Germany rejects sending ground troops to Syria

Bloomberg Germany’s government ruled out dispatching ground troops to Syria to assist a US-led campaign against the IS, pushing back on a request from the US administration. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Germany’s contribution to the anti-ISIS mission will most likely be confined to existing measures, such as aerial surveillance and assistance to Iraqi Kurds. “When I ...

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Trump says UK envoy hasn’t served Britain ‘well’ after leak

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Bloomberg US President Donald Trump criticised the British ambassador to Washington following the leak of memos penned by the envoy describing his administration in unflattering terms. The Foreign Office is investigating the leak after the Mail newspaper reported that Kim Darroch, a career diplomat who’s been his country’s top representative in Washington since 2016, described Trump as “inept” and “incompetent” ...

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Russian nuke submarine’s crew prevented ‘planetary catastrophe’

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Bloomberg The 14 sailors who died during a fire on a nuclear-powered Russian military submarine prevented a “planetary catastrophe,” a top naval officer said at their funeral, according to media reports. Captain Sergei Pavlov, an aide to the commander of Russia’s navy, praised the heroism of the men, who died as they battled to stop the fire from spreading in ...

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Tories deploy new tool to prevent no-deal Brexit

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Bloomberg British Conservatives plotting to thwart a no-deal Brexit will make another attempt this week to stop the next prime minister from forcing a chaotic break with the European Union without parliament’s consent. Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve, a veteran anti-Brexit rebel in the Conservative Party, plans to amend a bill going to parliament. He wants to ensure the House ...

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China learns an iron law of the prices in markets

China learns an iron law of the prices in markets copy

China’s steelmakers have had enough of the squeeze. The government needs to “maintain normal iron-ore market order” and push prices back to “reasonable levels” Qu Xiuli, vice chairwoman of the China Iron & Steel Association, or CISA, told a conference in Shanghai. It’s not hard to understand the frustration. Iron-ore costs in June amounted to about a third of the ...

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The true price of electric cars

The true price of electric cars

Most people will be happy to see the back of the combustion engine. Cleaner air and less dependence on oil are good reasons to look forward to the mass adoption of electric cars. But for the 3 million or so Europeans working in the auto industry, the transition to the new technology is a source of great anxiety. While the ...

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A leaner Deutsche Bank may not be fitter in Asia

It makes sense for investment banks to cut businesses where they’re too small to be competitive and staying in is costly. So Deutsche Bank AG’s exit from equities trading is overdue. That doesn’t mean life is going to get any easier, in Asia at least. The German lender is counting on its strength in fixed-income and currencies trading to pivot ...

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Asset managers calling for planet-friendliness

Asset managers are increasingly using their financial clout to persuade companies to be friendlier to the planet, wielding a combination of the stick of disinvestment and the carrot of engagement. But can the financial world do more to ensure countries and their central banks are also meeting their environmental, social and governance responsibilities? Travel platform from AtoB.com scrutinised the 2018 ...

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Trump’s latest picks may be what the Fed needs

Trump's latest picks may be what the fed needs copy

Before I offer thoughts on President Donald Trump’s latest two nominees to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors and the challenges they face, some full disclosures are in order. I interviewed for one of the open governor positions at the White House in late May. I have an unconventional background for a Fed governor as I don’t have a Ph.D. ...

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Hong Kong’s property bubble is protest-proof

It will take more than a few protests to cool Hong Kong’s real estate market. The latest round of social unrest has homeowners worried that the local economy, especially the property sector, will suffer. In fact, the market is only going to get hotter — if it can weather the current round of chaos. The city has been in turbulence ...

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