Section: The Jakarta Post (Indonesia)
How the Dow Jones industrial average fared Thursday
Stocks closed near an all-time high Thursday as technology, materials and energy companies notched big gains. Energy stocks rose as the price of oil rebounded. Traders were also encouraged by an acquisition in the online travel business and news of a cease-fire deal in Ukraine. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index ended just two points shy...
US stocks approach record as technology, energy stocks gain
U.S. stocks climbed back close to record levels on Thursday as technology, materials and energy companies all notched big gains. Cisco Systems led the technology sector higher after reporting better-than-expected earnings. Energy stocks rose as the price of oil rebounded following two days of heavy losses. There were also big gains for online...
Ukraine deal: West cautious, rebels victorious, civilians sceptical
Ukraine deal: West cautious, rebels victorious, civilians sceptical Western European leaders voiced cautious optimism after hammering out a Ukraine peace plan in Minsk on Thursday, hailed as a great victory by pro-Russian rebels but met with scepticism by war-weary civilians. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was a driving force behind the...
Ukraine summit agrees ceasefire, withdrawal of weapons: Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he and the leaders of France, Germany and Ukraine had agreed on the withdrawal of heavy weapons from Ukraine’s frontlines and a ceasefire to begin from Feb. 15. “We have managed to agree on the main points,” Putin told reporters in the Belarussian capital Minsk after...
Ukraine, IMF in deal for $17.5 bn bailout: Lagarde
The International Monetary Fund and conflict-torn Ukraine have reached a preliminary deal on a new financial rescue plan worth US$17.5 billion that could be a “turning point” for Kiev, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said Thursday. In total, Ukraine will receive $40 billion in assistance over four years coupled with bilateral loans from...
‘Drastic decline’ in media freedom worldwide
Media freedom suffered a “drastic decline” worldwide last year in part because of extremist groups such as Islamic State and Boko Haram, the watchdog group Reporters Without Borders said in its annual evaluation released Thursday. “There has been an overall deterioration linked to very different factors, with information wars,...
No news is good news, reinterpreted
Most of us have heard the phrase “No news is good news.” Generally it means that a lack of news at least means nothing is going wrong. In a time when the world is potentially facing an Ebola outbreak, two terrorist groups that are the de-facto rulers of nations (ISIS and Boko Haram), a worsening standoff in Ukraine, a possible “Grexit” from the...
Fighting intensifies in eastern Ukraine ahead of peace talks
Fighting in eastern Ukraine intensified on Tuesday ahead of much-anticipated peace talks, with both sides claiming significant advances and the government accusing the rebels of shelling a town far behind the front lines.The intense fighting, which the U.N. says has killed more than 5,300 people since April, comes ahead of a crucial summit...
Anti-Western sentiment at record levels in Russia: Pollster
Anti-Western sentiment has reached historic levels in post-Soviet Russia, with an overwhelming majority expressing negative attitudes towards the United States and the European Union, a poll showed on Monday. Relations with the former Cold-War era rival the United States have never been particularly warm under Vladimir Putin, but ties appear to...
1,500 Russian troops, military equipment enter Ukraine: Kiev
At least 1,500 Russian troops and convoys of military hardware entered Ukraine over the weekend, the Ukrainian military said on Monday. “One thousand five hundred Russian soldiers and 300 pieces of military equipment, including Grad missile systems, crossed the Ukraine-Russia border on Feb. 7 and 8,” Ukraine military spokesman Andriy...
