By Jack Kim and Ju-min Park | SEOUL SEOUL South Korean opposition parties vowed on Wednesday to push ahead to try to impeach President Park Geun-hye amid a growing influence-peddling scandal, rejecting her offer to resign, and called on members of her Saenuri Party to join them. In a dramatic move that shifted the burden of resolving the crisis engulfing her presidency, Park asked parliament on Tuesday […]
Photo Yoenis Cespedes, who helped the Mets reach the wild-card game in 2016, agreed to a four-year, $110 million deal. Credit Al Bello/Getty Images This was the test, the proving ground for the Mets as annual playoff contenders. At some point, they would have to take a risk to keep their new identity. By agreeing to a reported four-year, $110 million contract extension with Yoenis Cespedes on […]
5791 25 by Shannon K. O’Neil October 21, 2016 Brazil’s President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma pose for a group picture during BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit in Benaulim, in the western state of Goa, India, October 16, 2016 (Reuters/Danish Siddiqui). BRICS Fund InfrastructureAs commodity prices have […]
November 30, 2016 by: Anjli Raval and David Sheppard — Vienna What is happening?Opec oil ministers from the 14-member producer group start their official meeting around 10am (GMT) on Wednesday in Vienna as they attempt to secure the first supply deal in eight years. Meetings traditionally last for between two and eight hours, but trying to predict the duration of such a gathering is near impossible. Oil […]
5811 25 by Shannon K. O’Neil October 28, 2016 Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer’s CEO Frederico Curado (R) salutes workers next to an new Embraer E190-E2 during its unveil in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, February 25, 2016. Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA is in early talks with Iran, with a focus on commercial aviation, following the end of international sanctions, Chief Executive Curado told journalists on Thursday (Reuters/Nacho […]
UNITED NATIONS The reputation of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in Myanmar is at stake amid international concerns over how it is dealing with violence in the country’s divided northwest, a senior United Nations official warned on Tuesday. The conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State has sent hundreds of Rohingya Muslims fleeing across the border to Bangladesh amid allegations of abuses by security forces. The crisis poses a […]
A project by a group of schoolgirls has turned into their mission to have microbeads, small pieces of plastic that are found in exfoliants and household cleaners, banned in the UAE as a matter of urgency. ABU DHABI // A UAE school project raising awareness of the impact of microbeads might pale into insignificance in comparison to a US government ban and an impending one in the […]
5836 25 by Shannon K. O’Neil November 11, 2016 A man displays a new 2000 Indian rupee banknote after withdrawing from a bank (Reuters/Mukesh Gupta). France’s Anticorruption ReformsAfter years of criticism for failing to prosecute foreign bribery, France adopted a new anticorruption law that will force companies doing business on its soil to take more aggressive preventative measures, and also gives the government stronger tools to fight […]
Tuesday 15:15 GMT Overview The dollar and Treasury yields are steadying, but US equities are edging lower, as stronger-than expected US GDP data raise concerns that the Federal Reserve may quicken the pace of interest rate rises. The firmer buck is adding to pressure on commodity prices, with gold selling off and oil prices sliding on scepticism over an Opec deal to curb output. Hot topic It […]
4188 28 by Adam Segal November 16, 2016 A man stands in a phone box in front of graffiti art on a wall near the headquarters of Britain’s eavesdropping agency, Government Communications Headquarters, known as GCHQ, in Cheltenham, western England April 16, 2014. (Eddie Keogh/Reuters). The Council on Foreign Relations is holding a half-day, multi-session symposium to bring together leading policymakers and experts for candid analysis of […]
4237 28 by Adam Segal November 29, 2016 New York City skyline is seen at sunrise during a power outage August 15, 2003. (Reuters) The Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program has launched a new Cyber Brief. This one is authored by CFR Senior Fellow and Net Politics contributor Rob Knake. The U.S. federal government has long debated using insurance as a tool to create incentives for better cybersecurity in […]
In a report confirming that the ECB is preparing for a rerun of a post-Brexit scenario, Reuters writes that the ECB is ready to temporarily step up purchases of Italian government bonds if the result of next Sunday’s crucial referendum, which according to WSJ will likely determine the future of not only Monte Paschi but other insolvent Italian banks, “rocks markets” and sharply drives up borrowing costs […]
