Venezuela has issued $5bn in new bonds to state-run Banco de Venezuela in a private placement, as it seeks cash for imports of food and medicine as the country struggles with critical shortages of basic goods. France-based Global Emerging Markets Group said it advised on structuring and executing the deal. The operation was underwritten by China’s Haitong Securities, according to two bond traders who had seen preliminary […]
Statcounter’s graph for desktop operating system market shares in the USA shows Windows 10 climbing rapidly and only just overtaking Windows 7 (yellow line). Image: Screen grab for ZDNet Installation of Microsoft’s Windows 10 slowed dramatically when the free upgrade stopped, but it has still overtaken Windows 7 in the UK and USA, on Statcounter‘s usage-based web monitoring. On Netmarketshare’s numbers, which are based on unique visitors […]
LONDON Euro zone stocks opened 2017 by climbing to their highest in more than a year on Monday after data showed manufacturers in the currency bloc ramped up activity at the fastest pace in more than five years. With all of Asia’s major markets closed for the New Year holiday – along with Britain and Switzerland in Europe – trade was thin, which could cause some volatility. […]
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) Samsung Samsung’s mid-range Galaxy A line doesn’t garner much attention in the press, but it’s slowly becoming a flagship caliber device for a fraction of the price. On Monday, Samsung announced the Galaxy A lineup – three different phones in total – are all gaining the same IP68 rating the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge currently enjoy. The IP68 rating translates into water […]
Having drawn the ire of the mainstream press for his extensive use of Twitter in announcing major developments and policy shifts, President-elect Donald Trump will not end the “onslaught” of posts on Twitter that fed his unconventional campaign, even after taking on the formalized duties of the Oval Office later this month, as Bloomberg notes following an announcement by incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer who […]
LONDON Digital currency bitcoin kicked off the new year by jumping above $1,000 for the first time in three years late on Sunday, having outperformed all central-bank-issued currencies with a 125 percent climb in 2016. Bitcoin – a web-based “cryptocurrency” that has no central authority, relying instead on thousands of computers across the world that validate transactions and add new bitcoins to the system – jumped 2.5 […]
The UAE has moved up a global list of the best destinations for expats to enjoy a successful career while Bahrain is also in the world’s top 10 places to move to. The UAE now ranks as the fourth best destination after moving up two places on 2015 in the new data released by HSBC. Bahrain, ranked 10th, fell three places compared to last year’s list, while […]
BP has opted out of the first wave of agreements to develop oil and gas reserves in Iran after the lifting of international sanctions — setting it apart from its two biggest European rivals Royal Dutch Shell and Total. Iran has struck a series of deals with foreign energy groups in recent weeks, including Total and Shell, and plans to award more contracts early in 2017 as […]
Welcome to a new year and the pressing market issues facing investors as they look to put money to work and navigate 2017. Geopolitical surprises upended expectations last year and few predicted that 2016 would end with a global bull market in equities, while bond yields remain relatively low. Will strategists be any better at forecasting this time around? Here are the big questions that will preoccupy […]
The mega-extravaganza of the tech world in Las Vegas is showcasing an array of new devices that get smarts from computer chips, sensors and artificial intelligence, but go further by opening doors to augmented or virtual realities. The Consumer Electronics Show, which begins with a series of media events Tuesday will offer trade professionals a look at new robotics, connected cars and a dizzying assortment of gizmos […]
Chinese companies invested a record $45.6bn in the US in 2016 despite a US presidential campaign heavy on China bashing, but Donald Trump’s imminent arrival in Washington is among factors making the feat unlikely to be matched this year, according to a new report. The surge in Chinese foreign direct investment into the US documented by Rhodium Group, a research firm, led the annual flow of corporate […]
In the last two months of the year, financial markets responded to the unanticipated election of Donald Trump in a textbook fashion — not only at the asset class level, with the major moves up in stocks and government yields, but also within asset classes as financials and the dollar surged. In doing so, they were responding to prospects for higher growth, inflation and market inflows following […]
