries. Located within the Ream Naval Base along Cambodia’s southwestern coast, the US-funded maritime security facility was reported to have been demolished last month, raising concerns it was done to facilitate hosting Chinese soldiers and ...
Read More »Lesotho’s govt seeking to regulate online behaviour
Bloomberg Lesotho’s government is seeking to regulate online behaviour with a law compelling social-media users to obtain a so-called internet broadcasting allowance, as unease about digital platforms grows in some African countries. Under the proposed bill, an internet broadcaster is anyone who posts any text, image or photograph that’s accessible to at least 100 users or anyone who has more ...
Read More »Merkel shying away from action that would hurt Putin
Bloomberg Angela Merkel and her European allies are preparing to retaliate against Vladimir Putin’s government over the poisoning of one of his top critics but their plans may not make much of an impression on the Kremlin. Although countermeasures are all but inevitable, the European Union action may consist of asset freezes and travel bans for Russian officials, according to ...
Read More »Vietnam detains activist after human rights meeting
Bloomberg Vietnamese blogger and democracy activist Pham Thi Doan Trang, 42, was detained on charges of creating, storing and spreading anti-government documents, the Ministry of Public Security said on its website. The arrest came a few hours after the annual human rights dialog between the United States and Vietnam, Phil Robertson, deputy Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, said in ...
Read More »Europe plans $118 billion in social bonds to fund recovery
Bloomberg The European Union looks (EU) set to launch a foray into social bonds, a market that has already swelled four-fold this year to fund projects to help societies recover from the coronavirus. The bloc’s first ever social bond sale is expected to come in the second half of October, as part of up to 100 billion euros ($118 billion) ...
Read More »US 30-year yield highest since June on election calculus
Bloomberg The longest-maturity Treasury yield surged to a three-month high as traders adjusted their election bets. The yield curve steepened as the 30-year rate climbed more than nine basis points to 1.581%, the highest level since June 10, driving the widely watched 5- to 30-year spread to a peak of almost 125 basis points. Rates moved as US President Donald ...
Read More »UK house prices rise most in September since 2016
Bloomberg UK house prices rise at their strongest annual pace since 2016 last month as Britons’ changing work patterns and a tax reduction on purchases fanned a resurgence. Average house prices rise 7.3% in September from a year earlier to a record average of 249,870 pounds ($323,000), mortgage lender Halifax said on Wednesday. On the month alone, prices gained 1.6 ...
Read More »Spain may extend emergency wage support again in 2021
Bloomberg Spain is prepared to extend its furlough program beyond January, Social Security Minister Jose Luis Escriva said, in the clearest statement yet on the future of the wage-support policy. “We stand ready to reevaluate the situation,†Escriva said in an interview with Bloomberg News, one week after the government agreed to prolong its previous aid measure through January 31. ...
Read More »Covid-19: German industrial output falls
Bloomberg German manufacturers unexpectedly cut production, underlining risks resurgent infections pose for the economic recovery. Industrial output declined 0.2% in August following three consecutive gains. Economists predicted an increase of 1.5%. The Economy Ministry said the weakness was chiefly driven by a drop in auto manufacturing. A separate report showed factory orders improved for a fourth straight month. The German ...
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