Photo A woman laid flowers at a makeshift memorial in front of the Reina nightclub in Istanbul in January. On April 6, United States Special Operations forces carried out a ground raid in Syria that killed Abdurakhmon Uzbeki, an ISIS militant who had helped plot the attack on the nightclub. Credit Ozan Kose/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images WASHINGTON — United States Special Operations forces carried out a […]
General counsel from 185 companies are joining the chorus of voices supporting the Legal Services Corp., a major benefactor of civil legal aid that’s at risk of being completely eliminated under President Donald Trump’s proposed budget. The group of top corporate lawyers, from companies including Google Inc., , and , signed on to a letter delivered to all […] (via WSJ)
By Dan Levine and Mica Rosenberg | SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK President Donald Trump’s travel ban on citizens of six Muslim-majority nations faces its second challenge at a U.S. appeals court next month, and this time more Republican states are backing the measure, while one Democratic state attorney general dropped out of the legal fight this week. Some legal experts say the states’ realignment could […]
By Lindsay Dunsmuir | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The United States has strongly signalled it will continue to support Ukraine, Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk said on Friday, adding that the war-torn country had a “good, pragmatic” relationship with Washington. Ukraine has previously expressed some nervousness about the possibility the Trump administration might try to cut a deal with Russia over Crimea and the eastern part of Ukraine that has […]
Two pillars — Trump and China — have supported a bounteous few months for global portfolio investors. But the hope invested in both is starting to fade, casting a bearish tinge over what nevertheless remains a largely optimistic picture. In the case of Donald Trump, expectations that the US president would act swiftly to push though tax reforms, deregulation and bold infrastructure investments are starting to ebb […]
MOSCOW Russian state news organisation Rossiya Segodnya said on Friday it objected to a Reuters article it said had falsely claimed that Kremlin-backed media had tried to influence the 2016 U.S. election. A Reuters spokesperson said the news agency stood by the story which reported exclusively on April 19 that a Russian government think tank controlled by Vladimir Putin had developed a plan to swing the election […]
By David Morgan | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Friday promised a big announcement about tax reform next week and ordered an administration review of Obama-era tax rules written to discourage U.S. companies from relocating overseas to cut their tax bills. “We’ll be having a big announcement on Wednesday having to do with tax reform. The process has begun long ago, but it really formally begins […]
While geopolitical concerns and French election uncertainty are factors, The Wall Street Journal notes that many markets are flashing red on growth as investors begin to return to pre-election bets on the ol ‘new normal’ – a persistently weak economic expansion. There are clear signs that the sugar rush of Donald Trump’s victory and global-growth hopes has faded, raising doubts among some investors about whether stocks can […]
After a surly first conversation between the two leaders in January that rattled the United States and Australia’s long-standing alliance, Pence will take a more amiable approach and try to focus on cooperation on trade, defence and more. Trump reportedly exploded and cut short the call when he was told about a deal to move some refugees from Australia to America. That left some in Australia questioning […]
MOSCOW Russia has told the United States it regrets Washington’s opposition to letting its inspectors take part in an investigation into a chemical weapons attack in Syria earlier this month, the foreign ministry said on Friday. It said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the two sides agreed to consider one more time an “objective investigation into the […]
TEL AVIV U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Friday that Syria had dispersed its warplanes in recent days and that it retained chemical weapons, an issue he said would have to be taken up diplomatically. The United States launched dozens of missiles earlier this month against a Syrian air base in response to a chemical attack that killed 90 people, including 30 children. It says the […]
It turns out several leading US banks do not require case-sensitive passwords, which could make it easier for someone to access your account. A thread on Reddit on Friday pointed out that Wells Fargo, the third largest bank in the US, doesn’t require its customers to enter a case-sensitive password. Other users confirmed the issue, whereas other banking customers began checking their own accounts and noted that […]
