Category: World News

Back-to-back shootings spark new concern about simmering narco…

Just a day after a multi-homicide shooting marred a music festival in Playa del Carmen, the state prosecutor’s office in nearby Cancun was attacked by gunmen, leaving four dead. The attack has added to a sense of alarm in an area that has long been the heart of Mexico’s tourism industry, and the violence hints at the criminal presence in the region.

OPEC Sees Russia Delivering Cuts While Its Own Output Declines

OPEC said its output fell for the first time in seven months and forecast a drop in output from Russia, its partner in an agreement to clear the global crude surplus. Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s biggest member, reduced production last month ahead of an accord that took effect on Jan. 1, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a report Wednesday.

South Korea Court Rejects Arrest of Samsung Heir Jay Y. Lee

A court in South Korea turned down prosecutors’ request to arrest Samsung Group’s Jay Y. Lee on alleged bribery, perjury and embezzlement, letting him stay in place atop the country’s most powerful company while they continue their investigation. There wasn’t enough reason or necessity to justify the arrest, Seoul Central District Court Judge Cho Eui-yeon said in a statement Thursday morning in South Korea.

Oil Price Slides on Prospect of Rising U.S. Production

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were down 82 cents $54.65 a barrel at 1008 GMT. U.S. shale production is set to snap a three-month decline in February, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday, as energy firms boost drilling activity with crude prices hovering near 18-month highs.

U.K. Parliament Approves David Clementi as BBC Chair

A committee questioned him about such topics as whether the U.K. public broadcaster should launch a new version of ‘The Great British Bake Off’ after losing the baking competition to Channel 4. David Clementi is one step closer to becoming chair of a newly organized BBC board after winning approval for his appointment in the U.K. parliament. The British government last week unveiled Clementi, a former Bank of England deputy governor, as its preferred candidate for the BBC chair role.

Singapore’s GIC Said to Hit Government Snag in Vietnam Deal

Singapore sovereign fund GIC Pte has hit a snag as it seeks government approval for its planned investment in Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam JSC, the nation’s biggest lender by market value, people with knowledge of the matter said. The deal, originally expected to be completed by the end of 2016, hasn’t yet been approved by Vietnamese authorities, according to the people.

Britain PM Theresa May Sets ‘Hard Brexit’ Course

Britain’s Prime Minister, Theresa May, speaks to the media outside number 10 Downing Street, in central London, Britain July 13, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo Britain will quit the EU single market when it leaves the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday in a decisive speech that set a course for a clean break with the world’s largest trading bloc.

Internal document raises possibility of ‘Netflix tax’

A briefing note for MA lanie Joly, minister of Canadian Heritage, weighs the pros and cons of enforcing a sales tax on the digital services of foreign companies such as Netflix. The Liberal government is reviewing whether to enforce a so-called Netflix tax on the digital services Canadians buy from foreign-based firms over the internet.

Vietnam’s Premier to Raise Foreign-Investor Caps on Banks

Vietnam will increase the limits of foreign ownership in banks as early as this year to quicken the overhaul of the nation’s banking system and further lure overseas investments to boost economic growth, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said. “We will raise the ceiling and will also expand access to the securities market” for foreign investors, Phuc said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin at the Government Office in Hanoi on Friday.

Foxconn’s Gou Said to Assuage China About U.S. Investment Plans

Foxconn Technology Group Chairman Terry Gou has moved to reassure China’s government the Apple Inc. assembler remains committed to the country even as it expands U.S. operations when President-elect Donald Trump takes office, people familiar with the matter said. A high-ranking Chinese official recently expressed Beijing’s concerns to Gou, the people said, asking not to be identified because the conversation was private.

Oil Up on Saudi Commitment to Cut; U.S. Output Seen Rising

Oil prices settled up on Monday, as Saudi Arabia’s commitments to reducing production offset a report forecasting U.S. output would again rise this year. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has agreed to cut production by 1.2 million barrels per day to 32.5 million bpd from Jan. 1 in an attempt to clear a global oversupply that has depressed prices for more than two years.

Trump’s Emerging Europe Policy Prompts Calls for Closer EU Unity

European governments called for cool heads and tighter unity as they reacted with shock to President-elect Donald Trump’s remarks slamming NATO and predicting European Union nations would follow the U.K. out of the bloc. Trump’s comments, which call into question the depth of continued U.S. support for free trade and European defense, sent shock-waves around the EU at a time when governments are already battling to deal with the rise of nationalism, Brexit and a belligerent Russia.

