Spain caps rent hikes in win for socialists

Bloomberg The Spanish government won final approval for an emergency decree boosting tenants’ rights at the expense of landlords less than four weeks before a general election. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist administration prevailed 33 votes to 31 at the parliamentary panel that can confirm or revoke legislation when the full plenary is out of session. The measures, negotiated with ...

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Colorado drillers face tougher rules under energy-law revamp

Colorado drillers face tougher rules under energy law revamp copy

Bloomberg Colorado’s legislature passed a sweeping overhaul of the state’s oil and natural gas laws, giving local governments more power to regulate drilling in one of the nation’s top crude-producing regions. The bill, which passed the state Senate by just three votes amid intense industry opposition, now heads to the desk of Democratic Governor Jared Polis, a longstanding proponent of ...

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Italy poised to cut economic growth forecast this year

Italy set to cut economic growth forecast this year copy

Bloomberg The Italian Treasury is set to slash its growth forecast for this year and raise its projected budget deficit, according to two senior officials with knowledge of the draft outlook. The economy will expand by just 0.1 percent this year, according to the draft, which is due for cabinet approval by April 10, the officials said. The government’s previous ...

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Canada trade panel calls for ‘safeguard’ steel tariffs cut

Bloomberg A Canadian trade tribunal is recommending that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government claw back steel tariffs imposed to contain fallout from Donald Trump’s own levies. In a decision, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal recommended tariff rate quotas on two types of steel — heavy plate and stainless steel wire — among seven that the government had already applied provisional ...

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Germany suffers double blow on factory slump, forecast downgrade

Germany suffers double blow on factory slump, forecast downgrade copy

Bloomberg Germany’s painful industrial slump shows little sign of ending, with factory orders plunging the most in a decade in February, led by a drop in exports. The bad news from the Economy Ministry was followed just hours later by new forecasts for 2019 that predicted the weakest growth in six years. The country’s five leading research institutes see expansion ...

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Libya lurches to battle for capital as Sarraj vows to fight

Lead haftar copy

Bloomberg Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar’s forces advanced to the outskirts of Tripoli, setting up a potential endgame for the capital as the country’s UN-backed government vowed stiff resistance. Under attack from fighter jets, Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) fought its way towards the country’s most populous city, where battle-hardened militias that oppose him have mobilised. Appeals for calm by ...

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Venezuelans protest blackouts, water crisis

Protests in venezuela

Bloomberg Venezuelans poured into the streets, demonstrating against a near-total breakdown in public services and rallying behind National Assembly leader Juan Guaido, who is leading a drive to end two decades of socialist rule. The protests come after a month of rolling blackouts that have paralysed daily life and dried the water taps in huge swaths of this oil-rich nation. ...

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Indonesia’s presidential race heats up amid rallies

Bloomberg Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto called for change in a rally on Sunday, talking down the government’s economic performance as competition heats up ahead of an election next week. Indonesia goes to the polls on April 17 in a contest that pits the incumbent Joko Widodo against the contender with the economy being the focal point in the race. ...

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May makes another appeal to find way to Brexit blueprint

Theresa may attends church service in england

Bloomberg Prime Minister Theresa May defended her decision to ask archrival Jeremy Corbyn to help draft a new blueprint for Brexit, and warned the UK might never leave the EU if he doesn’t back a compromise plan. “The longer this takes, the greater the risk of the UK never leaving at all,” May said in a statement. “It would mean ...

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Thailand anti-junta coalition suffers huge setback from ‘seat allocations’

Thai general election 2019

Bloomberg The prospect of many small parties gaining parliamentary seats in Thailand has dented the claim by an anti-junta coalition that it has a majority following March’s general election. An Election Commission statement said more than 25 parties will receive lower house seats based on the proportional representation system in the military-backed constitution, implying many small parties will enter the ...

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