The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy on hold and turned optimistic on the growth outlook as a slide in the yen sharply improves the outlook for Japan in 2017. Japan’s economy is “likely to turn to a moderate expansion” with rising domestic demand, large-scale fiscal stimulus and growing exports, the central bank said. Its comments highlight the dramatic turnround from September — when despairing analysts said the […]
SHANGHAI/BEIJING Heavy smog engulfed large parts of northern China for a fourth straight day on Tuesday, with the environment ministry warning that some firms in the region were continuing to flout emergency restrictions and dozens of flights out of Beijing cancelled. Some power plants and chemical producers in the region had not scaled back operations in line with regulations, and drivers in Beijing had also been flouting […]
By Tim Cocks and Aaron Ross | KINSHASA KINSHASA Gunfire could be heard in several districts of Kinshasa early on Tuesday as demonstrators demanded that President Joseph Kabila step down after his mandate expired at midnight, and measures to curb dissent fanned fears of more violence. Reuters witnesses in various parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital city heard repeated gunshots, and one saw youths burning […]
(Image: file photo) Cloud storage giant Box won’t say how many times it has turned over customer data to the government. The company’s policy stands out from the cloud storage crowd, including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Dropbox, which along with other every internet and phone company in the Fortune 500 provide a biannual transparency report detailing the number of government requests and secret orders they receive. A […]
SEATTLE Boeing Co’s (BA.N) commercial airplanes unit said on Monday it would cut more jobs in 2017 after slashing the workforce by 8 percent in 2016 as it battles to sell planes. The job cuts come as Boeing and rival Airbus (AIR.PA) face slowing demand for new aircraft, particularly twin-aisle jetliners such as the Boeing 777 and Airbus A330. Boeing said last week that it would cut […]
ABU DHABI // Pakistan’s ambassador to the UAE said he aims to help deepen bilateral defence and economic ties, particularly through the major new trade route traversing Pakistan to China, the Asian power that is set to become the GCC’s largest trade partner. “We really want to make this relationship more diversified, and deepen and expand it,” said Moazzam Ahmad Khan, who began his tenure as Islamabad’s […]
Photo Jordanian security forces in the town of Karak on Monday. Credit Ben Curtis/Associated Press KARAK, Jordan — Gunmen involved in a rare terrorist attack in Jordan on Sunday had a large cache of weapons, explosives and suicide vests in the apartment where they had been living, the country’s interior minister said on Monday. The discovery of the cache suggested that the men were preparing for multiple […]
Emirates, the world’s biggest long-haul airline, and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways are reviewing their workforce as overcapacity and a stronger dollar put pressure on earnings. The cutbacks show how the Gulf airlines’ rapid expansion of the past few years is slowing down against a more challenging economic backdrop. Dubai-based Emirates has offered redundancies to staff working in accounting, finance, IT and other departments in its head-office, sources […]
National Assembly session reconvened on Monday but the disorder prevailed as the treasury and opposition benches kept chanting slogans against each, with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leaders sticking to their demand that PM Nawaz Sharif should address the house and clarify his statement regarding Panamagate issue. Speaker Ayaz Sadiq started the house proceedings by asking Awami Muslim League (AML) Sheikh Rashid to address the session. Talking about Panamagate, Rashid […]
The food trends of the approaching new year predict an inclination toward vegetarian comfort food, meat- free food, nourishing and fibrous soups, bush food, dairy-based products and many more. Factors Affecting Diet Trends Greater awareness about health and fitness is the major factor that has led to the people around the world to go for healthier diets and food options. Other factors include lower food prices and […]
By Michelle Nichols | UNITED NATIONS UNITED NATIONS The United Nations Security Council on Monday unanimously called for U.N. officials and others to observe the evacuation of people from the last rebel-held enclave in Aleppo and monitor the safety of civilians who remain in the Syrian city. The 15-member council overcame long-held divisions – that have pitted Syrian ally Russia and China against western powers over the […]
German short-term interest rates dropped to a fresh record low on Monday as traders anticipated the effect of New Year policy changes announced by the European Central Bank this month, at a time when market activity begins to ebb in the final days of the year. The yield on two-year Bunds fell to as low as minus 0.82 per cent on Monday, in a sign of demand […]