Within the US fixed income market, investors are sending a clear message about the prospect of higher interest rates. In recent weeks, investors have pushed back against a string of leveraged loan transactions, with a handful of deals pulled as money flows into the sector have shrunk. The stumbles underline a diminished appetite for richly valued, floating rate loans, seen as providing investors with some protection from […]
Photo President Trump met with Aya Hijazi in the Oval Office on Friday. Credit Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times WASHINGTON — President Trump welcomed Aya Hijazi, an American aid worker detained for three years in Egypt, to the Oval Office on Friday after quietly working to secure her release this week. “We are very happy to have Aya back home and it’s a great honor […]
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP has a lost client because of its work for another client: President Donald Trump. Wallace Global Fund, a left-leaning private foundation, has terminated its relationship with Morgan Lewis as a protest against Mr. Trump and the firm’s handling of his business conflicts. The fund’s decision was “out of profound disagreement […] (via WSJ)
Just when you thought it was over – after Trump ‘Tomahawks’ Putin’s pal Assad, and Tillerson trounces Lavrov – and the media had stopped the constant “Russia did it” narrative, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (which seems like as big an oxymoron as can occur) has called numerous current (and former) officials to testify once again on Russia’s “active measures during the 2016 election.” As […]
International law firm and lobbying shop Squire Patton Boggs is getting cozy with one of President ‘s most trusted advisers. The firm said this week that it’s formed an alliance with Michael D. Cohen, a personal lawyer to Mr. Trump who has served as his fixer for many years and credits himself as the originator of the […] (via WSJ)
WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russia’s involvement in the 2016 U.S. election, said on Friday it had invited the directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Security Agency to appear at a closed hearing on May 2. Apparently ending a dispute between Democrats and Republicans over who would testify as it investigates possible links between President Donald Trump’s campaign […]
Good morning. Program changes are same old The swashbuckling Murdochs now look as milquetoast as old media rivals whom they upended and disdain. With the belated firing of Bill O’Reilly, the monarchical lords of 21st Century Fox turned 1990s with their initial programming decisions. Yes, you can easily make dumb decisions when you’re king of any media hill and a financial juggernaut. But the initial post-O’Reilly programming […]
© Seb Jarnot I arrive at La Méditerranée, a traditional fish restaurant in a literary quarter of the Left Bank, Paris, at 7pm to find its blue doors firmly bolted. Charlotte Rampling has just confirmed our reservation, but our dining slot appears to have fallen foul of that particularly French timetable that decrees that no civilised person would ever want to eat before 8pm. In a panic, […]
By Mica Rosenberg and Yeganeh Torbati | NEW YORK/WASHINGTON NEW YORK/WASHINGTON When Raj, a Sri Lankan fisherman, sought refuge in the United States in 2005, he had precisely the kind of fear of returning home that U.S. asylum laws require. In 2004, he was kidnapped by the separatist rebel group the Tamil Tigers and had to pay $500 to secure his release, according to Raj, his lawyer […]
SYDNEY U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is expected to discuss trade and regional security when he meets Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Saturday, Australian officials said. Pence arrives in Australia late on Friday for the last stop on his 10-day tour of U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific region that has included a series of roundtables with leading business executives in South Korea, Japan, and Indonesia. His […]
Friday 08:30 BST What you need to know ● European and Asian stock markets firm after Wall Street rally● Euro holds above $1.07 in cautious trading ahead of French election● Bund yields up 1bp to 0.25 per cent despite political tensions● Global steelmakers shrug off Trump tariff threat● Oil prices gain but gold pulls back——————- Hot topic Investor attention is turning to eurozone assets ahead of Sunday’s […]
France has launched an anti-terror investigation after a policeman was killed and two other officers injured in an apparent Islamist attack in Paris on Thursday that threatens to disrupt the country’s presidential election. French authorities said the suspected gunman had been shot dead in the assault on the Champs-Élysées shortly before 9pm local time. One civilian was also injured in the attack. “We are convinced that the […]
