Bloomberg The Portuguese government wants more control over the stricken airline TAP SGPS SA in exchange for a rescue loan of as much as 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion), Expresso reported. The government, which already controls 50% of TAP, is in talks with private shareholders about the loan and should get a response early next week, the weekly newspaper said, ...
Read More »Johnson returns to Brexit with aim of firing up faltering talks
Bloomberg British PM Boris Johnson was expected to step back into the Brexit fray on Monday as he held talks with the European Union’s top officials, with both sides looking to reset negotiations that have drifted into stalemate. In Johnson’s first direct intervention in the discussions since the UK left the bloc at the end of January, each side is ...
Read More »Russia sentences former US marine to 16 years for spying
Bloomberg A Moscow court found former US Marine Paul Whelan guilty of spying and sentenced him to 16 years in prison Monday, according to a statement from his family. Prosecutors had asked for 18 years for Whelan, who says that he is innocent and that he was set up by a Russian Federal Security Service major who owed him 100,000 ...
Read More »Europeans tell Israel that annexation could cost it EU funding
Bloomberg European officials have warned Israel that unilateral annexation of West Bank land may cost it lucrative European Union science research grants, according to Minister of Science and Technology Izhar Shay. Annexation, scheduled to begin next month, could endanger Israel’s continued participation in the EU’s Horizon grants program if the bloc retaliates by denying Israeli scientists access, Shay said in ...
Read More »Leo Varadkar set to be replaced as Irish prime minister under coalition plan
Bloomberg Ireland’s first grand coalition moved a step closer, as political leaders signed off on the final detail of a program for government. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s Fine Gael, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin and the Green’s Eamon Ryan agreed the plan for the next five years, and will now put it to the parties’ lawmakers and members in coming ...
Read More »Singapore to ease virus curbs, resume activities
Bloomberg Singapore will this week further relax restrictive measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, with the government assessing the situation in the country to be under control. After June 18 at 11:59 pm, most activities will be allowed to resume subject to safe distancing principles, according to a press release from the Ministry of Health on Monday. Small ...
Read More »US top court refuses to review police ‘qualified immunity’
Bloomberg The US Supreme Court refused to take up a new test of “qualified immunity,†rejecting several appeals that challenged the legal doctrine that has become a broad liability shield for police officers accused of civil rights violations. Qualified immunity has come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks amid the nationwide protests sparked by the May 25 death of George ...
Read More »Denmark unfreezes $9 billion in vacation funds for spending
Bloomberg Denmark will release 60 billion kroner ($9 billion) of vacation pay that’s been held in reserve in an effort to create new jobs and boost consumer spending. The funds had set aside amid changes to the system. The government has now agreed with parliament to make it available to both public and private-sector workers by October, according to statement ...
Read More »Germany to borrow $246bn this year to pay for stimulus
Bloomberg The German government will request authorisation from parliament to raise a further 62 billion euros ($70 billion) in debt to help pay for its massive stimulus program, according to two people with direct knowledge of the plan. That would bring the total of new debt this year to 218 billion euros, said the people who requested not to be ...
Read More »Sweden weighs stricter bond-trading rules
Bloomberg Sweden’s financial watchdog says it may need to tighten rules around bond trading following a liquidity crunch that led 35 fixed-income funds to slam shut in March. Peter Svensson, a spokesman for the Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) in Stockholm, said one area of particular interest is an exemption granted to Swedish securities firms a few years back, essentially giving ...
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