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Bloomberg Russia said the US will have to drop its opposition to negotiating directly with the Taliban on the eventual pullout of American troops from Afghanistan or face a grinding and bloody war for years to come. The US refusal to talk with the hard-line extremist movement that controls 40 percent of Afghan territory is “why we are at a ...

Bloomberg Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated that he would not provoke China into a war following reports that the Chinese military landed long-range bombers on an airport in the South China Sea. “You know they have the planes, not stationed in Spratly but near the provinces facing — Chinese provinces facing the Spratly and the China Sea. And with their ...

Bloomberg Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad’s government is considering investigating former leader Najib Razak for abuse of power, as it intensifies efforts to seek evidence of wrongdoing at scandal-plagued state fund 1MDB just days after taking office. Najib has been summoned to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s office to aid in a 1MDB-related probe, Bernama news agency cited an unidentified MACC official ...

Bloomberg Venezuela held an election on Sunday that will be ignored by much of the country, but could set its path for decades to come. President Nicolas Maduro, fighting to keep control of a restive state, called a vote months earlier than it’s traditionally held. In doing so, he defied the international community and risks further punishment for a nation ...

Bloomberg Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy faces a resurgent confrontation with Catalonia over the regional government’s choice of leaders, threatening passage of his 2018 budget. Rajoy’s government left open the option of vetoing a slate of senior officials proposed by regional chief Joaquim Torra on Saturday, saying it’s a provocation that he nominated people who are in prison or wanted by ...

Bloomberg Ghana’s former President John Dramani Mahama said he won’t “disappoint” his supporters who are calling on him to stand as a presidential candidate in the 2020 elections. “To you the teeming supporters and sympathisers calling and requesting me to declare my intentions for the future, I wish to assure you today, that as a servant leader, I have listened ...

US demands that China either open up to increased foreign competition or agree on hard targets for boosting imports overlook the weakness of that nation’s economy. If President Donald Trump’s team doesn’t recognize this fragility and Beijing’s wariness, it overlooks a profound unspoken worry. Few are inclined to think of the Chinese economy as wobbly. According to official data, 2017 ...

The stronger dollar may have taken its toll on Turkey and Argentina but there is one notable exception to the stresses plaguing emerging markets – Russia. Investors have largely shrugged off the shock from US Treasury sanctions being imposed for the first time on specific Russian companies, notably aluminum producer United Co. Rusal. The MOEX Russia Index, the country’s benchmark, ...

Maybe Macy’s Inc. wasn’t just coasting on the holiday spirit after all. The department store giant said comparable sales in the first quarter were up 3.9 percent over a year earlier, blowing past analyst expectations. When you include sales at departments licensed to third parties, it was even stronger, up 4.2 percent over a year earlier. That robust growth followed ...

The Trump administration is drawing up a proposal to simplify the Volcker Rule, one of the most controversial pieces of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform. This could be a desirable development, as long as it doesn’t weaken a crucial safeguard against gambling with taxpayers’ money. The Volcker Rule has a worthy goal: Limit government subsidies to financial institutions. When authorities ...