Bloomberg Italy’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement is putting its rivalry-ridden ruling coalition to a test — with an online vote. At stake in Monday’s web poll is whether Five Star should support immunity from prosecution for the anti-immigrant League party leader Matteo Salvini, who faces possible charges for refusing to let a migrant ship dock last summer in his role ...
Read More »Europe must take IS prisoners or they’ll be freed: Trump
Bloomberg President Donald Trump demanded that European nations take back their citizens who joined IS and were captured by US-allied forces in Syria and Iraq, warning the prisoners would otherwise be released. “Time for others to step up and do the job that they are so capable of doing,†Trump said in a subsequent tweet, adding that the US is ...
Read More »May makes plea for unity to get Brexit deal
Bloomberg Prime Minister Theresa May launched a desperate appeal to her Conservative Party lawmakers to unite behind her in driving through a Brexit agreement that might be palatable to EU leaders. In a letter to her MPs, May said she’s planning to return to Brussels for further talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker next week and plans to speak ...
Read More »Malaysians losing patience over vote promises: Mahathir
Bloomberg Malaysians are losing patience and are starting to criticize the current government over its unfulfilled election promises, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in Kuala Lumpur. While the people wanted to see immediate changes, the present administration is unable to implement quick reforms because of the legacy left behind by the previous government, he said in a keynote address at ...
Read More »East Canada LNG edges towards decision on $7.5 billion plant
Bloomberg A $7.5 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in East Canada focussed on Europe is seeking to get the go-ahead this year. Pieridae Energy Ltd is targeting the milestone known as a final investment decision after having lined up buyers for the fuel, mainly in Europe. If approved it would add to LNG supplies into northwest Europe, which has ...
Read More »Singapore planning cautious budget with an eye on polls
Bloomberg Singapore Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat will aim to strike a delicate balance in Monday’s budget: preaching fiscal prudence while doling out more social spending ahead of elections that could come as early as this year. While not expected to be as headline-grabbing as last year — when Heng flagged a hike in the goods-and-services tax — the 2019 ...
Read More »India raises import taxes on Pakistan goods by 200%
Bloomberg India raised duties on all goods imported from Pakistan following the withdrawal of most-favored nation status to its neighbor after a terror attack last week killed dozens of Indian soldiers. The basic customs duty on all Pakistan exports to India will be increased to 200 percent immediately, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a post on Twitter. Withdrawing the ...
Read More »Hong Kong’s Q4 growth halves as trade war hit
Bloomberg The trade war between the US and China and slowing retail sales dragged Hong Kong’s economic growth down at the end of last year, with exports showing almost “zero growth.” Gross domestic product in the fourth quarter was “less than 1.5 percent,” according to a blog post on Sunday from Financial Secretary Paul Chan. The “significant slowdown†was well ...
Read More »Duterte signs bills to ease inflation, boost revenues
Bloomberg Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law key economic measures that are seen to help lower rice prices, strengthen the central bank and bolster state revenues. Duterte signed a bill that would remove caps on rice imports and boost supply of the staple grain, according to Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea. The measure is expected to help cool inflation, which ...
Read More »Buyback spree alive in India as state firms join tech firms
Bloomberg India Inc. is extending a banner year for share buybacks. Seven weeks into 2019, two dozen companies led by technology major Infosys Ltd. have announced or completed plans to buy 170.5 billion rupees ($2.4 billion) of their own stock, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. This compares with about 545 billion rupees for all of 2018, which was the ...
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