Peru sol’s top forecaster raises estimate on US rate

  Bloomberg The best forecaster for the Peruvian sol is raising his estimate for the currency as expectations fade that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year. Lee Hardman, a currency analyst at Bank of Tokyo – Mitsubishi UFG, the best forecaster of the sol in the second quarter, expects it to weaken to 3.4 per dollar ...

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Barrick to restart Pascua-Lama project

  Bloomberg Barrick Gold Corp., the biggest gold miner, is looking into ways to restart its stalled Pascua-Lama project on the Chile-Argentina border, including a staged development. Possible changes to the decade-old mine plan include a smaller open pit, an underground mine on either side of the border or starting with one line in the mill to generate cash for ...

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China warns against ‘cradle of war’

  Beijing / AFP China warned rivals Wednesday against turning the South China Sea into a “cradle of war” and threatened an air defence zone there, after its claims to the strategically vital waters were declared invalid. The surprisingly strong and sweeping ruling by a UN-backed tribunal in The Hague provided powerful diplomatic ammunition to the Philippines, which filed the challenge, ...

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S Korea chooses site for THAAD system

  Seoul / AFP Seoul said on Wednesday an advanced US missile defence system will be deployed in a remote southern county and will have the capacity to protect two thirds of the country against feared attacks from the North. The plan to deploy the powerful system, which fires projectiles to smash into enemy missiles, came last week after the ...

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EU to use ‘all defences’ against China steel exports: Juncker

  Beijing / AFP EU Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said on Wednesday that the bloc would use all possible means to protect itself from a flood of Chinese steel imports blamed for turmoil in global markets. China, which makes more than half the world’s steel, is widely accused in Europe of dumping its production on world markets and violating trade ...

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Embattled Nepal PM faces no-confidence motion

  Kathmandu / AFP Nepali opposition lawmakers filed a no-confidence motion on Wednesday against Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli after former rebel Maoists quit his coalition, triggering fresh political turmoil in the quake-hit nation. The former guerrillas announced on Tuesday that they were withdrawing support for Oli’s government, leaving his coalition without a majority. After Oli refused to resign, opposition ...

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Japan Emperor planning to abdicate: Media

  Tokyo / AFP Japan’s Emperor Akihito plans to abdicate in favour of his eldest son within a few years, Japanese media reported on Wednesday. The 82-year-old monarch has told those close to him that the role should be occupied by someone who can fulfil the emperor’s duties as stipulated in the constitution, public broadcaster NHK reported, without citing a ...

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‘N-deal holding but more work needed’

  Tehran / AFP Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers is holding a year after it was agreed but more needs to be done to ensure its full implementation, a top Iranian negotiator said on Wednesday. “The total process has been relatively satisfactory despite the difficulties that we see in the implementation,” Hamid Baeidinejad told a press conference in Tehran ...

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Turkey condemns EU Parliament show on Kurdish fighters

  Ankara / AFP Turkey has condemned as unacceptable an exhibition at the European Parliament on a Kurdish militia force in northern Syria, accusing the EU body of showing propaganda for a “terrorist” group. The exhibition in Brussels contains images from Syria of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), a group the West sees as allies in the fight ...

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Getting globalization right

  WASHINGTON Can we get globalization right? It has emerged as an all-purpose scapegoat for our economic woes — lost jobs, depressed wages, large trade deficits, greater income inequality, anxieties about the future. The reality is otherwise: Although globalization is genuine, it’s been distorted and its ills exaggerated. I have written about this before, but because the issue is so ...

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