By Angus McDowall and Ellen Francis | BEIRUT BEIRUT Thousands were evacuated from the last rebel-held enclave of the city of Aleppo on Monday after a deal was reached to allow people to leave two besieged pro-government villages in nearby Idlib province. Convoys of buses from eastern Aleppo reached rebel-held areas of countryside to the west of the city in cold winter weather, according to a U.N. […]
Lennar Corp (LEN.N), the No. 2 U.S. homebuilder, reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue and said the housing market continued to make a “slow and steady recovery.” An improving job market and attractive mortgage rates continue to fuel demand for housing in the United States, helping homebuilders such as Lennar and PulteGroup Inc (PHM.N). U.S. home prices are set to rise almost 5 percent next year, despite […]
BEIJING Concentrations of airborne pollutants in a major northern Chinese city exceeded a World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline by 100 times on Monday as north China battled with poor air quality for the third straight day. In Shijiazhuang, capital of northern Hebei province, levels of PM 2.5, fine particulate matter, soared to 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday. That compares with […]
Soaring price growth in China’s top cities has slowed almost to a standstill, as government measures to cool the overheated property market take hold. Price growth of newly built homes in China’s “first tier” cities of Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Guangzhou slowed to 0.1 per cent in November compared with the previous month, the National Statistics Bureau said on Monday — well below month-on-month growth of 3-4 […]
The deal would send United Nations monitors to observe the evacuation process after consultations with “interested parties,” which means that observers could in theory be turned down by soldiers and militias on the ground. Senior United Nations officials have repeatedly said that they have sought Syrian government permission to be present during the evacuation process, and that they have not received it. Continue reading the main story […]
US hop farmers have celebrated record revenues from their crops in 2016 as they planted more acres despite signs that the craft beer boom, which has boosted demand for the key brewing ingredient, may be peaking. The value for the year’s hop crop soared 44 per cent this year from 2015, totalling just short of $500m, according to the US Department of Agriculture. “Higher hop acreage and […]
By Henning Gloystein | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil prices rose on Monday in anticipation of tighter crude supply going into 2017 following the decision by OPEC and other producers to cut output to prop up prices. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $55.57 per barrel at 0401 GMT, up 36 cents, or 0.7 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate […]
On Saturday morning, the Pentagon was eager to announce that China would return a U.S. Navy underwater drone after its military scooped up the submersible in the South China Sea late this week and sparked a row that drew in President-elect Donald Trump. As previously reported, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said that “through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will […]
By Brenda Goh, Allison Lampert and Brad Haynes | SHANGHAI/MONTREAL/SAO PAULO SHANGHAI/MONTREAL/SAO PAULO New rules governing Chinese airline startups are fueling hopes at Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA), Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO) and other regional jet makers for a spike in orders next year, but local competition and doubts about size restrictions still loom as major obstacles. The new policy is aimed at encouraging fledgling carriers to boost domestic flights […]
Ireland has laid out the grounds for its appeal against the European Commission’s demand that it claw back €13bn of state aid from Apple, accusing Brussels of interfering with national sovereignty. The Irish finance ministry said the EU’s executive arm had misunderstood both Irish law and the relevant facts of the case, and also that the commission had exceeded its powers. “Ireland does not do deals with […]
Image: Sarah Tew/CNET Every week, we sound off on the most important technology trends in our Monday Morning Opener. Looking back on 2016, we’ve identified the five tectonic plate shifts that have made the biggest impact on the industry and our readers who use these tools to drive the progress of the planet. So, without further ado, here are the five big tech trends of 2016 according […]
In this Dec. 8, 2016 photo, Steve Burke and Jim Besha of Albany Engineering Corp. stand at the site of an abandoned iron mine in the Adirondacks, in Mineville, N.Y., where they’re seeking a federal permit to build an underground hydroelectric pumped storage project. The hills behind them are “tailings” leftover from crushing ore to extract iron from the mine that closed in 1971. (AP Photo/Mary Esch) […]
