Ahead of next week, here are the big questions we are asking at FT Markets What signal will the Federal Reserve send? The last US central bank meeting of the year will unfold on Wednesday with all eyes on officials’ latest assessment of the economy and the press conference of Fed chief Janet Yellen. Plenty has changed since their previous gathering just before the US election. Dollar […]
By Steve Holland | BALTIMORE BALTIMORE U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name the chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp as the country’s top diplomat, a source familiar with the situation said on Saturday, an appointment that would put in place an official with close ties to the Russian government. News of Tillerson’s possible appointment comes as U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded that Russia intervened in […]
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched a spacecraft from the Tanegashima Space Center on Friday, Dec. 9 that carried a magnetic tether designed to move vast amounts of space junk from the Earth’s orbit. Help From 106-Year-Old Fishing Net Maker The magnetic tether made of steel wire and aluminum strands was made with the help of a fishing net company based in Japan, the 106-year-old Nitto Seimo […]
Alienware’s Steam Machine Valve rolled out the Steam Machine concept at CES 2014: Desktops that would be sized to compete with video game platforms in gamers’ living rooms, and run the company’s Linux-based SteamOS. Since then, the company ran into delays with its Steam Controllers, and by the time manufacturers started to roll out the actual systems (nearly two years later), a lot of the buzz about […]
ISLAMABAD: Proceedings in the Panamagate case, which could possibly lead to the disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, ended on Friday almost with a whimper when the Supreme Court said that arguments from both sides would commence afresh when the hearing resumes in January. Earlier, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) informed the court about its stance on the latter’s proposal of constituting a commission to conduct an inquiry […]
Submitted by Mac Slavo via SHTFPlan.com, The entire Pacific Coast of the United States, Canada and Mexico has been contaminated with radioactive particles from Fukushima. And finally, it is being officially acknowledged. This is really happening… It is a stark reminder that the effects from Fukushima radiation continually spilling into the ocean have not been abated. The site continues to leak highly toxic radioactive material to this […]
By Dominic Evans and Stephanie Nebehay | BAGHDAD/GENEVA BAGHDAD/GENEVA The Iraqi army said it took full control of two more districts of east Mosul on Saturday, pushing back Islamic State militants in a slow and hard-fought advance into the city whose 1 million residents face growing shortages of fuel, water and food. A military statement said elite Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) troops took over the neighbourhoods of […]
VIENNA OPEC and non-OPEC producers on Saturday reached their first deal since 2001 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices that overstretched many budgets and spurred unrest in some countries. With the deal finally signed after almost a year of arguing within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and mistrust in the willingness of non-OPEC […]
KABUL Hardline cleric Mullah Haibatullah Akundzada has reinforced his position as the new leader of the Afghan Taliban by winning the support of two senior members, the insurgent group said on Saturday. Former Taliban interior minister Mullah Abdul Razaq Akhund and Mullah Abdul Sata Akhund “pledged their full support” to Akundzada during a meeting of Taliban scholars at an undisclosed location on Friday, the group said on […]
By John Irish | PARIS PARIS Backers of the Syrian opposition appeared resigned to the fall of eastern Aleppo on Saturday, with the United States urging Russia to show “grace” when officials meet in Geneva to try to reach a deal for civilians and fighters to leave the city. Syrian government and allied forces have in the last two weeks driven rebels from most of their territory […]
Submitted by Mac Slavo via SHTFPlan.com, There just isn’t a lot of good news here. The middle class is still struggling for something tangible, but things remain pretty frustrating for most people. It could actually feel like things are going in reverse… and that each piece of economic interaction squeezes just a little bit harder. via the Washington Examiner: A new report on the economy finds that […]
US biotechnology stocks have surrendered much of the gains accrued in the wake of last month’s presidential election after comments from Donald Trump stoked concerns that the incoming administration will crack down on rising drug prices. The Nasdaq biotechnology index has skidded almost 4 per cent from Tuesday’s closing level after the president-elect told Time Magazine that he does not “like what has happened with drug prices” […]
