By Emile Picy and Chine Labbé | PARIS PARIS French police searched presidential candidate Francois Fillon’s office in parliament on Tuesday as an inquiry into alleged fake work by his wife threatened his campaign and party leaders began to consider a ‘Plan B’ without him. Fillon had been favourite to win the presidency for the conservative Republicans party until a week ago, when it was reported that […]
Photo The Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, with his French counterpart, Jean-Marc Ayrault, in Tehran on Tuesday. Credit Atta Kenare/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Already furious over the Trump administration’s visa ban, Iran warned the United States on Tuesday not to escalate tensions over tests of Iranian missiles. The warning, made by Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, came a day after American and Israeli […]
Those dollar bulls blinkered by the so-called Trumpflation trade and wondering if a pullback is justified get a reminder this week of the other main force behind the long-dollar consensus. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen and her colleagues are staging their first meeting of the year. A Fed meeting, particularly one taking place at some point along the path of a rates cycle, would normally command considerable […]
Nick Thompson was on his way to the subway when he got an email from his boss, New Yorker Editor David Remnick. The subject line? “Morning piece.” It was 8:17 a.m. on Sept. 8, and Remnick had just watched libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson ask “what is Aleppo?” live on national television. “I wrote back and said, ‘great!’” said Thompson, the former digital editor at The New […]
The US stock market suffered its largest decline this year, alongside investors snapping up protection against a possible rise in volatility, pointing towards the nervousness over the recent rally. The S&P 500 dipped 0.6 per cent to 2,281, its biggest one-day fall since December 28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6 per cent to 19,971, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.8 per cent to 5,614. […]
The Trump administration just fired the first shot in the US-European currency, and thus trade, wars when Trump’s top trade advisor Peter Navarro accused Germany of using a “grossly undervalued” euro to “exploit the US and its EU partners“, the FT reported noting the comments are “likely to trigger alarm in Europe’s largest economy.” News of the statement sent the EURUSD spiking in the moments after its […]
The great Trump reflation story, which points to strong equities, weak bonds and a highly valued dollar, is by now thoroughly entrenched in the minds of global investors. Not without reason. But when conviction is near-universal in markets it makes sense to ponder what investors might be missing. For my money the most likely flaw in this narrative relates to the cost of protectionist policies. There is […]
By Praveen Menon and Pairat Temphairojana | KUALA LUMPUR/BANGKOK KUALA LUMPUR/BANGKOK Seeking to capitalise on U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial new travel restrictions, companies and officials in Asia said they would target greater tourism and education ties with Muslims worried about the curbs. Trump’s Friday directive put a 120-day hold on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and a 90-day bar […]
By Tom Allard and Agustinus Beo Da Costa | JAKARTA JAKARTA Indonesian police will block a rally in Jakarta next month led by the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) if the group intends to make it political just days before an election for city governor that has raised religious tension. The FPI has led two rallies over the past year targeting the ethnic Chinese, Christian Jakarta governor, […]
The publication of Michael Lewis’s book Flash Boys in 2014 thrust the arcane world of ultra-high frequency trading firms into the popular consciousness, prompting debate over everything from the industry’s morality to the possible risks it posed to financial stability. What was undeniable was how several of these companies were staggeringly profitable, generating hundreds of millions of dollars by trading at speeds made up of fractions of […]
Investors, economists and strategists have begun to question their enthusiasm for Donald Trump’s new administration, following the president’s decision to block entry to the US from seven Muslim-majority countries. Mr Trump’s travel clampdown appeared to knock some of the confidence from markets, after stock indices reached record highs last week following speculation the new president will deliver faster economic growth and accelerating price rises — dubbed “Trumpflation”. […]
Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is set to present the federal budget on Wednesday, when the government will reveal its plans to steer the economy out of a self-inflicted slowdown. New Delhi’s move in November to crack down on corruption and tax avoidance by voiding 86% of high-value bank notes slammed the brakes on economic activity and threatens to snatch away India’s coveted position as the world’s […]
