March 31, 2017 by: Nicholas Megaw in London South African president Jacob Zuma’s dismissal of his well-regarded finance minister Pravin Gordhan has left the country’s currency on course for its worst week since 2015 and hit prices in the country’s government bonds and its banking stocks. It has also left analysts expecting imminent downgrades to the country’s credit ratings. The firing of Mr Gordhan — which was […]
MANILA The Philippines on Friday ruled out declaration of a unilateral ceasefire ahead of the resumption of peace talks with communist rebels next week, saying it was more interested in a bilateral truce both sides could stick to. The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) plans to declare a unilateral ceasefire no later than Friday and had expected the government to do the same, in line with […]
Submitted via Priceonomics A quick spin through LinkedIn reveals that the quality of peoples’ profile photos is rather uneven. Some photos appear to be from highly professional photoshoots while others are grainy pictures captured from old cell phones. Is there any pattern in the data around professional networking photos? What professions have the highest quality photos? Do people that are fresh on the job market tend to have […]
31 March 2017 MARC has affirmed its AAAIS rating on TTM Sukuk Berhad’s (TTM SPV) RM600.0 million Sukuk Murabahah with a stable outlook. The outstanding sukuk amounts to RM500 million. TTM SPV is a funding vehicle for the second phase of the Trans Thailand-Malaysia project (TTM Project Phase II), consisting of two gas pipelines between the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area (JDA) and the industrial city of Rayong […]
By Martin Petty and Neil Jerome Morales | MANILA MANILA Allies of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte have prepared legislation to postpone elections to the over 40,000 village councils in the country and allow him to choose replacements in what they say is part of the war on drugs. If passed by Congress, the move would make Duterte, a former mayor, the most powerful leader in the Philippines […]
The welcome From the coastal road that runs most of the length of Sharjah city, it’s not difficult to spot the new Sheraton, which dominates the skyline. Access to valet parking is up a quite narrow, steep driveway. The valets whisk luggage to the room while check-in is completed. I’m then pointed in the direction of one of two main sets of lifts. The neighbourhood About as […]
Leftist Salvadoran guerrillas, emboldened by the Marxist Sandinistas’ success in neighboring Nicaragua, had been trying to overthrow the country’s ruling junta. But Mr. Hinton was determined. He encapsulated his mission this way: “Save the economy, stop the violence, have the elections and ride into the sunset.” Continue reading the main story But after an election campaign in which fending off far-right candidates was at least as demanding […]
Friday 05.10 BST Overview Asian stocks were mostly positive on Friday as investors prepared to end a solid first quarter of 2017 and Wall Street closed in on record highs. Hot topic 1 South Africa’s rand was 1.2 per cent weaker in Asian trading in the wake of the nation’s finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, being dismissed on Thursday by President Jacob Zuma. The currency has shed a […]
Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN) will be outdated before the rollout is even complete thanks to the company using fibre-to-the-node (FttN) network technology, according to the Australian Capital Territory government. Speaking in a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network, the ACT government said NBN should be deploying fibre-to-the-premises (FttP) infrastructure, pointing out that this is the preferred technology in New Zealand, France, […]
SINGAPORE: Former presidential hopeful Tan Cheng Bock has called on the Government to make the upcoming Presidential Election an open election. Speaking to reporters at a press conference on Friday (Mar 31), he asked if it was correct to make the upcoming election, which must be held by August, a reserved one. He pointed out that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) had advised the Prime Minister to count […]
By Cynthia Kim and Ju-min Park | SEOUL SEOUL A South Korean court on Friday approved a warrant to arrest ousted president Park Geun-hye, the country’s first democratically elected leader to be thrown out of office, on accusations of bribery and abuse of power. Park can be held in a cell for up to 20 days while she is investigated over allegations that she colluded with a […]
But it was not immediately clear whether the approval of the new settlement was meant to be a provocative move to scuttle the prospect of a revival of peace talks. Mr. Netanyahu said he was following through on a pledge he made a few weeks ago to 40 settler families who were evacuated from the illegal Amona outpost in the West Bank. That outpost was removed by […]
