By many accounts, Australia has done its best to silence the voices of these migrants and refugees. Housing them on the remote Pacific islands of Manus and Nauru has not only geographically isolated them from the Australian mainland, but also kept them at arm’s length from the country’s journalists and human rights activists. Continue reading the main story I first came across Mr. Boochani’s story on his […]
The value of stocks listed on the S&P 500 eclipsed $20tn on Monday for the first time, as investor optimism over faster US economic growth and stronger corporate profits propelled the Wall Street equity gauge deeper into record territory. The index, which tracks the largest American companies, has rallied by close to 25 per cent over the past year, pushing its market value $3.6tn higher, according to […]
By Andrew Chung and Mica Rosenberg | NEW YORK NEW YORK Washington state’s attorney general has promised to uncover “what truly motivated” President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration, an approach that could prompt a rare public examination of how a U.S. president makes national security decisions. The presidential order imposed a temporary ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, but a federal judge has barred […]
TEL AVIV Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sidestepped a question on whether he still supports the creation of a Palestinian state as he left for the United States on Monday on his first visit since President Donald Trump took office. Netanyahu has never publicly abandoned his conditional backing for Palestinian statehood, which he first stated in 2009, but Palestinians say that commitment has been rendered worthless by […]
MSNBC’s Brian Williams cut to the chase as soon as the Monday press conference between President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ended. “The news out of this gathering is not anything either leader said,” Williams intoned. “It was exactly what wasn’t said because it wasn’t asked.” “There is no shortage of superb coverage coming out of this White House press corps,” he noted. But, alas, […]
IBM CEO Ginni Rometty recently sent an email to her employees detailing her involvement with, and counseling of, the Trump administration. In it, Rometty claimed that her meetings with the Trump administration as part of the president’s business advisory are purely an opportunity to promote IBM’s values and technological expertise. “IBM does not espouse a partisan or political point of view,” the letter states. “Alone […]
President Donald Trump’s criticism of courts that ruled against his administration recently has generated conflicting views among the nation’s federal judges. Appointed for life, federal judges are typically loath to criticize a sitting president, whose representatives frequently appear before them in court. Four judges agreed to comment on Mr. Trump’s treatment of the courts with […] (via WSJ)
By Timothy Gardner | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON A U.S. federal judge denied a request by Native American tribes seeking a halt to construction of the final link in the Dakota Access Pipeline on Monday, the controversial project that has sparked months of protests from tribal activists seeking to halt the 1,170-mile line. Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., at a hearing, rejected the […]
Apple stock hit a new all-time high on Monday, driven by investor optimism about a coming iPhone sales “supercycle” and hopes that its $230bn in overseas cash might soon be put to greater use. It has taken two years for Apple to surpass its record closing price of $133 in February 2015, despite briefly breaking above that level during intraday trading at $134.54 in April of that […]
Optimism that the Trump administration is close to proposing a series of business-friendly tax reforms sent the main barometer for US small-cap stocks to a fresh high on Monday for the first time in more than two months. The Russell 2000 index, which tracks companies with market values of roughly $300m to $2bn, climbed as much as 0.7 per cent on Monday to 1,398.6, knocking out its […]
Excerpted from today’s Blain’s Morning Porridge by Bill Blain of Mint Partners Over weekend drinks, dinners, very good lunches and rugby banter I was repeatedly told by my chums with real jobs in Industry, Services and Government how terrible this Trump fellow is turning out. It’s terribly liberal of us all to be illiberal about him. A couple of times I tried to respond in rational terms […]
