By Marja Novak | SEVNICA, Slovenia SEVNICA, Slovenia “First Lady” apple pies in the Kruhek bakery in Melania Trump’s hometown of Sevnica in Slovenia are selling like hot cakes. “We sell more than a hundred a day so the pies are our main product these days,” said Sergeja Gorenjec, a saleswoman at the bakery. “Our workday is longer but we are glad and proud of Melania.” Tourist […]
Donald Trump is to be sworn in as president in Washington on Friday, taking over from Barack Obama. Highlights of the day: SWEARING-IN Donald Trump is to be sworn in at middday (1700 GMT), setting the country on an uncertain path at home and abroad. PROTESTERS AND SUPPORTERS Protesters scuffle with police as liberal activists attempt to block thousands of supporters at the inauguration. Trump supporters dance […]
As Donald Trump moves into the White House, it would be hard to dream up a cabinet friendlier to fossil fuels. His nominees include Rex Tillerson, the former ExxonMobil chief tapped for secretary of state; Scott Pruitt, picked to run the environmental watchdog he fought as Oklahoma attorney-general; and Rick Perry, a former Texas governor set to head the energy department. “Folks in the fossil fuel industry […]
By Yashaswini Swamynathan U.S. stock index futures treaded water on Friday ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th U.S. President. * Futures also got a lift after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen backed her stance for gradual interest rate increases on Thursday. * Trump, a New York businessman and former reality TV star, is scheduled to be sworn in around midday by Supreme Court Chief Justice […]
Billionaire investor George Soros spoke to Bloomberg TV in Davos, and said the euphoria among stock investors since the victory of President-elect Donald Trump will end as uncertainty takes over. In an interview that may have been even gloomier than his last address to Davos in January 2016, when he said he was short the market, predicted a Chinese hard landing, and said the Fed’s hike was […]
“Comeback is a good word, man,” noted the actor Mickey Rourke, after portraying a washed-up wrestler led to a career renaissance. Could 2017 be the year when stockpickers can say the same thing? The post-financial crisis environment has been unkind to active investing, especially in equities, with most portfolio managers unable to beat their benchmarks even before costs. That has accelerated the seismic investor shift towards cheap, […]
BEIJING China National Chemical Corp, or ChemChina, said on Friday it has sought the U.S. anti-trust regulator’s approval for its planned $43 billion acquisition of Swiss crop protection and seed group Syngenta AG (SYNN.S). “We have filed an HSR Act with the FTC after good communications with the case team. We believe the U.S. anti-trust process is on track,” ChemChina said in an email, referring to the U.S. […]
“Basically what I did was work very, very hard, physically and mentally, to play 21 years, and that was the key to my career,” said Rodriguez, who set the record for games played as a catcher. “I know there was a lot of speculation, but look at where I am right now.” Now he is part of the gilded 1 percent who have worn a major league […]
By Nate Raymond | NEW YORK CITY NEW YORK CITY Mexican cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is expected to appear in a court in New York on Friday, shortly after his surprise extradition from Mexico ended a decades-long career in drug-trafficking, dare-devil jail breaks and murder. A Justice Department spokesman said El Chapo, or Shorty, once one of the world’s most wanted drug lords, was set […]
TOKYO Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking in parliament hours before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office, said on Friday he wanted to further strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance. Trump sparked worries in Tokyo and the rest of the Asia-Pacific with campaign comments which included a pledge to make allies pay more for the security provided by U.S. forces and opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. […]
Friday 05.10 GMT Overview Equities markets were mixed in Asian trading on Friday as the dollar ceded ground to regional currencies and China reported on-target economic growth ahead of the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump. Hot topic The dollar index measuring the greenback against a basket of peers fell 0.2 per cent after a two-day winning streak left it 0.8 per cent higher at Thursday’s close. […]
At the end of the Bush administration, I hated the republicans. George was such a fucking idiot, alongside the tea party retards. I viewed Obama as a welcomed respite. In hindsight, I probably voted for Obama to prove that I wasn’t some sort of redneck racist. The Obama administration was very good for stocks — maybe the best ever. But at what cost? The national debt has […]