AMMAN Islamic State militants entered the ancient city of Palmyra on Saturday in eastern Syria after advancing to its outskirts for the first time since losing the city earlier this year, a war monitor said. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights said the militants had entered Palmyra after they had taken strategic heights near the city and captured the northern part of the city and mountains […]
NEW YORK U.S. insurer Prudential Financial (PRU.N) is investigating whether Wells Fargo (WFC.N) employees signed up customers for its life insurance policies without their knowledge, a spokesman said on Saturday. Sales practices at Wells Fargo have been under a spotlight since September when federal regulators ordered the San Francisco-based bank to pay $190 million in fines and restitution because they said its high pressure sales environment pushed […]
Islamic financing growth in the UAE has slowed in 2016 but remains above that of conventional banks, supported by enhanced recognition of Islamic finance and wider adoption of sharia products, especially in retail, according to a new report. Fitch Ratings said that the share of total bank gross financing held by the six largest Islamic banks and the Islamic windows of conventional banks was around 26 percent […]
For a quick study in market blindness, look at how an obscure US fund reacts to events in a country where markets do not even exist. Nearly two years ago US president Barack Obama and Cuban president Raúl Castro jointly announced their intent to rejuvenate the diplomatic and commercial relationship between their two countries. Until that day, the Cuba closed-end fund had historically traded beneath its net […]
Photo President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey visiting the mausoleum of an Islamic scholar in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, last month. Credit Pool photo by Kayhan Ozer, via Associated Press ISTANBUL — Almost a century after the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his supporters believe that they can restore the empire’s former glory. Stroll through the streets of any Turkish city and you […]
In early 2009, roughly at the time when this blog was launched which coincided with the start of the greatest monetary experiment of all time, we warned that there are two ways it will end: either in hyperinflation, or a deflationary supernova, the failure of currency and, eventually, barter. Now, almost 8 years later, some of the world’s top hedge funds are in agreement, and they are […]
By Laila Bassam and John Davison | ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT Syrian’s military and Russian warplanes bombarded rebel-held districts of Aleppo on Saturday as Damascus’s allies said victory was near, but insurgents fought back and army advances halted after rapid gains during the week. The United States said it was meeting a Russian team in Geneva to find a way to save lives, but an agreement looked […]
Yahya Jammeh, the eccentric and capricious ruler of Gambia for the past 22 years, has reversed his decision to accept defeat in last week’s elections, saying he will call a fresh poll. He alleged voter irregularities and called for new “transparent” elections to be held by a “god-fearing” electoral commission, presumably not overseen by the same official that declared results a week ago. Speaking on Friday night, […]
Strong competition will continue in Saudi Arabia’s construction sector due to extensive cuts in capital expenditure, forcing continued downward pressure on contractors margins, according to a new report. Property consultancy Colliers International said the decline in construction costs in the Gulf kingdom is set to ease, but “tough” market conditions will prevail. Construction costs have plummeted since the oil-price crash began in 2014, which led to a […]
The shortage in supply of the NES Classic Edition has frustrated customers who have been looking forward to reliving the games of the past. However, Nintendo has promised that gamers will be able to buy the retro console before Christmas. If this is true, it would be a great holiday gift to fans of the old NES titles. NES Classic Edition Supply Shortage The supply shortage for the […]
This is part of a series on the global rise of exchange traded funds The morning after the US election Steven Bregman, a New York-based hedge fund manager, began to notice something strange going on in a corner of the stock market. His screen showed that shares of gold mining companies were being sold indiscriminately, falling by double digits, even though the price of gold itself had […]
In this part of the world, the debate is not just theoretical. Terrorism is an everyday reality, and the role that Facebook and other social media sites may play in inspiring it generates deep emotion. Israel has pushed to combat online provocation that it links to bloodshed. Palestinians consider a crackdown on Facebook posts just another tool of repression by an occupying power. Continue reading the main […]
