La Villette, a corrugated iron convention hall on the northern rim of Paris, was meant to be François Fillon’s launch pad towards the French presidency after winning the centre-right nomination in a landslide. But on Sunday he stood in the packed venue, days after claims emerged that the Republican candidate had allegedly employed his wife in a fake parliamentary job for years and, suddenly, victory seemed to […]
For Syrians, Mr. Trump is merely pushing to extremes a process that has been going on for years. The situation of the refugees, and the underprivileged in general, has been worsening everywhere for a generation. Syria exemplifies a greater global failure. Continue reading the main story The executive order barring Syrians and the citizens of six other countries was among Mr. Trump’s very first actions in the […]
By Christopher Johnson | LONDON LONDON Oil prices rose on Thursday as evidence that OPEC and other big exporters were cutting production outweighed a sharp rise in U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles. Brent crude was up 50 cents at $57.30 a barrel by 1115 GMT (6:15 a.m. ET) after settling up $1.22 in the previous session. U.S. light crude gained 30 cents to $54.18 after climbing by […]
In Cultural Amnesia, Clive James’s A-Z anthology of those responsible for moving and shaking the 20th century, we find in section “H” a sobering essay on a man who needs no introduction – Adolf Hitler – and an enlightening piece on a woman who does. Ricarda Huch (1864-1947) was a groundbreaking historian, novelist and philosopher. Thomas Mann called her the First Lady of Germany. James introduces her […]
The number of high earners across the EU’s financial institutions leapt in 2015 compared with a year earlier, increasing by 33 per cent. The European Banking Authority, which collated the data, attributed the rise to the weak euro against the pound at the time. Since the UK’s vote to leave the EU last June sterling’s strength against the euro has been battered. The vast majority of those […]
Almost a decade on from the financial crisis, a global deadline for reform of the $544tn derivatives market has triggered a last-minute scramble by hundreds of small banks, insurers and pension funds. Many of these institutions use bespoke derivatives such as swaps to protect their operations from sudden changes in asset prices. In a month’s time they face higher costs and regulatory burdens. Plenty are not ready. […]
By Alex Dobuzinskis and Mica Rosenberg | LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK A federal judge in Los Angeles has ruled President Donald Trump’s administration must allow immigrants with initial clearance for legal residency to enter the United States from seven Muslim-majority nations, despite an executive order ban. Tuesday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr follows decisions by federal judges in at least four other […]
Telstra has said that as a result of a fire at its Chatswood exchange, it is possible that customers’ SMS messages have been delivered to people other than the intended recipients. “As a result of the Chatswood exchange fire today, it’s possible some SMS messages have been incorrectly delivered,” a Telstra spokesperson said. “As mentioned previously, customers won’t be receiving SMS messages in the short term while […]
By Rodrigo Campos | NEW YORK NEW YORK The S&P 500 edged higher on Wednesday to cap a four-day losing streak, buoyed by gains in Apple shares and after the Federal Reserve kept U.S. interest rates unchanged, as expected. Apple (AAPL.O) shares rose 6.1 percent to $128.75, its highest close in a year and a half. This made it the biggest positive influence on the three major […]
As the creative director of Tumi, one of the world’s best-known luggage brands, Victor Sanz is well placed to offer packing advice. “Lay out all your clothes for your trip. And then cut that in half. That will get you closer to what you really need,” he suggests. “Also, bring plenty of power because you never know when you’ll need it,” he adds. “And stay positive. That’s […]
Brady started getting questions about Trump last fall when a red “Make America Great Again” cap was spotted in his Gillette Stadium locker, reportedly put there by Kraft. Brady at first gave sheepish, gee-whiz responses suggesting that it would be cool to have a golf pal as president. (“There’d be a putting green on the White House lawn,” he predicted.) But the questions took on an edgier […]
By Angela Moon | NEW YORK NEW YORK Artificial intelligence has made history by beating humans in poker for the first time, the last remaining game in which humans had managed to maintain the upper hand. Libratus, an AI built by Carnegie Mellon University racked up over $1.7 million worth of chips against four of the top professional poker players in the world in a 20-day marathon […]
