America’s Midwest farmers can’t seem to catch a break. First, an epic collapse of grain prices over the last couple of years have threatened to wipe out family farmers (see “Midwest Farm Bubble Continues Collapse As Farm Incomes Expected To Crash In 2017“) and now, thanks to the pending NAFTA showdown threatened by President Trump, Mexico, the single largest importer of U.S.-grown corn, has announced plans to […]
Stainless steel is regaining its shine. After falling victim like many other basic industries to the global commodities downturn, companies that specialise in the rustproof metal are enjoying a change in their fortunes. An upwards spiral in share prices, bigger profits and increased payouts to investors is helping to restore the lustre in this niche of the steel market. “It’s very clear we are now in a […]
BEIJING China’s defence ministry said on Thursday it was aware of the presence of a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group in the South China Sea and China respected freedom of navigation for all countries in the waters there. The U.S. navy said the strike group, including the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson, began “routine operations” in the South China Sea on Saturday amid growing tension […]
By Brenda Goh | DANDONG, China DANDONG, China As Beijing tightens its grip on trade with North Korea, the economies of Chinese towns along the 1,400-km border the two countries share are floundering. On Saturday, China said it would ban all coal imports from North Korea, the latest move to enforce United Nations sanctions aimed at depriving Pyongyang of hard currency for its nuclear weapons and ballistic […]
By Nichola Saminather | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian stocks pulled back from a 19-month high on Thursday, while the dollar tried to steady from losses suffered in the wake of the U.S. Federal Reserve minutes indicating a cautious approach to more interest rate increases. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was fractionally lower. Japan’s Nikkei slid 0.1 percent, while Australian shares retreated 0.3 percent. Overnight on […]
Goldman Sachs, the last bank on Wall Street to handle significant physical volumes of oil and gas, has pushed back against a planned crackdown on combining finance with commodities trading. The institution warned the Federal Reserve to carefully weigh the effects on markets and companies as it sought to levy steep capital charges against a bank’s holdings of bulk materials. In its letter to the Fed dated […]
Analysts and traders alike were looking forward to today’s “black box” earnings from Tesla as it would be the first consolidated report that combined Tesla Motors operations with those from cash-bleeding monstrocity SolarCity following the pair’s merger, to wit: “with the acquisition of SolarCity, we have created the world’s only integrated sustainable energy company, from generation to storage to transportation.“ And, as usual, Elon Musk managed to […]
The shelves of Guillermo Lasso’s office are lined with books that inform his politics: Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations; The Denationalization of Money by Friedrich Hayek; a compendium of cases about free speech from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. “A government cannot regulate freedom of expression,” the Ecuadorean conservative opposition leader told the Financial Times before Sunday’s presidential election, in which he won more than […]
By Amina Ismail and Arwa Gaballa | Al-GAMALIYA, Egypt Al-GAMALIYA, Egypt Thousands of mourners gathered in a small Egyptian town on Wednesday for the funeral of the Muslim cleric known as “the blind sheikh” who was convicted of conspiracy in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York. Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was also convicted of planning a broader “war of urban terrorism” in the United States, […]
DUBAI: Combining the capabilities of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia can create historic opportunities for their peoples and the whole region, said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE vice president and prime minister, and ruler of Dubai, WAM reported on Tuesday.He was speaking at a joint retreat on Saadiyat Island, attended by some 150 Emirati and Saudi officials to discuss the best ways to […]
By Yashaswini Swamynathan U.S. stocks looked set to open little changed on Wednesday as investors awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting for clues on the timing of the next interest rate hike. The Fed will release the minutes of its Jan. 31-Feb. 1 meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET (1900 GMT). Policymakers, including Fed Chair Janet Yellen, have been hinting at the possibility […]
The global Panama Papers investigation is based on the unprecedented leak of confidential information from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. (Arnulfo Franco / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO) In Brisbane and Ankara, Harare and Quito, Berlin and New York, the Panama Papers investigation into tax haven abuses has been recognized with some of the most prestigious journalistic accolades on the planet. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which […]
