European markets are expected to begin Friday on a relatively upbeat note, supported by a strong trading session seen in both Asia and in the U.S. Looking to major bourses, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 is seen opening up 14 points at 7,715, while the French CAC 40 is expected to slip 9 points at 5,537, […]
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[unable to retrieve full-text content] IF ONE concern unites Americans, it is the high prices of prescription drugs. One incident in particular tarnished much of the pharma industry: in 2015 the price of an antiparasitic drug, Daraprim, jumped from $13.50 to $750 per pill. But large price increases remain stubbornly commonplace (see chart). According to […]
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[unable to retrieve full-text content] TWENTY years ago schoolyard fads revolved around clothes and music. Now they are as likely to involve video games. The latest must-have is “Fortnite Battle Royale”, a lighthearted multiplayer shooter in which up to 100 players parachute onto a continually shrinking playing field, hunt each other down and compete to […]
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[unable to retrieve full-text content] IN CHINA no company achieved $1bn in annual revenue as quickly as Xiaomi did, in the year following the launch of its first smartphone in 2011. Chinese media initially nicknamed Xiaomi the “Apple of the East” (its literal translation is “little rice”). That was a stretch, even in good times. […]
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[unable to retrieve full-text content] JUST over a year ago Harold Hamm, billionaire boss of Continental Resources, one of the biggest shale-oil producers in America, issued a stern warning to his fellow frackers. Drill with restraint or we will “kill the market”, he said. This month the 72-year-old Mr Hamm, son of an Oklahoma cotton […]
Read moreThe yield on Italian government 10-year bonds rose to a seven-week high Thursday, while stocks sold off, following news that former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will not stand in the way of a new coalition government. The anti-establishment Five Star (M5S) and right-wing Lega parties are said to be closing in on an agreement to […]
Read moreU.S. consumer prices rebounded less than expected in April as rising costs for gasoline and rental accommodation were tempered by a moderation in health-care prices, pointing to a steady buildup of inflation. The Labor Department said on Thursday its Consumer Price Index rose 0.2 percent after slipping 0.1 percent in March. In the 12 months […]
Read moreCurrency, United States Finance
Cheese could be a casualty of Brexit as UK food prices set to rocket, report warns
Food prices in Britain are set to rocket if the U.K. is unable to secure a free trade deal with the European Union (EU), a report by the House of Lords warned Thursday. A bleak assessment by the upper house of Britain’s parliament said that failure to secure a tariff-free deal would split Britain into […]
Read moreApple has scrapped plans for an 850 million euro ($1 billion) data center in Ireland. The tech giant said Thursday that it would not be going ahead with the project as its planning application had been faced with delays. Ireland’s High Court approved that the company could go ahead with its data center in October, […]
Read moreThe Bank of England (BOE) held interest rates steady on Thursday, after a first-quarter slowdown in economic growth tarnished the case for higher borrowing costs. The decision marked a sharp contrast to widespread expectations of just a few weeks ago, as Threadneedle Street voted 7-2 to keep rates on hold at 0.5 percent. Earlier in […]
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