By Ayesha Rascoe and Michael Martina | WASHINGTON/BEIJING WASHINGTON/BEIJING The United States and China have agreed to take action by mid-July to increase access for U.S. financial firms and expand trade in beef and chicken among other steps as part of Washington’s drive to cut its trade deficit with Beijing. The deals are the first results of 100 days of trade talks that began last month, when […]
India’s $1.6tn stock market broke new ground last week, with the benchmark index hitting an all-time high as confidence builds that the government’s reform agenda will strengthen growth and corporate earnings. But the stock market’s 14.9 per cent rally since January 1 has divided opinion among fund managers who disagree over whether Indian equities can make further gains. “The most common question that I am asked by […]
ABU DHABI // Haze, clouds and potential rain are predicted for Sunday afternoon across the Emirates, according to the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology. The weather will deteriorate in some parts of the country, mainly in the north and the east, associated by some rainfall at times, the centre said. Moderate winds will cause blowing dust and sand over exposed areas and the sea is expected […]
When we looked at subprime auto delinquencies most recently, we found some troubling trends: first, in February, we showed that 61+ day delinquencies in General Motors’ subprime securitization book would support a rather bleak thesis for future auto sales, and specifically the demand side of the equation, with January 2017 delinquency rates soaring to the highest levels since late 2009/early 2010. Ironically, this hasn’t stopped lenders from […]
By Jeremy Wagstaff | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Some hospitals, schools and universities in Asia were hit by a global cyber attack which infected tens of thousands of computers in Europe and the United States, but officials and researchers said the extent of any damage may not yet be known. China’s official news agency Xinhua said secondary schools and universities were hit, but did not say how many or […]
Bonds issued by commodity trader Noble Group have fallen, mirroring a sharp decline in its share price, amid growing concerns about the company’s ability to manage its debt load and secure liquidity from banks. Noble’s recently issued 8.75 per cent 2022 notes have fallen from 97 cents on the dollar this week to just 53 cents, pushing the yield up to about 27 per cent, according to […]
Ransomware: Everything you ever wanted to know The ransomware attacks that forced hospitals across the UK to turn away patients are apparently part of a larger wave of ransomware infections worldwide. Prime Minister Theresa May said: “This is not targeted at the NHS, it’s an international attack and a number of countries and organisations have been affected,” according to the BBC. As well as the UK, where […]
Brick makers Forterra and Ibstock hit record highs on Friday after Berenberg tipped them as a way to play the UK’s housing shortage. New home construction should be underpinned in the short term by the Help To Buy subsidy, and over the longer term by government support to bring smaller builders back into the market, Berenberg said. Its team estimated that the UK’s shortfall now stood at […]
TUNIS Several thousand Tunisians marched through central Tunis on Saturday to protest against a bill that would grant amnesty to businessmen accused of corruption when autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali was in power. Critics of the Economic Reconciliation bill say it is a step back from the spirit of Tunisia’s 2011 revolution to oust Ben Ali but government officials say it is a way get the businessmen […]
A massive global cyber attack engulfed one in five NHS trusts as some hospitals continued to ask all but emergency patients to stay away amid uncertainty over whether some non-urgent operations and appointments would go ahead next week. However, UK government officials suggested no key data had been lost from the ransomware attacks. A total of 48 trusts were hit by the cyber attack on Friday afternoon, […]
Oman was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings, which said a drop in crude could hamper exports from the largest Arab oil producer outside OPEC and jeopardize its finances. S&P lowered the Gulf state’s sovereign debt long-term rating to BB+, one level below investment grade, from BBB- and changed the outlook to negative, the New York-based firm said in a statement Friday. “The negative outlook reflects […]
Investors wiped $4.6bn from the market value of the US department store sector in the space of two days this week, as concern mounted about sliding sales and the effects of online competition. The consequences are spilling into the real estate and derivatives markets, and the latest bad news has intensified the focus on the sector ahead of more earnings reports from retail heavyweights next week. Five […]