newslide Members of George Michael’s family say they are “extremely upset” that a recording of the emergency call reporting his death was leaked to the press. Lawyers for the family on Sunday said relatives want an investigation and “will expect the culprit(s) to be dealt with appropriately”. They said family and friends are appalled “that such a personal, painful and clearly confidential recording has been leaked”” On […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. Major Garrett of CBS News is rising to the defense of the extravaganza that is the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner — and he is nearly convincing. Garrett is a very good, no B.S. reporter who adeptly made the print-to-TV […]
|By Matein Khalid| The US Dollar Index has now fallen 3.5% since it peaked on January 3. Donald Trump and his White House aides broke the 20 year taboo against speaking out against the “strong dollar” policy platitudes. The Federal Reserve did not raise interest rates and signaled no rate hike is imminent at the March FOMC. It is significant that the US dollar has fallen against […]
La La Land was the big winner at the 70th British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) film awards on Sunday night, the last big awards ceremony before the Oscars on February 26. The main Bafta nominations closely followed the Oscars’ list, with La La Land leading the pack with 11 nods (compared with 14 at the Oscars). Arrival had nine nods and Manchester by the […]
Photo The Jewish settlement Ma’ale Adumim, in the West Bank. Credit Dan Balilty for The New York Times WASHINGTON — President Trump, who presented himself as a staunch supporter of Israel during last year’s campaign, took a harder line on settlements in an interview published on Friday and indicated that he was rethinking his promise to move the United States Embassy to Jerusalem. Mr. Trump told an […]
Japan’s yen softened further in early Asian trade on Monday after the country reported slower than expected fourth-quarter growth. The yen slipped 0.8 per cent to ¥114 per dollar, its weakest since January 30, following the release of data showing gross domestic product for the three months to December grew 0.2 per cent quarter on quarter, coming in below estimates of 0.3 per cent growth. The currency […]
GENEVA A U.N. report on establishing a database of companies with business ties to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank has been delayed, the U.N. Human Rights Council said on Monday. Reuters reported on Friday that the politically sensitive report, due this month from the office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, was not ready. The council’s president, El Salvadoran ambassador Joaquin […]
US President Donald Trump’s two sons Eric and Donald Jr are set to attend the launch of The Trump International Golf Club in Dubai this month as guests of honour, it has emerged. It has yet to be confirmed whether the sons will formally launch the facility, a spokesperson for the club told Arabian Business. However, a spokesperson for Damac Properties, the developer behind the $6 billion […]
By Jamie McGeever | LONDON LONDON World stocks and bond yields rose on Monday, lifted by a re-emergence of so-called “Trump trades” as investors bet that the U.S. president’s tax reform plans will boost economic growth and corporate profits. Following on from Friday’s record high closes on Wall Street, Asian stocks rallied to 1-1/2-year peaks and European stocks rose for the fifth consecutive session on Monday, their […]
Many of Prince’s most popular songs returned to digital streaming platforms as the music industry paid tribute to the late musician in a politically charged Grammy Awards ceremony on Sunday night. Singer Adele, whose music is distributed by Sony Music, swept the biggest awards of the night, winning album, song and record of the year for 25, the best-selling album last year. She beat Beyoncé, who is […]
Qatar Airways is willing to “open” its financial books for scrutiny, according to CEO Akbar Al Baker, who said President Donald Trump could set up a special committee to examine them. “We are publishing our accounts and we are not running our airlines that we are perceived to run as,” airline CEO Akbar Al Baker told CNNMoney. “We have open book and President Trump is most welcome […]
Submitted by Nick Kaman of Letters from Norway Introduction: Norwegians are just now starting to grapple with the effects of their “single cylinder” economy, mostly dependent on oil and gas (ca. 60% of exports). Despite optimism about $50-$70/barrel oil, American crude output is surging, on track to be the highest ever, since 1970, while cracks start to form in OPEC’s latest agreement. In addition to the oil […]
SEOUL North Korea said on Monday it had successfully test-fired a new type of medium- to long-range ballistic missile a day earlier, claiming further advancement in a weapons programme it is pursuing in violation of United Nations resolutions. North Korea fired the ballistic missile on a high arc into the sea early on Sunday, the first test of U.S. President Donald Trump’s vow to get tough on […]
