Reuters “China’s Xi lays out vision for ‘new era’ led by ‘still stronger’ Communist Party.” Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday laid out a confident vision for a more prosperous nation and its role in the world, stressing the importance of wiping out corruption and curbing industrial overcapacity, income inequality and pollution. Opening a critical....
Bloomberg “U.S. Senate Adopts Budget, Giving Momentum to Trump’s Tax-Cut Plans.” The Senate adopted a fiscal 2018 budget resolution Thursday that House GOP leaders agreed to accept, a show of unity aimed at speeding consideration of President Donald Trump’s plan to enact tax cuts. The budget cleared the Senate 51-49, with all Democrats and Republican....
Bloomberg “Venezuela’s Behind on Its Debt and Facing Two Huge Bond Payments.” Ever since the price of oil collapsed in mid-2014, there’s been a broad consensus among the bond-market crowd that Venezuela was going to default. Not immediately, they said, but at some point down the road. Three years on, that time may have arrived.....
Bloomberg “Donald Trump Courted a Republican Rebellion. Now He’s Got One.” Donald Trump campaigned against the Republican Party establishment to win the White House. After two of its more prominent members fought back, calling Trump nothing less than a danger to democracy, the president showed no signs of letting up Wednesday. The rebellion comes at....
Bloomberg “Trump Leans Toward Jay Powell As Next Fed Chairman.” President Donald Trump is leaning toward appointing Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell to be the next chairman of the Fed, according to three people familiar with the matter. The decision isn’t yet final, the people cautioned, and Trump could change his mind at any time.....
Bloomberg “Trump-Russia Probe’s Opening Salvo Targets Manafort, Partner.” Paul Manafort, a former campaign manager for President Donald Trump, and his onetime business partner Rick Gates were charged with conspiracy against the U.S., the first people charged in the broad investigation into Russian meddling with the U.S. election. Manafort laundered more than $18 million to support....
BBC News “UK interest rates rise for first time in 10 years.” The official bank rate has been lifted from 0.25% to 0.5%, the first increase since July 2007. It is likely to rise twice more over the next three years, according to Bank of England governor Mark Carney. The move reverses the cut in....
Bloomberg “Trump Is Leaving Japan Empty-Handed on Trade.” For all the apparent chumminess between President Donald Trump and Japan’s Shinzo Abe, it hasn’t resulted in much concrete action to address Trump’s main complaint: fixing what he sees as an unfair trade relationship with Japan. For Trump, more known for shoving a fellow leader aside than....
Bloomberg “China Makes Historic Move to Open Market for Financial Firms.” China took a major step toward the long-awaited opening of its financial system, saying it will remove foreign ownership limits on banks while allowing overseas firms to take majority stakes in local securities ventures, fund managers and insurers. The new rules, unveiled at a....
Bloomberg “Pound Slides as Pressure on May’s Leadership Adds to Brexit Woes.” The pound slumped as much as 1 percent as political developments in the U.K. cast a shadow on Prime Minister Theresa May’s ability to push for the Brexit deal she aims for. Sterling snapped a two-day rally after the Sunday Times reported 40....
Reuters “Zimbabwe’s army seizes power, targets ‘criminals’ around Mugabe.” Zimbabwe’s military seized power on Wednesday saying it was holding President Robert Mugabe and his family safe while targeting “criminals” in the entourage of the only ruler the country has known in its 37 years of independence. Soldiers seized the state broadcaster and a general appeared....
Bloomberg “The Business Tax Problem Causing Trouble for the GOP.” The Senate tax plan encountered its first outright Republican opposition this week, from a senator whose concerns might foreshadow the biggest business challenge ahead for the proposal. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin called the plan — which was approved by the Senate Finance Committee late....
Bloomberg “Putin Sees ‘Real Chance’ to End Syria War at Talks With Iran and Turkey.” Russian President Vladimir Putin said there’s a “real chance” to end the 6 1/2 year civil war in Syria as he met his counterparts from Iran and Turkey seeking to seal a peace deal that is likely to keep his....
Bloomberg “Canada’s Debt Problem Gets Helping Hand From Economic Boom.” There are two things that could impede Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz from raising interest rates further in the coming months: worries about the financial system’s ability to cope with higher borrowing costs and concern that plenty of slack remains in the economy. By....
Bloomberg “Ex-JPMorgan Traders Start Singapore Currency Options Quant Fund.” Two former JPMorgan Chase & Co. foreign-exchange option traders will start a quantitative hedge fund in January, using artificial intelligence to trade currency options. Atsuo Ogaki and Damien Loh have established Ensemble Capital Pte Ltd. in Singapore with capital $75 million from high-net worth investors, family....