The European Central Bank (ECB) left its benchmark interest rate unchanged Thursday and gave no clarity on the anticipated wind-down of its stimulus program. The central bank held interest rates at 0.0 percent and kept the door open for even more stimulus, saying that it stands poised to increase its asset purchase program if needed. […]
Read moreAmazon on Thursday said it plans to open a second company headquarters in North America, and it is soliciting pitches from cities and states for what it calls HQ2. The online retailer expects to invest more than $5 billion in construction and grow this second headquarters to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs. Amazon […]
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Martin Shkreli auctions secret Wu-Tang Clan album on eBay — and receives offer in excess of $1 million
Martin Shkreli has received bids in excess of $1 million for his one-of-a-kind copy of a Wu-Tang Clan album. The disgraced former chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals, who was last month convicted of two counts of securities fraud, listed the album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” on eBay earlier this week. The auction […]
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Richard Branson holes up in wine cellar as Hurricane Irma batters his home
Richard Branson rode out Hurricane Irma by hunkering down in his wine cellar as the category 5 storm ripped through his private island. The Virgin boss had insisted on remaining on the island but took to the concrete shelter with his family and staff Wednesday when worst of the 185 mph winds passed over Necker […]
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TOURING the headquarters of Megvii in Beijing is like visiting Big Brother’s engine room. A video camera in the firm’s lobby recognises visitors in the blink of an eye. Other such devices are deployed around the office. Some of the images they capture are shown on a wall of video called “Skynet”, after the artificial-intelligence […]
Read moreThe Nordic region’s biggest bank, Nordea, said on Wednesday it would move its headquarters to Finland, dealing a blow to Stockholm’s bid to become a financial hub. The move, aimed at cutting the costs of complying with Swedish regulations, is the first time since the 2008 financial crisis that a major bank has shifted its […]
Read moreVoters in Spain’s prosperous Catalonia region will be asked to choose in less than a month if they want to secede from Spain, the region’s pro-independence ruling government announced Wednesday in a move that puts it in open defiance of central authorities in Madrid. Regional President Carles Puigdemont signed a decree that officially calls for […]
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Dozens injured in South Korea protest against US anti-missile THAAD system
Dozens of people were injured in clashes between South Korean protesters and police Thursday as the U.S. military added more launchers to the high-tech missile-defense system it installed in a southern town to better cope with North Korean threats. Seoul has hardened its stance against Pyongyang after its torrent of weapons tests, the latest a […]
Read moreEuropean markets are set to open higher on Thursday morning, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street after congressional leaders unexpectedly agreed to extend the federal government’s borrowing limit until December. Britain’s FTSE 100 is seen 12 points higher at 7,357; the German DAX is expected to open up by around 64 points at 12,281 and […]
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WHEN Donald Trump was inaugurated in January, he wasted no time in trying to bar people from certain Muslim-majority countries entering America. He swiftly, too, promised to make good on his pledge to build a wall along the Mexican border. The nation’s travel industry shuddered. It did not feel like the actions of a man keen […]
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