By Estelle Shirbon and Michael Holden | LONDON LONDON Britain’s Supreme Court will decide as quickly as possible whether Prime Minister Theresa May can trigger Britain’s exit from the European Union by the end of March without parliament’s assent, its president said on Thursday. Last month, the High Court decided that May could not invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the EU’s exit clause, using executive […]
China’s Fujian Grand Chip Investment said it had dropped its offer for Aixtron, the German chip equipment maker, six days after President Barack Obama blocked the deal on national security grounds. Fujian’s takeover vehicle Grand Chip Investment said its offer had lapsed because it had failed to gain regulatory approval from the US Committee on Foreign Investment. Aixtron’s shares fell more than 4 per cent to €3.73 […]
HAMBURG U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday left a meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe to head to Paris for further meetings on Syria on Saturday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters. Kerry told reporters after a second bilateral meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Hamburg that he was “hopeful” about reaching an accord with Moscow that would […]
It was Donald Trump’s press conference in the early hours of November 9 that some pinpoint as the moment fears about what his presidency would mean for stock markets turned into euphoria about his victory. Campaign pledges to give a boost to the US economy were repeated, as the newly president-elect struck a moderate, even conciliatory, tone. Whatever you think of the reaction in financial markets since, […]
Law Blog rounds up the morning’s legal news: Recount rejection: A federal judge who ordered Michigan to begin its recount effectively ended it Wednesday, tying his decision to a state court ruling that found Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein lacked legal standing. [AP, Detroit News] Michael Jordan wins in China: China’s Supreme People’s Court ruled largely […] (via WSJ)
European Parliament president Martin Schulz does not believe the Panama Papers scandal has cast doubt on Malta’s ability to push through the EU anti-money laundering laws. Mr Schulz was fielding questions at a joint conference with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat during his visit to the island before Malta assumes the EU presidency. The EU’s anti-money laundering directive was enacted in June 2015, and with a two-year window […]
FRANKFURT China’s Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund has dropped its takeover bid for German chip equipment maker Aixtron after U.S. President Barack Obama blocked the deal. Fujian’s takeover vehicle Grand Chip Investment said on Thursday its offer had lapsed as it had failed to obtain U.S. regulatory approval for the purchase, which had been a condition of the deal. Investors who had already accepted its takeover offer […]
The 19th edition of realty exhibition expecting to attract thousands of NRIs over the 3-day expo Investor confidence gets boost due to demonetisation, home loan rates to be down to 7-8%; RERA, GST and REIT to further improve transparency and bring healthier, sustainable growth Top developers across India meet for exclusive face-to-face interaction. Properties boast features such as eco-friendly housing, water recycling units and […]
The European Central Bank has decided to scale back its landmark quantitive easing programme from €80bn to €60bn a month, in a move that responds to hawks’ concerns about ultra-loose monetary policy but which could unsettle markets. The bank confirmed that it would buy €80bn a month of bonds under the current leg of the programme until March, but added that it would reduce the purchase size […]
By Ginger Gibson | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The chances that the federal government could hand off the U.S. air traffic control system to private management are increasing, say advocates who report they are getting supportive feedback from President-elect Donald Trump and his team. U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, who chairs the House of Representatives Transportation Committee, has met with Trump and incoming Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to make his […]
ANKARA Turkey is conducting intense talks with Russia for a ceasefire in Syria’s Aleppo and to allow humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged city, President Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman said on Thursday. Ibrahim Kalin also told a news conference in Ankara that Syrian government forces were carrying out crimes against humanity and war crimes in the city. (Reporting by Tulay Karadeniz and Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by David Dolan; Editing […]
By Ju-min Park and Jack Kim | SEOUL SEOUL South Korea’s parliament introduced a bill on Thursday to impeach President Park Geun-hye, setting the stage for a historic vote to oust the embattled leader engulfed in an influence-peddling scandal. Parliament is expected to vote on Friday in favour of impeachment, although the Constitutional Court must decide whether to uphold the motion, a process that could take up […]