Political uncertainty is slowing trade growth, a World Bank report has concluded, indicating that the rise of Donald Trump may already be casting a shadow over the global economy. Major international institutions such as the IMF, the OECD and World Bank have recently upgraded their forecasts of global economic growth largely due to expectations that tax cuts, rising infrastructure spending and a wave of deregulation will boost the […]
Wednesday 12:45 GMT Overview US equity futures suggest Wall Street will dip from record levels that were reached amid a positive outlook for economic growth. Political concerns leave the euro carrying the wooden spoon in the forex markets, while the rush for supposed havens pushes short term German bond yields to their lowest ever. Hot topic The FTSE All-World equity index is at another record, up 0.1 […]
Welcome to Local Edition! I’m Kristen Hare, I’m a reporter at Poynter, and I’m so glad you’re here. This is the first edition of this newsletter (you can subscribe here), and here’s how it will work: Each month, we’ll feature a different theme related to the future of local news. My goal is to build a conversation week to week and month to month. I hope that […]
Over the past year we’ve frequently written about the alarming homicide rates in Chicago (see “Chicago Violence Worst In 20 Years: ‘Not Seen This Level Of Disrespect For Police Ever’“). But, the Wall Street Journal recently conducted an analysis of homicide data since 1985, for the 35 largest cities in the United States, and found that Chicago isn’t the only place where violent crime is surging. As […]
By Henning Gloystein | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil traders from around the world, including the United States, Britain and Brazil, have tripled their sales to Asia as they take advantage of an emerging supply gap following OPEC-led production cuts announced late last year. Around 30 supertankers have this month made long-haul trips to ship crude oil from the Americas, the North Sea and the Mediterranean to refineries across […]
Photo Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, left, with his host, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday. The visit was a first by a sitting Israeli leader. Credit Jason Reed/Reuters SYDNEY, Australia — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was warmly welcomed here Wednesday by his Australian counterpart, Malcolm Turnbull, with the Israeli leader promoting the two countries’ growing ties as Israel faces rising […]
Demand for American hardwoods expected to pick up in the first half of 2017 as key projects near completion 22 February 2017 The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), the leading international trade association for the American hardwood industry, is gearing up to participate at the Dubai WoodShow 2017, which will take place from March 7 – 9 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center (DICEC). The […]
MANILA The foreign minister of the Philippines expressed doubt on Wednesday that a maritime sovereignty dispute with China could be resolved “during our lifetime”, so it was better to set it aside, engage Beijing and avoid an armed confrontation. In a defence of President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision not to push China to abide by an international arbitration ruling that went in Manila’s favour last year, Foreign Secretary […]
This is a difficult time for democracy, and autocratic leaders are on the rise. I refer, of course, to shareholder democracy and to the increasingly bold attempts of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, when they go public, to prevent investors from having a say in the running of their company. The founders of Snap, the owner of the messaging service Snapchat are brazenly selling second-class shares that give investors […]
22 Feb 2017, Doha, Qatar The Commercial Bank (P.S.Q.C.) (“the Bank”), its subsidiaries and associates (“Group”) announced today its financial results for the full year ended 31 December 2016. The Group reported a net profit of QAR 501.4 million as compared to QAR 1,434 million for the same period in 2015, a decrease of 65%. The Bank reported a net profit of QAR 683 million (2015- QAR […]
By David Brunnstrom | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke by telephone with China’s top diplomat on Tuesday and affirmed the importance of a constructive U.S.-China relationship, and the two agreed on the need to address the threat posed by North Korea, the State Department said. Tillerson and Yang Jiechi, China’s state councillor who outranks the foreign minister, also discussed economics and trade as […]
ABU DHABI // Combining the capabilities of Saudi Arabia and the UAE could create historic opportunities for the region, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said on Tuesday. “Through our integration, solidarity and unity, we can protect our gains, enhance our economies and build a better future for our people,” the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai said at a joint retreat on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, attended by […]