DUBAI/BEIRUT: Iran’s government and entities close to the elite Revolutionary Guards have signed major economic contracts with Syria, reaping what appear to be lucrative rewards for helping President Bashar Assad regain control of parts of his country from rebels.An opposition group condemned the telecommunications and mining deals signed with Iran, Damascus’s main regional ally, as “looting” of the Syrian people and the country’s wealth by the “Iranian […]
Investor optimism faded in the week preceding the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president, with equity funds suffering their largest outflows since the surprise result of November’s election. Close to $2.5bn fled US equity funds in the week ending Wednesday, according to data from EPFR Global, extending outflows of $250m from the prior week and demonstrating that the investor demand that drove more than $60bn of […]
Western Union agreed on Thursday to forfeit $586m after admitting that it violated US anti-money laundering laws by ignoring evidence that thousands of its agents were involved in sending illicit cash to criminals, including human traffickers in China and bookies in Costa Rica, the US Department of Justice announced. From 2004 to 2012, Western Union, a global money services business based in Englewood, Colorado, “processed hundreds of […]
Submitted by Peter Schiff via Euro Pacific Capital, There is much we don’t know about how the Trump presidency will play out. Will the Wall get built? Who will pay for it? Will it have at least some fencing? Will repeal and replace happen at exactly the same time? Will Trump throw a ceremonial switch? Will there be a Trump National Golf Course in Sochi? It’s anyone’s […]
5936 25 by Shannon K. O’Neil January 18, 2017 A dye factory worker suns fabric after washing them in Narayanganj near Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 25, 2016 (Reuters/Mohammad Ponir Hossain). In late December, tens of thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers went on strike, shutting down over fifty factories making fast-fashion clothes for international brands including Gap, H&M, and Zara. What started as a walkout in support of 121 […]
The Bank of England’s corporate bond buying plan has moved much faster than investors expected with the central bank surpassing half of its total target just five months after the programme was launched. Started in September as part of the central bank’s plan to cushion the economy from any fallout from the Brexit vote, the programme has seen the BoE buy £5.2bn of corporate bonds, according to […]
Brussels is seeking to defuse a regulatory time-bomb facing Europe’s pensions as the retirement industry warns that EU derivatives reforms scheduled for 2018 could cost savers billions. The European Commission is preparing legislation to amend regulations that are seen hurting pensions funds by forcing them to put aside higher amounts of money to satisfy derivatives rules. Trades such as swaps and other derivatives require support in the […]
51 year-old Florida resident, Dominic Puopolo, who was arrested by Miami Beach police Tuesday for allegedly threatening President-elect Donald Trump online is, according to The Daily Mail, is a member of a prominent northeast family close to Bill and Hillary Clinton. Puopolo reportedly admitted to posting a video to Twitter, under his handle @JesusChrist1701, saying: “Yes, I will be at the review stand at the inauguration and […]
The star player in America’s biggest sporting event risks being benched: guacamole. Every year before the Super Bowl, demand soars for the avocado-based dip that has become a staple for viewing parties for the National Football League championship game, which has emerged as the second-largest day for food consumption in the US after Thanksgiving. This year’s supply was threatened by a spike in avocado prices late last […]
SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK This past November, Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ.O) hired a helicopter to film Manhattan’s skyline using Snapchat’s new video-camera sunglasses and sent the aerial footage to its social media followers. The New York Stock Exchange – its arch-rival – on the same day tweeted a video shot from the floor of its exchange, showing that it too was using the social media giant’s gadget. The scramble […]
Men’s Fashion Weeks are now in full flow and this week saw Milan parade in all its finery. Here are some of the highlights. newslide Prada has gone back to “reality” with its latest collection, which is built around leather and corduroy. A step back from Prada’s signature clashing prints and overt intellectual references, this display of hipster trousers with patch pockets and sweaters with fuzzy patches […]
If this week’s speech by Theresa May on her Brexit plans was designed to reassure the City of London and stop banks from shifting jobs out of the UK, early indications are that it appears to have failed. The prime minister is scheduled to address business leaders at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos Thursday morning, but in the meantime a flurry of senior financiers popped […]
