Uber’s US rival Lyft is seeking $500m in a new fundraising round to provide fresh ammunition as the transportation company takes its fight with Uber to a growing number of US cities, according to two people close to the process. The fundraising comes at a time when Uber has been struggling with a series of public relations crises, including allegations of sexual harassment and a video of […]
ADEN: Two US drone strikes killed at least four suspected Al-Qaeda members in southern Yemen on Thursday, security officials said, barely a month after a controversial US commando raid against the jihadists.The first strike targeted the home of a known Al-Qaeda member in the Yashbum Valley in Shabwa province, a provincial security official told AFP.Four suspected militants who had been standing outside the house were killed, he […]
Jeff Sessions, the US attorney-general, failed to disclose during his confirmation hearings that he twice met the Russian ambassador while acting as a close adviser to Donald Trump during last year’s presidential campaign. Mr Sessions met Sergey Kislyak on September 8 in the then senator’s private office in the US Capitol building, after having spoken with him briefly two months earlier at an event sponsored by the […]
In The Way of the Strangers: Encounters with the Islamic State, journalist Graeme Wood aligns himself with the Orientalist tradition of Bernard Lewis, who warned liberal students against projecting secular frameworks on contemporary Muslim politics. Lewis believed religion, not secular grievance, was the prime motivator of this politics. This may or may not be true. In any case, the argument has limited explanatory power. It doesn’t explain […]
Photo King Salman of Saudi Arabia, center, arriving at the presidential palace in Bogor, Indonesia, on Wednesday. Credit Achmad Ibrahim/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images LONDON — You could call it bling diplomacy. As part of a monthlong tour in Asia to promote economic ties, King Salman of Saudi Arabia arrived in Indonesia on Wednesday to great fanfare, accompanied, the news media said, by a retinue with a […]
The raid is a delicate issue in the Trump administration because the president authorized it five days into office, over dinner at the White House with Mr. Mattis and several other senior officials. But in an interview with “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday, Mr. Trump seemed to distance himself from the operation, saying that responsibility for the decision to go forward rested with his generals. “This was […]
The Bank of Japan published detailed schedules of planned asset purchases for the first time on Tuesday as it seeks to prove its commitment to a zero per cent cap on 10-year government bond yields. Japan’s central bank said it will buy a minimum of ¥1.375tn and a maximum of ¥2.175tn of government bonds during March, giving a series of dates and estimated sizes for its planned […]
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 […]
The Trump administration is preparing to ignore any rulings by the World Trade Organisation that it sees as an affront to US sovereignty, according to a leaked report prepared by officials. The move would be a departure from US practice and a blow to the international watchdog’s credibility. The hard-hitting report, which was sent to Congress on Wednesday and obtained by the Financial Times, marks the first time the […]
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 […]
Wednesday 16:30 GMT Overview Wall Street surged to another record as comments from Federal Reserve officials caused traders to boost their bets for an increase in US interest rates this month and investors celebrated a more upbeat tone from Donald Trump in his first address to Congress. In keeping with he risk-on mood that washed across financial markets around the globe, the dollar also rose and gold […]
In investment as in life, what goes unsaid is often more important than what is said. Long-term watchers of the Federal Reserve know to look at every last word of every statement from a Fed governor — which is why a succession of Fed speeches and interviews on Monday and Tuesday were taken as doubling the chances that the central bank raises US interest rates at its […]
The US dollar and global bond yields rose on Wednesday as investors focused on expectations that the Federal Reserve wants to raise interest rates this month, in the absence of specific policy details from Donald Trump’s first speech to Congress. The dollar index — a measure of the reserve currency against its main peers — rose 0.5 per cent to its highest level in more than a […]
Wednesday 09:30 GMT Overview The dollar and government bond yields are jumping, and gold is falling, as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials cause traders to drastically shorten the odds of an increase in US interest rates this month. Meanwhile, US equity index futures point to another record on Wall Street, tracking gains in Europe and Asia, after Donald Trump addressed Congress for the first time, with […]
Stocks pared gains and the US dollar initially eased as President Donald Trump’s first address to Congress failed to provide the policy details that markets wanted — and analysts let rip with their disappointment. “We needed him to be a leader. We needed him to give us direction. That is where he let investors down this evening,” said Paul Christopher, head global market strategist for Wells Fargo […]
By Matt Spetalnick | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Tuesday reaffirmed support for the United States’ longstanding security alliances around the world but insisted that friends and partners from Europe to the Middle East to the Pacific must “pay their fair share of the cost.” In his first nationally televised speech to Congress since taking office on January 20, Trump sought to reassure allies still uneasy […]
Just under 70 minutes, 4,825 words, and the message was clear – the speech was about “will” and “Americans” Additionally “Obamacare” was mentioned 5 times, “Historic” was mentioned 3 times, and “massive” twice. .. I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength, and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart. #JointAddress — President Trump (@POTUS) March 1, 2017 President Trump got […]
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 […]
The American ambassador, Nikki R. Haley, accused Russia of putting “its friends in the Assad regime” before global security. Continue reading the main story “It’s a sad day for the Security Council when member states make excuses for other members killing their own people,” she said in the council chambers after the vote. The resolution, proposed by Britain and France months ago and endorsed by the United […]
Tuesday 12:30 GMT Overview Global stocks are finishing a positive month on a mixed note as traders appear cautious about making fresh bold bets ahead of Donald Trump’s speech to a joint sitting of the US Congress later on Tuesday. The dollar is fairly steady, while gains for perceived haven assets such as Treasuries and the Japanese yen speak to the underlying tentative tone. Hot topic The […]
On the verge of Donald Trump’s address to Congress, investors have sent the benchmark S&P 500 to record highs. Money managers awaiting word from the new US president on how he will accelerate growth are looking for a reason to maintain their enthusiasm, and for good reason — by a variety of metrics, US share prices are in rare territory. Here are five charts that make bulls […]
By Steve Holland | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump is seeking what he called a “historic” increase in defense spending, but ran into immediate opposition from Republicans in Congress who must approve his plan and said it was not enough to meet the military’s needs. The proposed rise in the Pentagon budget to $603 billion comes as the United States has wound down major wars in Iraq […]
Gold’s almost 10 per cent advance this year will be in jeopardy should US president Donald Trump’s key address to Congress on Tuesday reignite the dollar rally and prospect for higher interest rates. The yellow metal has been one of the chief beneficiaries of the cooling this year of the so-called “Trumpflation” trade, which sent the dollar to a 13-year high in early January and helped buoy […]
And so it has happened. Less than 100 days into his presidency, Donald Trump is being cited by a corrupt and despotic regime to justify new restrictions on rights and freedoms. On Saturday, Cambodia’s council of ministers spokesman Phay Siphan vowed to “crush” media entities that endanger the “peace and security” of the kingdom, calling on all “foreign agents” to self-censor or be shut down. He justified […]
