The European government bond market had what is known in technical circles as a minor freak-out this week. Yet as yields in eurozone bonds diverged sharply, the markets for stocks, corporate debt and currencies carried on regardless. The Cac 40 index of large French-listed companies was barely changed on the week. The euro weakened per cent against the US dollar, but at the same time the dollar […]
Investors remained cautious on the so-called Trump trade over the past week, as political wrangling in Washington drove more money into bond funds and bond proxies. Junk bond funds collected $1bn in new money in the week to February 8, while investment grade corporate bond funds gained $2.1bn, the fourth straight week of inflows for highly rated company debt, according to data from EPFR. Utilities-focused equity funds, […]
A sunrise photo of Edwards Air Force Base’s Rogers Dry Lake was taken after heavy rainfall in southern California. NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center is seen in the foreground. Source link
With the news cycle clearly far less interested in Trump’s golf game or Abe’s handicap, just before 8am local time (6pm ET), North Korea decided to provide CNN with some “exciting” news when it fired a ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s military said, in what was the latest test of Trump’s resolve to retaliate to North Korean provocations. This was the […]
A powerful nighttime earthquake in the southern Philippines killed at least six people and injured more than 120, with officials combing through cracked buildings and nearby towns Saturday to check on the damage and other possible casualties. The magnitude 6.7 quake roused residents from their sleep late Friday in Surigao del Norte province, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes. The quake was centered about 16 […]
Angels: OPEN Maybe they’re kidding themselves, but the Angels haven’t acted like a team in retreat. With Albert Pujols still slugging and Mike Trout still sublime, they have quietly improved the lineup with Danny Espinosa, Cameron Maybin and Luis Valbuena, players whose defense should prop up a shaky pitching staff. It’s a long shot, but with Trout in his prime and few top prospects coming, the Angels […]
Rolls-Royce is set to report the biggest headline loss in its history next week, as it absorbs the impact of its £671m settlement with regulators for past bribery and corruption as well as a weaker pound. The UK aero-engine company, which is seeking to recover from a turbulent few years marked by five profit warnings, will reveal a pre-tax deficit of £4bn for 2016, when it reports […]
Hundreds of millions of Indians are not in the habit of using toilets, partly due to a lack of latrines. This shortfall in basic infrastructure means that people use the great outdoors to relieve themselves. Thatleads to child deaths, stunting and various diseases which is why Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it one of his many missions to make more of India what New Delhi is […]
Credit: CC0 Public Domain When you browse online for a new pair of shoes, pick a movie to stream on Netflix or apply for a car loan, an algorithm likely has its word to say on the outcome. The complex mathematical formulas are playing a growing role in all walks of life: from detecting skin cancers to suggesting new Facebook friends, deciding who gets a job, how […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Up to 40,000 people were caught in severe flooding following days of torrential rain in central Indonesia, where the death toll from landslides on Bali resort island rose to 13, officials said Saturday. Indonesia’s Disaster Mitigation Agency said that incessant rains in the past five days caused rivers on Sumbawa Island to break their banks and inundate seven sub-districts in West Nusa Tenggara province. […]
The four main US stock barometers all logged record closing highs on Friday, marking the first grand slam in two months as small capitalisation stocks have caught up to their larger brethren. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite were already trading at all-time peaks before Friday, propelled higher by the relatively strong performance of large capitalisation stocks, leaving the Russell 2000 index lagging […]
Every time I take a spin through my Facebook or Twitter feeds, I’m reminded that there’s only one big story right now: Trump, Trump, Trump. For news organizations that wrestle with what coverage their community is most likely to consume, this is one of those rare moments when the mystery is solved. Give ‘em Trump. Love him or loathe him, they can’t get enough. But if the […]
Far from the palm-fringed beaches of the usual offshore tax havens, Canada has quietly become a go-to destination for international tax cheats eager to exploit the country’s twin benefits of a sterling reputation and rules that allow private companies to keep their ownership secret. A joint investigation by CBC/Radio-Canada and the Toronto Star has found dozens of cases where tax advisers around the world are touting shell companies […]
Image by Ji Mizell Samsung released two variations of the Gear S3 smartwatch to appeal to a greater niche of users. The Gear S3 Frontier, the outdoor version of its sleeker brother the Gear S3 Classic, is big. It is thicker and wider than its predecessor the Gear S2. My reaction to smartwatches up until now has been they look like toys. I am the kind of […]
Anonymous sources are to journalists what a 12-pound funnel cake is to a kid at the state fair: We know it’s unhealthy, but we partake anyway. That has never been truer over the last week, as our good ship of state has sprung leak after leak. Nameless White House officials have served up more scoops than a Baskin Robbins: Trump’s disastrous call with Australia’s Prime Minister, his […]
While the White House said it had not yet taken an official position on settlement activity, its statement hinted at the kind of understandings that Israel had with President George W. Bush. Continue reading the main story In a 2004 letter to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel, Mr. Bush articulated a policy that allowed for continued Israeli building in major settlement blocs that Israel intended to […]
Investors have warmed to Russian assets, welcoming the country in from the cold. Russian bond funds counted record inflows in the week to February 1 as higher crude prices and improving relations with the US prompted an investor rotation back into the country. Emerging markets more broadly have found renewed investor appetite as the dollar has fallen to an 11-week low. More than $1bn flowed into EM […]
GENEVA A renewed assault on Islamic State fighters in the Iraqi city of Mosul could force 250,000 civilians to flee, if they can find a way out, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday. Such an exodus would be on top of roughly 162,000 people already displaced by Iraqi government efforts to retake the city since October. Such numbers, although high, remain well below UNHCR’s initial […]
Apple clinched $10bn of debt financing on Thursday as capital market activity remained robust, with Microsoft and AT&T also borrowing hefty amounts from investors this week. Apple’s latest bond sale follows a bumper start to the year for corporate and bank borrowings, with more than $185bn raised by investment-grade groups in the US, according to Dealogic. This week Microsoft borrowed $17bn in the largest bond offering of […]
Researchers studying an annual outbreak of mysterious illnesses among children living in India’s northern state of Bihar believe they might have found the cause – lychee consumption. Since 1995, cases of an acute neurological illness have been reported in Muzaffarpur, the largest area for cultivation of the fruit in the country, between the months of May and July. They peak in June to coincide with the month-long […]
By Parisa Hafezi | ANKARA ANKARA Many Iranians who dreamt of quiet, comfortable lives after a nuclear deal with world powers in 2015 are starting to worry for the first time in decades they might be bombed in their own homes. Since taking office last month, U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to get tough with Iran, warning the Islamic Republic after its ballistic missile test on […]
The government is struggling to protect the UK from cyberattacks, say MPs. Image: iStock An inconsistent, dysfunctional and chaotic response to cybersecurity by the British government is causing concerns about its ability to protect the country from cyberattacks and hackers, MPs have warned. The damning indictment is set out in a by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report into protecting information across government, which comes as defence […]
MOSCOW The Kremlin said on Friday that allegations made by British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, who accused Russia of spreading lies and attacking critical infrastructure with hackers, were “baseless” and a source of regret. Fallon said on Thursday night that President Vladimir Putin had chosen to become a strategic competitor of the West since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. “We express regret for this hostile […]
European stocks and S&P futures rose modestly ahead of January US payrolls data, along with the dollar, while Asian shares dropped after China returned from a week-long holiday. Bonds slid, oil rose while the JGB intervened in the bond market to prevent a bond rout, in one of two major surprises during the Asian session. As reported last night, having closed at 0.109% yesterday the 10y JGB […]