FUJAIRAH // Heavy rain lashed eastern parts of the UAE on Saturday afternoon, including Fujairah and Khor Fakkan. Videos posted by the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology showed motorists navigating wet roads and rains forming waterfalls in valleys. One video, taken by Abdullah Al Hammadi, showed rainfall in Khor Fakkan’s Wadi Shi. Another, by Ali Al Zaabi, showed waterfalls forming alongside a motorway in Khor Fakkan, […]
Teen drinking has dropped in the last two decades, shows the latest report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study, featured in May 12 issue of the CDC journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, revealed only one in three high schoolers reported drinking at least one drink per month in 2015, rounding up the total of teenage drinkers at just 32.8 percent. By […]
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. It’s unclear where to start with President Trump’s interview with NBC’s Lester Holt that left the White House second-string spokesperson on a precipice better associated with the Flying Wallendas. “Trump’s account flatly contradicts the White House’s initial account of how […]
Alma Mahler was described by one Viennese contemporary, Siegfried Lipiner, as “spiteful, vain and overbearing”. The philosopher Theodor Adorno called her a “monster”. And Marietta Torberg, the wife of writer Friedrich Torberg, said she was “a grande dame and, at the same time, a cesspool”. This is largely how history remembers Mahler, the beautiful, intelligent wife of composer Gustav Mahler. Her life spanned two world wars, taking […]
If you are an investor wanting a safe, unexciting asset to make a bit of money, avoid South Africa’s rand. It is not that you cannot make money trading the currency. You very much can, and you might make it big and quickly. The problem is you can also lose much more than you gain and at a frightening pace. To play the rand, investors need not […]
Greece inched closer to a return to public market finance for at least part of its Sisyphean debt burden this week, with benchmark bond yields dropping to levels seen when the country last issued new debt three years ago. Enthusiasm for the small portion of Greek debt held in private hands and available to trade followed a long-delayed agreement on fiscal and structural reform measures with European […]
The bond between mother and daughter is special, made even more so when a daughter has children of her own. A sense of mutual understanding clicks in that helps to bridge the gap between generations. In honor of Mother’s Day on May 14, we spoke to some mothers and their daughters about how motherhood has changed, what they’ve learned from each other, how technology has shifted […]
S&P Global Ratings on Friday lowered its long-term rating on Oman to BB+ from BBB- with a “negative” outlook, indicating the agency could further reduce its rating. The move to cut Oman’s credit rating below investment-grade status “reflects our view that the Omani government’s heightened external financing needs have resulted in the economy’s large net external asset position, (external assets exceeding external liabilities) declining to a level […]
May 12, 2017 by: Mark Robinson and Emma Powell, Investors Chronicle Shares in Anglo American have risen 84 per cent base-to-apex within the past 12 months, a reflection of improved commodity pricing combined with cumulative rationalisation measures. Earlier this year, it was announced that the miner’s chairman, Sir John Parker, had decided to call it a day after an eight-year tenure in which he oversaw the sale […]
By Yashaswini Swamynathan The S&P 500 and the Dow edged lower on Friday as financial stocks fell, but losses on the Nasdaq were kept in check by a rise in technology shares. With the first-quarter earnings season coming to an end, investors are looking to the Federal Reserve, Trump administration and economic data for fresh trading catalysts. A risk-off sentiment has dominated trading this week after President […]
May 12, 2017 IMPHAL, India – Fifteen seconds into the opening match of the 10th Manipur International Polo Tournament, after a long and feverish drumming performance, after the Manipur state chief minister had been properly honored with gifts and praise, after mounted players had paraded around the Mapal Kangjeibung polo ground with country flags held high, the home team scored on the Australians. It was a bright […]
Profits take a hit at Entertainment One. FT Opening Quote is your early Square Mile briefing. You can sign up for the full newsletter here. Efforts to strengthen Entertainment One’s film division will hit its full-year profits by almost £50m, the company announced today, after it renegotiated one of its main distribution agreements, writes FastFT. Entertainment One is best known for producing television programmes such as Peppa […]
