Tim Byrnes is an unlikely symbol of China’s bid to become the world’s high-tech superpower. For a start he is Australian. Yet the 39-year-old quantum physicist’s decision to swap a research post in New York for Shanghai goes some way to explaining the lengths to which Beijing is going in its efforts to upend the world order. “Quantum physics is very strong in China,” says Mr Byrnes. […]
Our round-up of the week’s best comment and analysis from the Financial Times focuses on positive signals for the word’s second-largest economy and the implications for investors of the Federal Reserve rate rise. The selection is taken from our Markets Insight and Smart Money columns, written by industry contributors and FT commentators. Investors may be wary of being burnt by China but the drumbeat of bullish noises […]
It has been almost five years to the day since Mahmood Hashim Al Kooheji took over as head of Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, restructuring several investment interests and making other changes to whip the fund into shape after years of losses. It followed a term at Gulf Air in which he managed the national carrier’s controversial restructure that saw 15 percent of its staff, around 600 […]
Last weekend, after looking at the latest H.8 statement by the Fed, we noted something concerning: total loans and leases by U.S. commercial banks were rising at an annual pace of about 4.6%, based on weekly Fed data. That is down from a 6.4% pace for all of last year and peak rates of around 8% in mid-2016. This is the slowest pace of debt creation since […]
By Michelle Martin | BERLIN BERLIN Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) on Sunday formally endorsed former European Parliament President Martin Schulz as their leader and challenger to Chancellor Angela Merkel in what is set to be a tightly contested national election in September. The SPD has undergone a revival since nominating Schulz in late January, gaining around 10 points in opinion polls and signing up thousands of new […]
PARIS Centrist Emmanuel Macron would be slightly ahead of far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the first round of France’s presidential election and then go on to beat her comfortably in the second-round run-off, an Odoxa poll showed on Sunday. The former economy minister would win 26.5 percent of the vote in the April 23 first round. This was down 0.5 percent from a previous Odoxa poll […]
LONDON The deputy director-general of Britain’s internal security service is to become the new head of intelligence eavesdropping service GCHQ, the Sunday Times newspaper reported without citing the source of its information. The Sunday Times reported MI5’s Jeremy Fleming, who it said had worked at the intelligence agency for at least 20 years, would be named GCHQ head this week. The previous head of GCHQ, Robert Hannigan, […]
Here are the big questions for markets and investors as a new trading week beckons. Does a measured Fed risk being left behind by inflation?After a barrage of central bank meetings, Brexit angst and the first major European election for the year, market volatility across bonds and equities remains quiescent. Having been primed for a more aggressive Federal Reserve and wary of polls being wrong ahead of […]
In the months since the election, America’s major newsrooms have been recruiting investigative journalists with the knowledge and skills to dig into government institutions at the federal, state and local levels. The New York Times, BuzzFeed, ProPublica, The Washington Post and CNN have all posted or filled investigative reporting jobs in the days since the election, and announcements of new hires come on a near-weekly basis. “It’s […]
Stuart and Carole Hockley voted for Britain to leave the EU, along with 68 per cent of the population of Rotherham. But in February they returned to the polls to help the Liberal Democrats to an unexpected victory for the anti-Brexit party in a council by-election. Mrs Hockley, 73, and a retired nurse, says she still believes in Brexit — but that her area has been neglected […]
TEHRAN: The outspoken daughter of Iran’s late President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been sentenced to six months in prison for “spreading lies against the judiciary,” a semi-official news agency reported Saturday, as the country prepares for a May presidential election.The report by the Fars news agency comes after rumors of a prison sentence handed down against Faezeh Hashemi had been circulating online. While it did not elaborate, […]
18 March 2017 Dubai, UAE – The UAE’s wise leadership has worked tirelessly to anticipate the future, as a fundamental element of its strategies and plans. The vision of the UAE’s leadership, led by HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE; HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; and HH Sheikh […]
