People aren’t thinking straight on Bayer-Monsanto

  Bayer’s proposed purchase of Monsanto, the biggest deal of the year so far, has led to a heated public debate over economic concentration. Unfortunately, both sides are failing to identify the key issues behind the potential transaction. The good news is that the deal announced on Sept. 14 would not increase market concentration by much. Bayer is primarily a ...

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Free trade deals claim some unwilling victims

When people talk about the benefits and harms from trade, they usually refer to the labor market. That makes sense, since losing a job has a huge impact on a person’s life. Even if you can find another job, it takes time and money and causes lots of stress. It disrupts your life, and sometimes you can’t find as good ...

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Time to subject Libor to some stiffer competition

  In 2012, the London interbank offered rate — Libor — gained worldwide notoriety when it emerged that traders had conspired to manipulate this vital financial benchmark. Clearly, the system was broken and would have to be mended. Four years later, the repairs aren’t finished. Given the stakes, regulators are right to tread carefully. That said, they need to start ...

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UAE’s impetus to solar power timely

  Dubai’s hosting of the second Global Solar Leaders’ Summit has demonstrated the urgency to give impetus to renewable energy — essentially solar power. The UAE’s economic diversification plan and UAE Vision 2021 call for the need to tap the energy in the sunshine. Solar power will help reduce the carbon footprint and put the country on the road to ...

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Russian voters turn indifferent towards President Putin

  Russian President Vladimir Putin’s loyalists, the United Russia party, gained a massive, record majority in Sunday’s parliamentary election — but Russians have also shown that the high popularity ratings of United Russia and, by extension, Putin and his government are essentially fake: The turnout was lower than ever in the history of Russian federal elections. According to preliminary results, ...

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The contrarian signal in the REIT breakout

  For the first time since 1999, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is being reconfigured. The last time was when technology was established as an independent sector. The current reconstitution of the S&P 500 involves breaking out real estate investment trusts (REITs) from the financial industry group. This is worth paying attention to, given how rarely these sorts of ...

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World War II leak case is a win for Snowden

  The secrecy rules for grand juries contain no exceptions for cases with historical importance. In an important victory for historians, however, a divided appeals court is unsealing testimony from a 1942 leak investigation after the Battle of Midway. The decision, which was opposed by the Obama administration, sheds some light on the debate about whether the leaks by former ...

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Equities drift higher ahead of central bank decisions

  AFP European and US markets drifted higher on Tuesday with dealers on tenterhooks on the first day of key monetary policy meetings for the US Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan. Around 1330 GMT, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 0.7 percent compared with the close on Monday. In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 won 0.7 percent and ...

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Qatar gains after FTSE inclusion, Saudi near technical support level

  Reuters Qatar’s equity index climbed on Tuesday as passive funds flowed into shares now included in FTSE’s secondary emerging market index while other Gulf markets sagged. Doha’s index rose 1.0 percent, recouping some of the percent losses from the previous session. Passive funds will flow into 22 shares from Tuesday, and the stocks will continue to be bid up ...

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Lufthansa, Air China sign route joint venture deal

  Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air China Ltd. signed a cooperation agreement that will enable the Star Alliance members to take on competition from the rival Skyteam partnership on China-Europe routes and boost earnings. The flag carriers of Germany and China plan to increase coordination on flight schedules and expand code-sharing on China-Europe flights when the venture takes off ...

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