Oil Prices Under Pressure on Doubts Over Output Cuts

Oil prices were under pressure on Monday due to doubts that large oil producers will reduce production as promised and on expectations that U.S. production would increase again this year. Benchmark Brent crude oil was up 8 cents a barrel at $55.53 after being down for most of the day by 1416 GMT and U.S. light crude was flat at $52.37 a barrel.

IMF raises China growth forecast but warns on debt

A worker sits by a billboard depicting the Central Business District under construction in Beijing, China, Monday, Jan. 16, 2017. The International Monetary Fund on Monday raised its growth forecast for China but warned rising debt that has prompted … Workers pause at the construction site of the Central Business District in Beijing, China, Monday, Jan. 16, 2017.

On Ericsson CEO’s Do-List: Reality Check, Then Hard Decisions

Borje Ekholm, the veteran executive brought in to turn around Swedish network-equipment maker Ericsson AB, faces tough decisions on staffing, competition and balance-sheet management that will test the former Investor AB chief’s ability to right the ship after a tumultuous 2016. Ekholm, a long-time board member at Stockholm-based Ericsson, takes over as chief executive officer on Monday at a company that saw its share price plummet 35 percent last year amid steep revenue declines, fierce competition from Chinese rivals, and dwindling carrier spending as large investments in fourth-generation wireless gear largely wound down.

South Korea Prosecutor Seeks Arrest of Samsung’s Jay Y. Lee

Prosecutors are seeking a warrant to arrest Samsung Group’s Jay Y. Lee for allegations including bribery and embezzlement, a stunning turn for the scion of South Korea’s richest family groomed for decades to take over the company from his father. Lee, 48, the de facto head of the Samsung Group and vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., is accused of participating in payments that Samsung made to a close friend of South Korean President Park Geun-hye in exchange for government support in the company’s succession planning.

Six-Hour Meeting of Chinese Tycoons Eases LeEco Cash Crunch

It took Jia Yueting just over six hours in December to snag $2.2 billion from a Chinese real estate mogul to keep LeEco afloat. In so doing, the entrepreneur secured a vital financial and strategic ally as he prepares to do battle with the likes of Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Tesla Inc. Jia’s LeEco, the sprawling conglomerate with interests ranging from electric cars and TVs to entertainment, announced Friday its cash crunch was almost over after winning 16.8 billion yuan in strategic investments, mostly from Sun Hongbin’s Sunac China Holdings Ltd. Jia declared he’ll now use the money to “far surpass” China’s three biggest internet companies: Baidu Inc., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent.

Oil Prices Will Be Much More Volatile in 2017: IEA

Global oil prices will witness “much more volatility” in 2017 even though markets may rebalance in the first half of the year if output cuts pledged by producers are implemented, the head of the International Energy Agency said on Sunday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed on Nov. 30 to cut output by 1.2 million bpd to 32.5 million bpd for the first six months of 2017, in addition to 558,000 bpd of cuts agreed by independent producers such as Russia, Oman and Mexico.

Cuba sees explosion in internet access as ties with US grow

In this Jan. 6, 2017 photo Roberto Carlos Villamar uses his laptop on the new experimental internet in the living room of his home in Havana, Cuba. For many Cubans, the start of home internet in December breaks a longstanding barrier against private internet access in a country whose communist government remains deeply wary about information technology undermining its near-total control of media, political life and most of the economy.

Cuba sees explosion in internet access as ties with US grow

In this Jan. 6, 2017 photo Roberto Carlos Villamar uses his laptop on the new experimental internet in the living room of his home in Havana, Cuba. For many Cubans, the start of home internet in December breaks a longstanding barrier against private internet access in a country whose communist government remains deeply wary about information technology undermining its near-total control of media, political life and most of the economy.

DIARY-Top Economic Events to Feb. 22

ECB Board Member Yves Mersch will deliver a speech at the farewell ceremony for Bank of Finland Deputy Governor Pentti Hakkarainen in Helsinki – 1230 GMT. PARIS – ECB Board Member Peter Praet will participate in a panel discussion on “How to deal with potential secular stagnation?” at the conference “Secular Stagnation and Growth Measurement” organised by Banque de France in Paris – 2115 GMT.

Oil Set For Weekly Fall on Crude Output Doubts

Oil prices are on track to end the week lower on lingering doubts over the extent of OPEC cuts, with sentiment worsened by concerns over the health of the Chinese economy after it reported the steepest falls in exports since 2009. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading 20 cents down at $55.81 a barrel at 1004 GMT on Friday.

Uranium ETF Set to Pop on Production Cuts

Energy traders have spent weeks mulling over an agreement among OPEC nations to cut oil supplies, in a move to boost oil prices. The jury is still out on that move, but in the meantime, there is another commodity production cut on the table that really should move prices on one energy source – uranium.