Bloomberg The US and North Korea agreed to seek “complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula†following a historic summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, yet set no deadline and left the path to disarmament undefined. Trump defended the two-page document he signed with Kim at the end of their meeting in Singapore earlier on Tuesday, saying that he ...
Read More »â€˜US is losing global sway over trade dispute’
Bloomberg Searching for a bright spot in the escalating trade dispute emanating from the US, Norway’s prime minister said the world’s biggest economy just isn’t as important anymore. “It’s important to remember that the US isn’t the same driving force as it used to be,†Erna Solberg said. “The world economy has more legs to stand on and there are ...
Read More »Merkel faces calls to tighten refugee policy
Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s parliamentary caucus pressed her to end a cabinet standoff over refugee policy, underscoring the unbroken political risk posed by migration. At a regular meeting of Merkel’s 246-member Christian Democratic-led bloc on Tuesday, no member backed the chancellor’s criticism of a proposal by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer to turn back refugees at the German border, according ...
Read More »Congo PM rules out Kabila presidential bid
Bloomberg Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila isn’t planning to seek another term in an election scheduled for December as his opponents have speculated, the country’s prime minister said. While the constitution bars Kabila from seeking a third term, he’s refused publicly to rule himself out as a candidate in a vote scheduled for December 23. Attempting to extend ...
Read More »Malaysia’s attorney general starts review of 1MDB probe
Bloomberg Malaysia’s attorney general will start his review of 1MDB investigation papers, signaling that charges linked to the troubled state fund may be imminent. Attorney-General Tommy Thomas has formed two teams, one to study the documents for possible criminal prosecution, and the other for civil proceedings, he said. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission submitted the files to the Attorney General’s Chambers ...
Read More »Recession indicators flash nothing very definitive
No one really knows how to predict recessions. Despite the massive financial returns that would accrue to anyone who had a good way of spotting downturns before they happen, macroeconomic forecasters are unable to do this with any reliability. And if professional forecasters can’t succeed in the high-stakes world of the financial industry, the chances of a pundit such as ...
Read More »Let’s send Facebook some poll observers
Facebook insists that people can trust it to manage its giant social network in a way that doesn’t undermine democracy. I say verify: Let’s send in an army of scientists to study its role in the upcoming 2018 elections. There’s been too little research into how Facebook influenced the last election, even though there’s plenty of reason to think it ...
Read More »Murdoch gets what he wants out of Brexit Britain
The UK government has all but approved Rupert Murdoch’s bid to take full control of Sky Plc. That’s good news for the satellite broadcaster’s shareholders. It’s also a sign that even the most controversial foreign offers for British companies have a fighting chance of success. UK Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said he will clear the bid by Murdoch’s 21st Century ...
Read More »Privacy is a key to unlock China’s US agreements
America is easing open the gates for Chinese acquirers. A key (and opaque) US national security panel gave a real estate firm the all-clear to purchase Genworth Financial Inc., an insurer specializing in long-term care, after the Beijing-based company gave assurances on data privacy. The weekend nod from the ComÂmitÂtee on ForÂeign InÂvestÂment in the US for China Oceanwide Holdings ...
Read More »Want to cut China trade gap, invest in America
One reason the US and China can’t figure out how to negotiate on trade may be that the Americans are making two sets of demands that are antithetical to each other, without even realizing it. On one side are threatened sanctions targeting the Made in China 2025 program of technology development and those against ZTE Corp. The headline tariffs, sometimes ...
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