By John Walcott and Julia Edwards Ainsley | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON When Donald Trump’s administration put together its controversial executive order on immigration, it was Steve Bannon – the populist firebrand fast emerging as the president’s right-hand man – pushing a hard line. Senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) interpreted the order to mean that lawful permanent residents – green card holders – who hailed […]
By Hamid Shalizi and James Mackenzie | KABUL KABUL Atta Mohammad Noor, one of Afghanistan’s most powerful regional leaders, is in talks with President Ashraf Ghani to join the central government, a move that could shake up the country’s politics ahead of elections scheduled for 2019. Negotiations have been going on for weeks, and while the outcome is uncertain and it is unclear what role Noor would […]
By Rodrigo Campos | NEW YORK NEW YORK Major U.S. stock indexes posted their largest drop so far in 2017 on Monday as investors worried that a curb on immigration ordered by Donald Trump was a reminder that some of the U.S. president’s policies are not market-friendly. An executive order issued by Trump on Friday banned immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, including legal residents and visa holders, […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for January 31, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. newslide Abu Dhabi Fitness offer Bodytree Studio will celebrate Valentine’s Day throughout February with Bring a Buddy to Bodytree, which offers two-for-one prices for drop-in classes, including all morning yoga classes, from Sundays to Thursdays […]
US stocks on Monday faced the heaviest sell-off since before the presidential election in the biggest reversal yet of the so-called Trump trade that has carried equities to record peaks. The S&P 500 index, a broad barometer of American stock performance, fell as much as 1.2 per cent in late-morning trading in New York. That represented the steepest intraday fall since November 1 and came after it […]
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Anna Irrera | NEW YORK NEW YORK Day traders love making bets on tweets from U.S. President Donald Trump, but some of the most prominent quantitative strategists from hedge funds and banks are not quite ready to make big, bold trades on his social media musings. The president’s active Twitter presence has lifted volatility in financial markets, which is good for day traders […]
President Donald Trump has attacked airlines, the media and Democrats over the protests and criticism of his administration that emerged over the way he executed a ban on people from seven Muslim-majority nations entering the US. In a series of tweets and comments at the White House, Mr Trump tried to shift the blame for the chaos that ensued after more than 100 refugees and migrants from […]
BUENOS AIRES Argentina changed its immigration law to make it easier to deport foreigners who commit crimes and to prohibit individuals with criminal records from entering the country, according to a post in the government’s official bulletin on Monday. The measure cited “recent acts of organized crime” and noted that the percentage of foreigners in the country’s corrections system had grown in recent years, reaching 21.35 percent […]
Pakistan’s interior minister on Monday criticized President Donald Trump’s restrictions on immigration from several Muslim-majority countries, saying the move would harm the global fight against terrorism, amid concerns that Pakistanis may also be impacted. Mr. Trump issued an executive order Friday, suspending the U.S. refugee program for four months and banning the entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. […]
European, Asian stocks and S&P futures all drop after traders were left with a sour taste from the potential fallout of Donald Trump’s order halting some immigration and ahead of central bank decisions from the U.S. and Japan. Markets in Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam are all shut due to the Lunar New Year public holiday, leading to a quiet Asian session. Oil […]
Leaders in Iran and Iraq, two of the countries targeted by Mr. Trump’s order, issued furious denunciations on Sunday and vowed to take retaliatory measures. But the silence in the capitals of Muslim-majority countries unaffected by the order reflected a lack of solidarity and an enduring uncertainty about the direction that Mr. Trump’s foreign policy might take in some of the world’s most volatile corners. Continue reading […]
By Ed Cropley | ADDIS ABABA ADDIS ABABA The African Union is due to choose a new leader on Monday in a vote more likely to expose differences over the International Criminal Court and other issues than reaffirm the continent’s solidarity and common purpose. In a clear split, three of its four major regions – the south, the east and the largely Francophone west – are supporting […]
