Section: Business Insider (USA)
New Ukraine peace talks to take place Friday
Minsk (AFP) – Belarus said that a new round of Ukrainian peace negotiations involving the warring sides and overseen by European and Russian envoys would be held on Friday in Minsk.”The Contact Group on Ukraine has informed the Belarussian side of its intention to hold its next meeting in Minsk on January 30,” the Belarussian...
10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell (DIA, SPY, SPX, QQQ, MCD, FB)
Here are 10 things you need to know in markets today as earnings season heats up around the world. McDonalds’ CEO Is Out. McDonald’s announced that CEO Don Thompson is leaving the company. Thompson will retire on March 1 after 25 years with the fast-food chain, McDonald’s said in a statement. Steve Easterbrook, the senior...
German jobless rate drops to lowest since fall of Berlin Wall
Berlin (AFP) – German unemployment fell in January to the lowest level since the country was reunited in 1990, official data showed Thursday.The number of people registered as unemployed in Germany fell by a seasonally-adjusted 9,000 to 2.8 million in January, the Federal Labour Office said, the fewest since the fall of the Berlin Wall....
One Of The World’s Best Bond Managers Has Lost $3 Billion In A Huge Gamble On Ukraine’s Future
Michael Hasenstab at Franklin Templeton might not be the Bond King, but he’s got a decent claim to the throne. His fund regularly outperforms markets and his peers. But he’s probably not feeling so princely about his bet on Ukraine any more. Bloomberg have a great piece illustrating that Hasenstab has now lost $3 billion dollars on...
Russia’s Gazprom profits slide 61 percent in third quarter
Moscow (AFP) – Russia’s gas giant Gazprom on Thursday said its profits were down 61 percent in third quarter 2014 as supplies were suspended to Ukraine, one of its main customers.The group’s profits between July and September amounted to 105.7 billion rubles ($1.5 billion) but revenues in that quarter were down 6 percent...
Greece’s New Finance Minister Insists That The Government Hasn’t Tried To Veto Russia Sanctions
Greece’s new finance minister Yanis Varoufakis is insisting that the country is not vetoing EU sanctions on Russia (at least not yet), and that media distortion blew foreign minister Nikos Kotzias’ comments out of context. Before the election, Varoufakis was an active blogger, and he says he’s going to keep trying to write. This...
Mitt Romney Is About To Launch An Attack Against Hillary Clinton
Mitt Romney is about to go on the offensive as he mulls a 2016 presidential campaign. In a Wednesday speech at Mississippi State University, the 2012 GOP nominee will throw multiple barbs at Hillary Clinton, the expected front-runner on the Democratic side. Romney’s plans were revealed in a copy of his prepared remarks published by Time...
Poroshenko and US press Putin on Ukraine violence
Kiev (AFP) – Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko made a personal plea to Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Washington threatened tougher measures Wednesday should Moscow fail to rein in separatists mounting a new offensive in the east of the ex-Soviet republic.Poroshenko’s personal letter and US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew’s...
Russia cuts spending, bails out banks in ‘anti-crisis’ plan
Moscow (AFP) – Russia promised government spending cuts but more money for retirees and billions of dollars worth of support for banks as it detailed Wednesday a plan to support its economy battered by low oil prices and sanctions.The plan, published on the government’s website on Wednesday morning, foresees a 10 percent reduction in...
Russia’s Central Bank Is Encouraging Banks To Take Losses On Foreign Currency Mortgages
The Russian central bank is encouraging the country’s ailing banks to accept losses on foreign currency mortgages in a bid to stop ruble falls from further weakening the sector. In a letter to banks dated January 23 the Bank of Russia wrote: “Due to the increased levels of credit and currency risks in financial markets, the Bank of...
