Education, rather than exposure to immigrants, is emerging as the clearest nationwide indicator of the likelihood of Dutch voters supporting Geert Wilders’ anti-immigration Party for Freedom, according to an extensive Financial Times survey of demographic and voting data from the most recent general election. Mr Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) looks on course to win the most seats in the upcoming election on March 15, but is […]
Having warned that “everything will grind to a halt on March 5th” due to the under-appreciated debt-ceiling debacle that looms over Washington, and exclaiming that “what is going on today is complete insanity,” former Reagan Budget Director David Stockman is rapidly losing faith that anything can be done… “I’ve thrown in the towel because he’s not paying attention and he’s not learning anything and he’s making ridiculous […]
By Hamid Shalizi and Saud Mehsud | KABUL/DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan KABUL/DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan An Islamic State offshoot based near the Afghan-Pakistan border is expanding to new areas, recruiting fighters and widening the reach of attacks in the region, members of the movement and Afghan officials said. Some members of the so-called “Khorasan Province” of Islamic State claimed responsibility for the recent attack on a Sufi […]
A storming start for risk assets has defined the first two months of 2017, with heightened optimism on Wall Street pushing the FTSE All-World equity index into record territory. Whether the rally can be sustained in March depends on the outcome of several key events. Here is a rundown of what looms for investors during the month. US jobs data and the Federal Reserve The bullish sentiment […]
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The top U.S. commander in Iraq on Wednesday downplayed the chances that the United States would deploy a large number of additional coalition forces to battle Islamic State, even as President Donald Trump weighs options to speed the campaign. Army Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend also appeared to deliver a robust defence of Kurdish fighters that have been America’s […]
In the early days of his presidency, Donald Trump has called journalists the “enemy of the American people” (twice), assailed unflattering reporting as “fake news” and brought aboard a press secretary who’s shut news organizations out of a briefing. It’s behavior that has press freedom organizations across the United States worried. So, they’re working together to do something about it. Later this year, a coalition of organizations […]
WASHINGTON — Russian aircraft mistakenly bombed Syrian fighters who were being trained by the United States, the commander of the American-led operation in Iraq and Syria said on Wednesday. American advisers were about three miles away when the Russian strike occurred. The episode pointed to the risk of unintended clashes among the myriad forces operating on a fluid battlefield in Syria, as the American command looks toward […]
VILNIUS German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Wednesday there had hardly been any progress in implementing the Minsk peace agreement for eastern Ukraine, which meant no lifting of sanctions against Russia was in sight. Speaking during a joint news conference with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, Gabriel also said he opposed any move to return the European Union to being just a single market. EU chief […]
Mr. Masri was “jihadi royalty, meaning his death will almost certainly necessitate some form of response, whether from Syria or elsewhere in the world,” Mr. Lister said. Continue reading the main story The killing of the Qaeda leader was previously reported by CNN and The Guardian. It was confirmed by an American official who declined to be identified because he was discussing classified intelligence reports Photographs of […]
By Stephen Kalin | MOSUL, Iraq MOSUL, Iraq U.S.-backed Iraqi army units on Wednesday took control of the last major road out of western Mosul that had been in Islamic State’s hands, trapping the militants in a shrinking area within the city, a general and residents said. The army’s 9th Armored Division was within a kilometer of Mosul’s Syria Gate, the city’s northwestern entrance, a general from […]
Australia’s corporate world has been warned that executives must disclose workplace romances or risk censure and financial penalties, following a decision by QBE Insurance to slash the pay of its chief executive over an affair. This week the insurer’s board cut A$550,000 (US$420,000) from the short-term bonus awarded to John Neal because he failed to notify them in a timely manner of a relationship he was having […]
In recent years the idea that no person or fund can consistently outperform the wider stock market by skill alone has been fashionable. Emboldened by traditional investment houses haemorrhaging market share to automated passive funds, the once-maligned advocates of the efficient market hypothesis have revised their mantra: you can’t beat the market, so buy an exchange traded fund instead. Outsiders listening in to this debate may conclude […]
