April 19, 2017 by: Vinay Pande and Gerald Lucas The most prominent beneficiary of the so-called Trump trade has been equities, with total returns of 10.5 per cent from the S&P 500 and 10 per cent from the MSCI All-Country World Index since the US election. However, pinning a global bull market on one individual is dangerous. Several other drivers have supported it, making it even more […]
By Norihiko Shirouzu | SHANGHAI SHANGHAI The automotive industry’s seemingly inexorable drive towards electric cars – and especially Chinese polices pushing new energy vehicles – has forced Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), the world’s No.2 automaker by sales, into what one executive calls an “agonizing” strategy U-turn. Until recently, Toyota was one of the industry’s major hold-outs against full electrification, and planned to more or less skip all-electric […]
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has certified that Iran continues to comply with a 2015 nuclear agreement that President Trump denounced during the campaign as “the worst deal ever.” The certification decision, announced late Tuesday night, means that the administration has extended relief from sanctions given to the Iranian government in exchange for constraints on its nuclear program. But the certification was grudging, delivered just 90 minutes […]
WASHINGTON U.S. experts who have been forecasting an imminent North Korean nuclear test said on Tuesday they were surprised when they viewed their latest satellite images of the country’s nuclear test site and saw volleyball games under way. With tension mounting between Pyongyang and Washington, analysts had thought they would see activity suggesting preparations for an underground explosion at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and were not […]
MOSCOW The Russian Defence Ministry on Wednesday dismissed as false a Reuters report which said Russia had understated the number of its servicemen and private contractors killed during a period of intense fighting to retake the city of Palmyra. Reuters reported on Tuesday that the death toll over the period from late January until late March was 21, more than four times higher than the official toll […]
Emaar Malls, the shopping malls and retail business majority-owned by Emaar Properties, on Tuesday approved a proposal to distribute 10 percent of it share capital, equivalent to AED1.301 billion ($354 million), as a cash dividend to shareholders. Addressing shareholders, Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Malls and Emaar Properties, said the success of Emaar Malls is led by the UAE’s robust growth and the vision of Sheikh Mohammed […]
An organization of restaurant workers and a hotel booking agent in Washington, D.C. have joined a federal lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of receiving unconstitutional “emoluments.” As The Wall Street Journal earlier reported, Mr. Trump faces a lawsuit claiming his business interests run afoul of rarely litigated constitutional provisions aimed at preserving presidential independence and […] (via WSJ)
ANKARA Turkey’s ruling AK Party set out plans on Wednesday for President Tayyip Erdogan to gradually take back the party reins, in a sign it would begin implementing changes approved in Sunday’s referendum despite opposition attempts to annul it. Prime Minister and AKP leader Binali Yildirim said Erdogan can rejoin the party he founded in 2001 once official results of the plebiscite, granting him sweeping powers, are […]
President Donald Trump has criticized the H-1B skilled-worker visa program as a source of “cheap labor,” and the White House is considering a draft executive order calling for it to be re-examined to protect U.S. workers’ jobs. That’s bad news for technology firms like Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Apple Inc., which depend on H-1B visas to recruit top foreign talent. It also threatens Indian outsourcing […]
MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned on Wednesday he might “invade” an island stronghold of the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf to “finish the game” following a thwarted attempt by the group to kidnap tourists on a resort island last week. Duterte offered cash rewards for the capture, dead or alive, of six Abu Sayyaf militants still at large following a day-long clash last week on Bohol island, […]
On Friday night, the White House began releasing financial disclosures for scores of key employees — including familiar names such as Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway and Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon. Reporters from dozens of news organizations, including the Associated Press, the New York Times, ProPublica and the Washington Post, then compiled and reported on the documents, which the White House released one-by-one. The Center for […]
KHAN SHEIKHUN: A suspected chemical attack killed at least 58 civilians in opposition-held northwestern Syria on Tuesday, a monitor said, prompting global outrage and calls for international action.The attack in the town of Khan Sheikhun also left dozens suffering respiratory problems and symptoms including vomiting, fainting and foaming at the mouth, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.Hours later, airstrikes hit a hospital in the town […]