CES 2017 is the 50th anniversary of the annual consumer electronics trade show. There have actually been well over 70 CESes since there used to be a summer version in the 1980s and 90s; this will be my 60th. And while interest in the show waned a bit in the 90s due to competition from Comdex, it’s been full steam ahead since Comdex bit the […]
Submitted by Federico Pieraccini via Strategic-Culture.org, The two previous articles have focused on the various geopolitical theories, their translations into modern concepts, and practical actions that the United States has taken in recent decades to aspire to global dominance. This segment will describe how Iran, China and Russia have over the years adopted a variety of economic and military actions to repel the continual assault on their sovereignty by the […]
Chinese residents hoping to cash out of the renminbi will face a great wall of paperwork on Tuesday in a key test of confidence for the currency as the annual quota for individuals’ foreign exchange purchases resets. With individuals in China allowed to purchase up to $50,000 worth of foreign exchange each calendar year, observers will be watching closely for any signs of a rush to use […]
BEIJING Heavy smog that blanketed northern China at the weekend cleared somewhat on Monday, with flights in Beijing back to normal, but it was likely only to be a brief respite with more choking smog expected to return to the wintry north within 24 hours. Weather forecasts on Monday showed the smog would return to Beijing and nearby Tianjin city from Tuesday. It was expected to persist […]
Authored by Mark St.Cyr, With 2016 now in the rearview mirror. The one thing that was supposed to be included in that vision was the successful resurgence of IPO’s across “The Valley”. 2016 was supposed to be “the year” of the comeback for unicorn cash-out dreams after what can only be described as a “not as advertised” 2015. For if one needs remembering: 2015 was the worst year […]
By Hyunjoo Jin and Se Young Lee | SEOUL SEOUL Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) and affiliate Kia Motors (000270.KS) said on Monday they aim to increase their combined sales to 8.25 million vehicles globally in 2017, despite rising competition. The 2017 target is slightly higher than their 2016 goal of 8.13 million vehicles. The South Korean automakers’ final sales figures for 2016 are due out later on […]
Last Updated On 01 January,2017 12:58 am As we are saying pip pip to the year 2016, let’s scroll through the most significant happenings of soon-to-be previous year. While doing so, we will get to know that some of the events and happenings can truly be termed as defining moments in history. One of such phenomenon was Panama Leaks that for a moment not only shook the […]
BEIJING A court in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui has handed out sentences of up to 20 years in jail for 67 people involved in a mafia-style gang that engaged in gambling, extortion and violence, state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday. The leader of the gang, 37-year-old Xing Zhaogang, was released from jail in 2012 after serving time for violent assault, but then returned to […]
BEIJING A joint venture between Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (2354.TW), known as Foxconn, and Sharp Corp (6753.T) plans to build a 61 billion yuan ($8.8 billion) factory in China to produce liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). Sakai Display Products Corp’s plant will be a so-called Gen-10.5 facility specializing in large-screen LCDs and will be operational by 2019, the company said at a signing event with local officials in […]
China has tightened checks on citizens exchanging foreign currency in anticipation of renewed downward pressure on the renminbi in the new year. Banks have been asked to improve standards for verifying customers’ identities and to report “large or questionable transactions”, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) said in a public statement at the weekend. “There have been leaks in China’s system of personal foreign exchange purchases,” […]
BEIJING Heavy smog in northern China on Sunday caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled and highways to shut, disrupting the first day of the new year holiday. Large parts of the north were hit by hazardous smog in mid-December, leading authorities to order hundreds of factories to close and to restrict motorists to cut emissions. The latest bout of air pollution began on Friday and is […]
Sherlock Holmes looks terrible. Tired, dishevelled and haunted, he shakes as his brother Mycroft says: “The roads we walk have demons beneath. And yours have been waiting a very long time.” Meanwhile, supposedly-dead arch-villain Moriarty repeats: “Did you miss me?” over and over again. And this is just the trailer for Sherlock season 4, which begins tonight on BBC First, available on OSN. With Sherlock boasting all […]