By Isabel Coles and Maher Chmaytelli | MOSUL/BAGHDAD, Iraq MOSUL/BAGHDAD, Iraq U.S.-backed Iraqi forces on Tuesday battled their way to within firing range of Mosul’s main government buildings, a major target in the offensive to dislodge Islamic State militants from their remaining stronghold in the western side of the city. Terrified civilians were fleeing the fighting, some toward government lines, often under militant fire. Others were forced […]
By Stephen Kalin | SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq A few hundred men who had scurried across front lines in a refugee exodus from Mosul sat on the ground in neat rows before an Iraqi intelligence officer who scanned the crowd for hidden militants. The officer pulled a teenager onto a raised platform and asked the group if he belonged to Islamic State (IS). […]
By Steve Holland | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON After a turbulent start to his presidency, Donald Trump goes before the U.S. Congress on Tuesday night to give a speech that will be closely watched for details of his plans for the economy and whether he can strike a more conciliatory tone. World financial markets will be scrutinizing the 9 p.m. (0200 GMT Wednesday) address in the House of Representatives […]
By Kylie MacLellan | LONDON LONDON The U.S.-led coalition effort against Islamic State is killing the group’s fighters more quickly than it can replace them, a senior British general said on Tuesday, with more than 45,000 killed by coalition air strikes up to August last year. On Tuesday, U.S.-backed Iraqi forces continued their offensive in Mosul, where several thousand Islamic State (IS) militants, including many who travelled […]
By Michelle Nichols | UNITED NATIONS UNITED NATIONS Russia on Tuesday cast its seventh veto to protect the Syrian government from United Nations Security Council action, blocking a bid by Western powers to impose sanctions over accusations of chemical weapons attacks during the six-year Syrian conflict. China backed Russia and cast its sixth veto on Syria. Russia had said the vote on the resolution, drafted by France, […]
Barely a year ago, Vale, the Brazilian mining company, was reeling. Prices of iron ore, its principal export, were at an all-time low, investors were ditching its shares and China — the market on which it most depends — looked as if it was heading for a rapid and uncontrolled slowdown. Fast forward 13 months and iron ore is back in fashion. Vale is producing record amounts […]
With US stock markets hitting record highs last week, the question has to be asked. Has the Trump reflation trade — long in equities, short in bonds — run its course? In the equity market it has been a crowded trade for quite some time. On the bond side, futures market data are telling us that there are exceptionally large speculative bear positions in the market. This […]
By Tom Miles and John Irish | GENEVA GENEVA Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Tuesday that a U.N. Security Council resolution put forward by Western powers to punish Syria’s government over its alleged use of chemical weapons would harm peace talks in Geneva. The resolution, which comes amid U.N.-led peace talks between the warring Syrian parties, seeks to ban the supply of helicopters to […]
BEIJING China plans to target broad money supply growth of around 12 percent in 2017, slightly lower than last year’s goal, policy sources said, signaling a bid to contain debt risks while keeping growth on track. Under its new “prudent and neutral” policy, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has adopted a modest tightening bias in a bid to cool torrid credit expansion, though it is treading […]
Chinese companies have borrowed more money from the international bond market than from domestic investors so far this year, breaking with tradition as authorities in Beijing focus on curbing capital outflows. Banks and other corporate borrowers have been quietly encouraged to raise money offshore in other currencies, limiting the need for Chinese companies to sell renminbi to finance overseas investments. Borrowing more outside the mainland also allows […]
Frictions? Between the press corps and the White House?! Monday’s White House press briefing made Sunday night’s languorous (if now comically notorious) Oscars ceremony look like the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus (absent the elephants). It was all tranquil, rife with policy questions and only one passing reference to Friday’s combo tumult: President Trump trashing the press before an annual gathering of conservatives and Press Secretary […]
By Deborah Kyvrikosaios | GALAXIDI, GREECE GALAXIDI, GREECE Greek villagers staged a street battle on Monday with bags of colored flour in an annual tradition called the Flour War. The popular event attracts visitors from across the country and overseas to the coastal fishing town of Galaxidi, about 200 km (124 miles) west of Athens. “Clean Monday” celebrations mark the end of carnival season and the beginning […]