A few days ago Jeanne Shaheen, a Democratic Senator from New Hampshire, introduced a piece of legislation that would give the Department of Justice “new authority” to investigate potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act by the ‘Russian Times’. Among other things, Shaheen said the legislation was necessary to determine whether “RT News is coordinating with the Russian government to spread misinformation and undermine our democratic […]
March 18, 2017 by: Harriet Agnew in Paris and Reuters The 39-year-old Frenchman shot dead by security forces, after attacking a military patrol at Paris Orly airport on Saturday morning, was a radicalised Muslim who had said he was ready to kill and “there to die by Allah”, according to the Paris public prosecutor. Ziyed Ben Belgacem, who had previously been convicted of several robberies, attacked the […]
18 March 2017 Beirut – Beirut Traders Association and Bankmed released the results of “Beirut Traders Association – Bankmed Investment Index,” for the fourth quarter of 2016. The index, which is backed by the technical support of the Central Administration of Statistics in Lebanon, aims at assessing the reality of the wholesale sector in Lebanon. The index reflects the investment climate in Lebanon, shedding light on the […]
PARIS Eleven people have received the 500 endorsements from elected officials needed in order to run in the first round of the French presidential elections on April 23. The top two will qualify for a run-off on May 7. The Constitutional Council announced the final list on Saturday. NATALIE ARTHAUD, 46, WORKERS’ STRUGGLE Economics professor who runs for the far-left Trotskyist party. Wants the voice of the […]
Prices for bonds sold by the Netherlands and France fell on Thursday, reversing early gains as Dutch voters rejected rightwing populism and opted for the status quo in an election regarded as a litmus test for Europe’s political future. Dutch and French sovereign debt initially outperformed German Bunds as investors reacted to news that the anti-EU populist Geert Wilders’ PVV party had fallen short of expectations. However, […]
If you like your crime shows bleak, British and full of David Tennant snapping grumpily at people, then you need to start watching Broadchurch. The ITV drama — which was insanely popular in Britain when the first season was broadcast back in 2013 — has just gotten stuck into its third season. At the time of writing, we’re three episodes in. Every time a new season of […]
A man was shot dead by security forces after seizing a soldier’s gun at Paris Orly airport on Saturday while in a separate incident a police officer was shot and injured north of the French capital, the French Interior Ministry said. The incident is being investigated as a terrorist attack ???? #BREAKING – Orly airport incident and northern Paris shooting being investigated as terrorist attacks https://t.co/LZOaUn14uh pic.twitter.com/iS7aME9tpb […]
Junk bond funds saw their biggest outflows since December 2014, as investors expressed concern about high prices for speculative debt and falling energy prices put pressure on companies in the sector. Investors withdrew $5.7bn from high-yield bond funds in the week up to Wednesday, according to EPFR Global. It came as West Texas Intermediate, the US crude marker, last week dropped back below $50 a barrel. Oil […]
LONDON Allegations from the United States that British spy agency GCHQ snooped on Donald Trump during his election campaign are “arrant nonsense”, the deputy head of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) said in an interview on Saturday. President Trump has stood by unproven claims that the Obama administration tapped his phones during the 2016 White House race. On Thursday his spokesman cited a media report that […]
Warren Buffett’s compensation for running Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) edged up 4.0 percent last year to $487,881 reflecting the higher cost of keeping the world’s second-richest person safe. Buffett’s pay was disclosed in a Friday regulatory filing, in which Berkshire also recommended the rejection of three shareholder proposals at its May 6 annual meeting, including that it disclose its political contributions twice a year. Berkshire said Buffett’s […]
The Quinns also were featured in “Capitol Gains,” the 2015 series produced by The Post and Courier and The Center for Public Integrity. That series explored how South Carolina’s loophole-ridden campaign finance system and ethics laws allow state lawmakers to use campaign war chests like personal ATM machines and profit from government connections. The Post and Courier reported this week that Statehouse probe investigators have obtained a copy […]
SEOUL South Korean prosecutors will question the chairman of the SK Group on Saturday in connection with an influence-peddling scandal that brought down President Park Geun-hye, the company and the Yonhap news agency said. Park, South Korea’s first democratically elected leader to be removed from office, faces allegations that she colluded with a friend, Choi Soon-sil, to pressure big businesses to donate to foundations set up to […]