The US military presence in the Gulf poses the main risk of conflict in the region, an Iranian military official said on Tuesday after Washington said an Iranian vessel had pointed its weapon at a US helicopter in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Two US defence officials told Reuters on Monday that a small vessel operated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) trained its weapon on a […]
American Airlines has selected IBM Cloud to be a service provider as it moves its internal applications to the public cloud. The airline has said that it was looking to move some of its customer web site and back office applications to the public cloud. American Airlines was evaluating Amazon Web Services, IBM and Microsoft. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. IBM said that American will use […]
(Image: file photo) Nearly a million users across Europe were thrown off the internet during the weekend into Monday after criminals tried to hijack home routers as part of a coordinated cyber attack. Security researchers said that routers provided to customers in Germany by their internet providers were at risk of attack from the notorious Mirai malware, most notable for its large-scale botnet that brought parts of […]
Sunday, June 8 – The Islamic Finance Gateway (IFG) Briefing, published from Sunday to Thursday, carries the latest market-moving news and data for institutions offering Islamic financial services. To view the full IFG Briefing click here: bit.ly/1qb3njw Top Stories: Islamic Economy: Islamic credit cards and startup financing focus for EFICA 2014 (Page 3) Country: Advertisement ? Call for more private sector involvement in Turkey’s Islamic finance sector […]
Qatar’s foreign trade surplus shrank by 34 percent from a year earlier to QR7.7 billion ($2.11 billion) in October, according to data from the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics. The surplus slumped from more than QR11.6 billion in the year-earlier period because of low natural gas and oil prices. Exports of petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons fell 19.8 percent to QR11 billion, according to the […]
By J.R. Wu | ITU ABA, South China Sea ITU ABA, South China Sea Taiwan held rescue drills on Tuesday off the coast of its sole outpost in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea, but the biggest claimant in the disputed area kept uncharacteristically quiet. China and self-governed Taiwan seldom see eye to eye, but in responding to Taipei’s latest assertion of sovereignty over Itu […]
ABU DHABI // Regional terrorism and the influence of Iran over countries such as Iraq, Syria and Lebanon have led to increased militarisation in the region, according to a new report. The report, Iran and the Gulf Military Balance, says Tehran poses a growing missile threat to maritime traffic in the Arabian Gulf and the flow of petroleum exports. This has led to “a de facto military […]
Items marked ** denote new or amended listings TUESDAY, JUNE 10 KUWAIT – IFN Forum Kuwait Details: SUNDAY, JUNE 14 CHICAGO – Chicago Islamic Economic & Finance Conference Details: MONDAY, JUNE 16 KAZAKHSTAN – Seminar on Islamic Finance – Kazakhstan Details: TUESDAY, JUNE 17 KAZAKHSTAN – IFSB-FIS Workshop Series (Kazakhstan) Details: TUESDAY, JUNE 17 IRAN – IFN Forum Iran Details: MONDAY, JUNE 23 (until June 24) UK […]
By Anthony Boadle | BRASILIA BRASILIA Leftist opponents of Brazil’s President Michel Temer sought on Monday to have him investigated and impeached for his alleged role in pressuring a former culture minister to approve a property development. While the impeachment bid is not expected to gain sufficient backing, Brazil’s public prosecutor is already studying whether to investigate the charge by the former minister, Marcelo Calero, that Temer […]
Switzerland has a world-beating position in cross-border investing: its finance industry last year managed SFr6.6tn of assets on behalf of institutions, companies and the rich. So Swiss bankers have a keen interest in the technological revolution sweeping global finance, which has profound implications for the way markets operate. That includes some of the more fantastic ideas about handing the management of clients’ assets entirely to computers — […]
Aramex founder and Wamda Capital chairman Fadi Ghandour has called on investors in the region to invest in startups in their early stages. Speaking at the 2016 Arabian Business Digital Forum, Ghandour said funding startups is a crucial part to building a healthy business ecosystem. “Not everyone like my friend Mohamed Alabbar can launch businesses with $1b. But thousands of startups, if we don’t fund them, we […]
By Andrea Hopkins | OTTAWA OTTAWA Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will not attend the funeral of Fidel Castro, his office said on Monday, days after Trudeau’s warm comments about the late Cuban leader sparked a backlash. Furore over Trudeau’s expression of sorrow at Castro’s death has erupted in both Canada and the United States. Trudeau acknowledged Sunday that Castro had been a dictator as political opponents […]