There ends a third and perhaps final attempt to unite the London Stock Exchange Group and Deutsche Börse. Do they remain independent or prizes for rivals? One supposed reason for the deal was that without it both the LSE and Deutsche Börse viewed themselves as takeover targets. Now we are about to see whether that is truly the case. There are only three other global operators with bigger equity […]
Microsoft has officially confirmed that the next major Windows update, known as Windows 10 Creators Update, will start rolling out on April 11 to customers worldwide. Like with last year’s Windows 10 Anniversary Update, which rolled out in August, the Creators Update will see a throttled release that will likely stretch over a few months. The update will arrive after several months of beta tests, leaks, and bits of […]
The Crisis in Scale Five million people is roughly equal to the population of Norway. If nearly a quarter of the United States’ population left the country, it would be as if the combined populations of California, New York and Ohio had disappeared. In addition, 6.3 million Syrians have been internally displaced by the war. Altogether, about half of all Syrians have been forced from their homes […]
If President Jacob Zuma of South Africa wanted to know how markets would react if he sacked Pravin Gordhan as finance minister, he got part of the answer this week. The rand shed 4.4 per cent of its dollar value earlier this week after Mr Zuma ordered Mr Gordhan to cancel a roadshow with investors on the first day and fly home from London, without explanation. The […]
Intuit’s Quickbooks Online platform has a new integration with Google’s G Suite that will allow small business users to create and send invoices directly through Gmail. Along with the new Gmail Add-on for Invoicing, Intuit is also rolling out an integration that brings QuickBooks functionality to Hangouts Chat, Google’s new dedicated messaging app for teams. Both of these integrations build on the bevy of integrations and partnerships […]
When Viacom Inc’s (VIAB.O) Spike TV rebrands as the Paramount Network in early 2018, the struggling media company hopes to position itself as a challenger to top-rated U.S. cable networks like Comcast Corp’s (CMCSA.O) USA and Time Warner Inc’s (TWX.N) TNT with shows that have the caliber of HBO. Viacom is heading into the upfront, when U.S. TV channels sell the bulk of their advertising inventory for […]
Every time a major new phone comes out, we at PCMag do this thing called a “spec comparison.” These are search-driven articles designed for people who are desperate to find out, for instance, if the Samsung Galaxy S7 is “better” than the iPhone 6s before anyone has spent any decent amount of time with them. Similar examples are all over the internet, with tech fans using specs […]
Speed was once a ticket to riches in financial markets. Now it’s the bare minimum. Electronic trading groups that made fortunes by being first to pounce on favourable prices are finding it tougher to stay ahead in markets where transactions unfold in billionths of a second. Their costs have risen at the same time that volatility and volumes — essential elements for profitable trading — have ebbed. As a […]
CAPE TOWN, South Africa, March 30, 2017 The award-winning African Utility Week (www.African-Utility-Week.com ), taking place from 16-18 May in Cape Town, will showcase how the continent is coming up with innovative, home-grown solutions to its energy and water challenges and how these are creating exciting and lucrative opportunities for utilities and industry suppliers alike. Experts from respected partners in the industry such as the World Bank, […]
Wind and sun, two unpredictable resources, are becoming ever more important as sources of energy in Europe. This means that we face a growing need for energy storage facilities, because if energy cannot be used immediately when it is generated, it needs to be stored until it is needed. (via WSJ)
Elevate, one of the biggest subprime lenders in the US, is reviving plans to go public, seeking to cash in on a big lift in sentiment since the election victory of Donald Trump. Financial stocks have rallied hard since November 8, with big banks such as Bank of America rising as much as 50 per cent on hopes of fatter lending margins, lower taxes and lighter regulation. […]
By Anthony Esposito | MEXICO CITY MEXICO CITY Mexico’s states are turning to Asia and beyond as some U.S. companies put investment plans on hold south of the border following President Donald Trump’s calls to bring jobs back home. A delegation of three Mexican state leaders, headed by the National Confederation of Governors (Conago), traveled to China this week to meet with business leaders and discuss investment […]