After yesterday US officials reported that Iran conducted a nuclear ballistic missile test on Sunday, which some claimed would be another violation of the UN resolution and Obama’s nuclear deal, on Wednesday Iran’s defense minister admitted that the Islamic Republic had indeed tested a new missile, but added the test did not breach Tehran’s nuclear accord with world powers or a U.N. Security Council resolution endorsing the […]
LONDON Around half of Britons believe U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned UK state visit should go ahead, even though a similar number would not like to see his controversial migrant ban implemented in Britain, according to a poll on Wednesday. Trump’s executive order to temporarily ban refugees entering the United States and limit migration from seven Muslim-majority countries has drawn widespread protest in Britain, and nearly 1.8 […]
The oil industry is zeroing in on a prospective tax shift in Washington that has the potential to upend energy flows around the world. The “border adjustment tax” (BAT) put forth by Republican lawmakers and embraced sporadically by President Donald Trump would radically change the way companies are levied, taxing imports and exempting exports in the world’s biggest economy. While the Trump administration’s stance on BAT has […]
The Federal Reserve is likely to hold rates unchanged on Wednesday but keep the markets primed for further monetary tightening as it surveys steady growth and a tightening labour market. Recent statements from Fed chair Janet Yellen have suggested that she does not want to rush into a third rate increase, but that she also has no intention of letting the US economy overheat. This points to a […]
Newsflash for American high school students — choose friends wisely, or they may end up costing you your education. In fact, new mathematical modeling from Arizona State University, Northeastern Illinois University, and the University of Texas at Arlington documents the exact statistical tipping point when positive parental influence — found to be the leading indicator of academic performance and whether or not a student will eventually graduate […]
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) posted fourth quarter financial results on Tuesday, reporting higher-than-expected revenues and a net loss in line with expectations. The chipmaker reported a non-GAAP loss of 1 cent per share on revenue of $1.11 billion. Wall Street was expecting a non-GAAP loss of 2 cents a share on revenue of $1.07 billion. For the full fiscal year 2016, the company reported a non-GAAP loss […]
BD 1.2 million (US$3.2 million) net profit for the three months ending 31 December, 2016 BD 4.3 million 2016 profit as customer base nears one million milestone BD 1.2 million (US$3.2 million) net profit for the three months ending 31 December, 2016 Manama – 31 January, 2016 Zain Bahrain (Ticker: ZAINBH), a telecom innovator focused on enhancing customer experience, reported a 22% surge in its customer […]
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 […]
Greg Kennedy There is not a lot of variation in the basic rules when dealing with zombies: they have an insatiable appetite for human flesh, and to kill them you have to destroy the brain. Yet it is a genre that affords endless possibilities for storytellers, which is perhaps why it has so eagerly been embraced in recent years – from The Walking Dead and iZombie to […]
ExxonMobil has become the second large oil company to report earnings well below analysts’ expectations, following Chevron on Friday. Exxon’s earnings per share were 41 cents for the fourth quarter of 2016, with net income of $1.68bn, 40 per cent lower than expected. The average of analysts’ forecasts was for earnings per share of 70 cents in the quarter. The lower than expected earnings came after a […]
“It felt like something had been sawed off,” Charger said about her separation from Jasilea. She got so depressed she was moved to a psychiatric unit, where she often got into fights. She aged out of the system at 17, but when she returned to the ranch developments and trailer parks of Eagle Butte, she struggled with depression. She and Jasilea had gone “from knowing everything about […]
Royal Dutch Shell has struck deals worth up to $4.7bn to sell offshore oil and gas assets in the North Sea and Thailand, adding momentum to the debt-reduction programme launched after its $50bn takeover of BG Group. The Anglo-Dutch group said on Tuesday it had agreed to sell a package of UK North Sea assets to Chrysaor, a small British company backed by EIG Partners, a US […]
