Fed tightening eases stimulus pressure globally: Rajan

  Bloomberg The Federal Reserve’s plan to further withdraw support for the US economy will ease pressure on other major central banks to keep up their own ‘aggressive’ monetary stimulus, former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said. “I think with the Federal Reserve seeing limited room for continued accommodation and starting to raise interest rates, I think you ...

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‘Valley of Longevity’

  Vilcabamba / DPA Death among the middle-aged is a rare surprise in the Ecuadorian town of Vilcabamba. “She was just 43. Brain tumour. Very few die that young here,” muses William Benítez as the coffin containing Rosa Torres is borne down the street to the cemetery. Benítez is there to vend ice cream to the sweating pallbearers. “Actually, 100 ...

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‘Office of the future’

  Kaiserslautern / DPA When Professor Sabine Hoffmann invites you to sit down, there’s a surprise in store: the individualized office chairs she’s helping to develop can ventilate you from below. At the push of a button, their little built-in fans can blow air on the back or bottom. Men in particular like this feature, she says, as it helps ...

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Analysts bullish on 2017 outlook for natural gas

  Bloomberg Natural gas prices may have faltered in the first trading day of the year, but some analysts are still bullish on the outlook for 2017. With demand for the power-plant fuel surpassing coal for the first time in the US and exports soaring, a years-long glut from shale formations has finally been erased. Now, all natural gas needs ...

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Oil falls from 18-month high amid Dollar gains, OPEC doubts

  Bloomberg Oil fell from the highest level since July 2015 as the dollar strengthened while doubts persisted about the ability of OPEC and its partners to balance the market. Futures slipped on the first trading day of 2017 after rising 45 percent last year, the biggest annual gain since 2009. Prices touched an 18-month high earlier as output cuts ...

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Oil trader Gunvor sues Cerberus over failed Chevron bid

  Bloomberg Oil trader Gunvor Group is suing Cerberus Capital Management alleging that the private equity firm is refusing to pay its share of costs incurred when the two companies made a failed $650 million bid for Chevron Corp. assets in South Africa. While a relatively small amount of money is at stake, the suit sheds light on the acquisition ...

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Mobileye jumps on deal with carmakers for driverless data

  Bloomberg Jerusalem-based maker of chips and software for driverless cars Mobileye NV jumped most in 6 months after announcing strategic partnership with HERE, mapping consortium forged by German automakers. Shares of Mobileye rose 9.8 percent to $38.44 in New York, the most since June 30. The stock is still down 9.1 percent this year. Automakers and technology companies are ...

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India to spend $10bn a year to meet power demand

  Bloomberg India will spend $10 billion annually on new power transmission lines to satisfy growing demand in under-served areas, according to the country’s largest private power-grid operator. The country lacks sufficient transmission infrastructure to link its increasing generation capacity to areas of burgeoning consumption, said Pratik Agarwal, chief executive officer at Sterlite Power Transmission Ltd. The central government may ...

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India surprise cash ban thwarts country’s service sector growth

  Bloomberg India’s dominant services sector is set to contract for a second straight month, adding to evidence that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise ban on cash will trigger a sharp slowdown in Asia’s No. 3 economy. The Nikkei India Services Purchasing Managers’ Index was at 46.8 in December, a report showed on Wednesday, little changed from 46.7 a month ...

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Heavy smog chokes a third of China’s cities

  Bloomberg Heavy smog has blanketed a third of China’s cities, including its capital Beijing, with 62 issuing health alerts since Jan. 1, officials said. The hazardous air has forced hundreds of flight cancellations or delays and is forecast to linger into the weekend in some areas. The concentration of PM2.5 particles — which pose the greatest health risks because ...

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