Bloomberg President Donald Trump demanded that Congress deliver funding for his border wall and make dramatic changes to immigration policy in exchange for letting young people brought illegally to the US as children stay in the country. The administration’s proposal, outlined in a briefing by US officials and sent to lawmakers night, was swiftly rejected by top Democrats in Congress, ...
Read More »UK plans for no-deal customs regime as Brexit talks resume
Bloomberg The UK set out contingency plans for leaving the EU without a new Brexit deal on customs, as PM Theresa May warned that Britain must prepare for the worst. A planned Customs Bill will create a new “standalone†customs regime for the UK, and ensure value-added tax and excise laws continue to function if the country crashes out of ...
Read More »â€˜US-Turkey dispute poses serious threat to trade’
Bloomberg A growing diplomatic dispute between the US and Turkey could have a “deep impact†on trade, according to a group that promotes bilateral commerce and that called for both sides to defuse the standoff. The decisions by Washington and Ankara to suspend visa services for each other’s citizens create headaches for US companies with significant business interests in Turkey, ...
Read More »Japan’s Koike: Trump White House ‘unstable’
Bloomberg Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, leader of Japan’s nascent opposition Party of Hope, said on Monday that she’s unsure whether President Donald Trump’s administration is stable even while affirming the importance of the US-Japan alliance. Koike, 65, told Bloomberg in an interview that Trump’s White House may be unstable because of the many changes in personnel since the president took ...
Read More »Merkel clears way for German coalition talks
Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she’ll begin exploratory coalition talks next week with the Greens and the pro-market Free Democrats, the first step toward a possible new government for Europe’s biggest economy. Just over two weeks after winning a fourth term, Merkel plans to start on October 18 with what’s likely to be a complex negotiation with two smaller ...
Read More »Spain warns Catalonia independence bid risks economic meltdown
Bloomberg Spain warned Catalonia it risks economic chaos should the rebel region continue with its pursuit of independence, with the government in Madrid saying it stood ready to intervene and reassert control. As the standoff heads into a critical few days, Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de SantamarÃa said ministers were ready to stop Catalan President Carles Puigdemont. Spanish Energy ...
Read More »OPEC sees ‘extraordinary’ steps needed for market stability in 2018
Bloomberg Oil producers are succeeding in re-balancing an oversupplied market, though they may need to take further steps to sustain the recovery into 2018, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said. Saudi Arabia and Russia are currently leading consultations between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major suppliers about the future of their agreement to cut oil output, Barkindo ...
Read More »Omantel plans to buy 12% stake in Kuwait’s Zain
Reuters Oman Telecommunications (Omantel) plans to buy a 12 percent stake in Kuwaiti telecoms company Zain in a deal that would more than double its stake as part of its expansion strategy. Having purchased a 9.8 percent stake in August to diversify its investment and market position in the region, Omantel said on Monday that it had signed a non-binding ...
Read More »Saudi’s PIF creates $1.7bn ‘fund of funds’ to back SMEs
Riyadh / Reuters Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) said on Monday it is creating a 4 billion riyal ($1.07 billion) ‘fund of funds’ to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The special fund will aim to boost SMEs’ access to capital by investing in venture capital and private equity funds, according to a PIF statement. The ...
Read More »Sasol drops $950mn share plan for black-investor debt
Bloomberg Sasol Ltd., the world’s largest maker of fuel from coal, abandoned a plan to sell about 13 billion rand ($950 million ) of shares to meet its obligation to repay debt owed by a black investor group. A decline in the company’s stock since the mid-2014 slump in crude prices precluded payouts to more than 250,000 black South Africans ...
Read More »