Asian markets were poised to open lower on Tuesday, with Italian politics and the slide in oil prices in the spotlight overnight. Futures pointed to a lower open for markets in Japan and Australia. Nikkei futures traded in Chicago were lower by 0.25 percent compared to the index’s last close and Australian SPI futures were […]
Read moreOne of the market’s biggest bulls sees stocks getting their groove back this year, but his forecast comes with an expiration date. According to Blackstone’s Joseph Zidle, there’s evidence that rising inflation will tear into corporate profits and stretch consumers within the next 12 months. “As we get into 2019, this earnings cycle is going […]
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Trump trade advisors Ross and Lighthizer to meet the EU's top trade official this week
Europe’s top trade official Cecilia Malmstrom will meet U.S. counterparts Wilbur Ross and Robert Lighthizer in Paris on Wednesday, two days before a temporary reprieve from U.S. steel and aluminium tariffs is due to expire. “A bilateral meeting with (U.S. Commerce) Secretary Ross is scheduled to take place on the margins of the OECD meeting […]
Read moreThe U.S. is prepared to unveil tough new sanctions on North Korea as soon as Tuesday, but could hold off as the countries try to revive a summit that President Donald Trump canceled last week, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The newspaper, citing two administration officials, said the Treasury Department had assembled sanctions that […]
Read moreItaly’s Five Star Movement leader on Monday called on supporters to protest peacefully, a day after a standoff with the president forced it to abandon efforts to form a coalition government with the far-right Lega. “Let’s not give up now, we must not give in to the arrogance of the institutions which have decided to […]
Read moreThat bucket of KFC in 'Stranger Things' is not a coincidence: Why product placement is back in vogue
There’s a scene in the second season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” where two characters are having an awkward dinner at a friend’s parents’ home. The teens know something the parents don’t: Their missing daughter has killed by a creature from a parallel universe. To lighten the tension, they stuff their mouths with KFC. “This is […]
Read moreSpanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will face a vote of confidence in his leadership on Friday as corruption convictions handed down to dozens of people linked to his center-right People’s Party (PP) threatened his six-year rule. Spain’s parliament agreed on Monday that the debate and vote would take place on Thursday and Friday, although the […]
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Italy president names ex-IMF official as interim leader with fresh elections expected
Italy’s president appointed former International Monetary Fund official Carlo Cottarelli as interim prime minister on Monday with a task to try and form a new government and bring order to political and constitutional turmoil. The euro zone’s third-largest economy has been seeking a new government since inconclusive March elections, with anti-establishment forces abandoning their efforts […]
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Traders are worried this could be the 'big unwinding' of Italian bond markets
Italian bonds have witnessed one of their worst trading weeks since the euro zone sovereign debt crisis, with many traders getting a stark reminder of the volatility that once characterized markets in the region. On Friday, two-year Italian bond yields rose 35 basis points in one day — almost equivalent to the entire range of […]
Read moreWarnings of artificial intelligence (AI) posing a threat to humanity are “not helpful,” a top executive at IBM has said. While critics like Tesla CEO Elon Musk have warned about the risks of developing AI, David Kenny, IBM’s senior vice president of Watson and Cloud, said the technology is already proving to be beneficial. “It’s […]
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