By Ernest Scheyder | HOUSTON HOUSTON Nearly a century after Chevron Corp amassed the No. 2 stake in America’s largest oilfield, Chief Executive John Watson is hitting the accelerator on developing the company’s vast Permian Basin holdings. In an interview, Watson made clear his desire to put the West Texas to New Mexico expanse in the ranks of Chevron’s biggest ventures. That is a stark change from […]
Photo On Tuesday, the Islamic State released its first official statement on President Trump, though he was not called out by name. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times Although members and supporters of the Islamic State have frequently commented on President Trump and his policies, analysts have been puzzled by the terrorist group’s official silence about him. Mr. Trump had not been mentioned in any of the […]
Terrorism and declining oil prices affected the regional hospitality sector especially in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, according to Mark Willis, Vice president Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. Willis is however optimistic about the results of the Saudi economy during the first quarter of 2017 while stressing that the most difficult performance for their Radisson Blu hotels was in Turkey and Egypt. “We […]
President Rodrigo Duterte suffers his biggest drop in public trust, so far, based on the latest Pulse Asia survey Pia Ranada Published 11:34 AM, April 05, 2017 Updated 11:34 AM, April 05, 2017 MEASURING TRUST. President Rodrigo Duterte’s trust rating dips from December 2016 to March 2017, according to Pulse Asia. Malacañang photo MANILA, Philippines – While President Rodrigo Duterte continues to sustain his popularity among most […]
Dubai, UAE, 5 April 2017 During his participation in the “Ask the Leader” initiative on the sidelines of the 5th Dubai Government Achievement Exhibition (DGAE), Director of Dubai Customs Ahmed Mahboob Musabih said Dubai Customs’ efficiency and distinctive performance have helped the UAE in moving forward to occupy first place in the region and 4 th place worldwide in the efficiency of customs procedures category according to […]
By David Morgan and Yasmeen Abutaleb | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Top White House deputies returned to the Capitol on Tuesday evening to meet Republican lawmakers and discuss a second attempt at replacing Obamacare. Vice President Mike Pence and other key aides were meeting with members of the moderate “Tuesday Group,” the conservative Republican Study Committee and the House Freedom Caucus, the rebel group of conservative lawmakers that derailed […]
By Stephen Nellis | SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Apple Inc’s decision to stop licensing graphics chips from Imagination Technologies Group Plc is the clearest example yet of the iPhone maker’s determination to take greater control of the core technologies in its products – both to guard its hefty margins and to position it for future innovations, especially in so-called augmented reality. The strategy, analysts say, has already […]
North Korea has fired a missile into the Sea of Japan, with the latest provocative gesture from Pyongyang coming just days before US President Donald Trump meets his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The Pentagon said North Korea had fired the missile at 6.42am local time on Wednesday and that it had landed in the sea nine minutes later. It said the rocket, believed to be a medium-range […]
At the hospital in Reyhanli, a small Turkish border town that took in many of the victims, the mourners gathered outside mostly came from just two extended families, Mr. Youssef’s and the Abu Amash family. Continue reading the main story The families are connected by marriage and both come from Khan Sheikhoun, the village in rebel-held Idlib Province that residents said been hit with chemical weapons earlier […]
By Phil Stewart | QAYYARA WEST AIRFIELD, Iraq QAYYARA WEST AIRFIELD, Iraq President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, voiced optimism about the long-term U.S. alliance with Iraq’s military and its campaign to retake Mosul from Islamic State on Tuesday, as he visited a base about 10 miles (16 km) from the city. Kushner was on the last day of a two-day trip to Iraq as the guest […]
Americans are highly aware that President Trump and the media have locked swords, and nearly three-quarters think those tensions are suppressing their access to important political news. Those are the findings of a new two-question survey the Pew Research Center released today. Hardly surprising, Pew researchers found that 83 percent of a survey panel of more than 4,000 believe Trump’s relationship with the media “is generally unhealthy.” […]
By Ju-min Park and Jack Kim | SEOUL SEOUL North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday from its east coast into the sea off the Peninsula, South Korea’s military said, ahead of a summit between U.S. and Chinese leaders who are set to discuss Pyongyang’s arms programme. The launch was from Sinpo, a port city on the North’s east coast, and the missile flew about 60 […]