Submitted by MiddleEastEye.net via TheAntiMedia.org, Saudi authorities banned journalist Jamal Khashoggi from writing in newspapers, appearing on TV and attending conferences, the Alkhalij Aljadid reported in Arabic. This came after Khashoggi’s remarks during a presentation he made at a Washington think-tank on 10 November in which he was critical of Donald Trump’s ascension to the US presidency. Two weeks ago, an official Saudi source was cited by […]
By Jack Kim and Ju-min Park | SEOUL SEOUL If South Korean President Park Geun-hye is impeached in parliament on Friday, she faces an uphill court battle to overturn the motion, experts say, even though the judges were all appointed by her and her conservative predecessor. An impeachment vote appears likely, and the nine-judge Constitutional Court would have up to six months to uphold or overturn it. […]
Photo LeBron James said his decision not to stay at a hotel bearing the name of President-elect Donald J. Trump was “just my personal preference.” Credit Alex Goodlett for The New York Times LeBron James has done a lot and seen a lot over the course of his 14-year N.B.A. career. He has won championships. He has traveled the globe. He has become an icon in his […]
By Anthony Boadle | BRASILIA BRASILIA Brazil’s Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned an injunction that ordered the indicted head of the Senate, Renan Calheiros, to step down, voting to allow him to continue in the post but not in the presidential line of succession. The 6-3 ruling defuses a clash between the top court and the Senate that threatened to derail spending cuts at the centre of […]
Thursday 02.10 GMT Overview Major bourses across Asia latched on to record closes for key Wall Street indices as US stock markets continued to rally one month on from the presidential election. But investors were also turning their attention to the European Central Bank and whether it will at its policy meeting later on Thursday extend the deadline for its asset stimulus programme. Hot topic On Wednesday […]
MOSCOW — The Russian government announced Wednesday that it will sell nearly 20 percent of its state oil company, Rosneft, to the Swiss commodity trading firm Glencore and the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar. The deal defies expectations that no investor would dare buy a share in the Russian asset, given Western sanctions against the government of President Vladimir V. Putin. But the emergence of foreign money […]
Blackrock’s chief multi-asset strategist summed up tomorrow’s anxiously awaited ECB meeting best by noting that “what’s priced into markets is a fully fledged extension of the [bond-buying] program,” but warns that, thanks to a muted reaction to the Italy vote and recent encouraging data, “there’s a significant chance the ECB disappoints markets.” As bond traders bet on a six-month QE extension, Citi warns, anything less will be […]
By Sarah Marsh | HAVANA HAVANA Cuba said on Wednesday it hoped to sign off on at least half a dozen agreements with the United States before businessman Donald Trump, who has threatened to derail detente between the former Cold War foes, becomes president on Jan. 20. Cuban and U.S. officials held talks in Havana to discuss what more could be accomplished during President Barack Obama’s remaining […]
Donald Trump is planning to hand responsibility for immigration and the US-Mexico border to John Kelly, a retired general who led US military operations in Latin America. The president-elect has chosen the former Marine general to be secretary of homeland security, head of the department that oversees immigration policy, US media reported on Wednesday. The job would give Mr Kelly, 66, a pivotal role in implementing border […]
By Richard Cowan | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday picked a fossil fuel industry defender as his top environmental official, another retired general as homeland security chief and Iowa’s governor as U.S. ambassador to China in choices at odds with some of his recent pronouncements. Trump, continuing to build his Cabinet as he prepares to take office on Jan. 20, said Oklahoma Attorney General Scott […]
In this Dec. 12, 2013 file photo, a man passes by the Samsung Electronics Co. logos at its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. A unanimous Supreme Court on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016, sided with smartphone maker Samsung in its high-profile patent dispute with Apple over design of the iPhone. The justices said Samsung may not be required to pay all the profits it earned from 11 phone […]
By Hamid Shalizi and Josh Smith | KABUL KABUL Afghan and American officials are increasingly worried that any deepening of ties between Russia and Taliban militants fighting to topple the government in Kabul could complicate an already precarious security situation. Russian officials have denied they provide aid to the insurgents, who are contesting large swathes of territory and inflicting heavy casualties, and say their limited contacts are […]
