Political news

• In Wyoming, campus guns are more about safety than politics

  18-01-2017 23:47
  
  CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — In grizzly country, comments by President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for education secretary that schools should have guns on campus to protect against the bears aren't a punch line.
  
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• No 10 defends Boris Johnson over 'Brexit punishment beatings' quip

  18-01-2017 23:45
  
  British foreign secretary evokes dark period of French history as he warns François Hollande against trying to hurt UKDowning Street was forced to come to the defence of the foreign secretary Boris Johnson after he warned the French president, François Hollande, not to respond to Brexit by trying to “administer punishment beatings” in the manner of “some world war two movie”. The foreign secretary evoked the darkest period of France’s recent history as
  
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• Missouri, New Hampshire could become right-to-work states

  18-01-2017 23:45
  
  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Newly bolstered Republican majorities are moving quickly in several states to diminish the power of organized labor with new laws prohibiting mandatory union fees in workplaces.
  
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• Netflix adds a third more subscribers than expected; shares jump seven percent

  18-01-2017 23:43
  Netflix signed up 7.1 million new subscribers globally, far more than the 5.2 million analysts had expected, despite higher prices, beating targets at home and abroad, according to research firm FactSet. Original shows like "Marvel's Luke Cage" and British drama "The Crown" performed strongly around the world, Netflix said, noting that competitors were adapting to compete. Amazon.com Inc recently expanded its Amazon Prime Video service globally, and Britain's BBC announced plans to release entir
  
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• Soccer-Rare Lucas goal edges Liverpool past Plymouth

  18-01-2017 23:31
  By Toby Davis LONDON (Reuters) - Lucas ended a goal drought stretching back to 2010 and Divock Origi missed a late penalty as Liverpool beat fourth tier Plymouth Argyle 1-0 in an FA Cup third-round replay on Wednesday. After minor league sides Lincoln City and Sutton United produced upsets to enthuse romantics on Tuesday, the mantle was passed to Plymouth to make another stand for the smaller clubs. Despite their dogged resistance, however, there was to be no shock at Plymouth's Home Park or at
  
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• Netflix adds a third more subscribers than expected; shares jump 7 percent

  18-01-2017 23:31
  Streaming video pioneer Netflix Inc added over a third more subscribers than expected in the last quarter of 2016, a sign of success for its ambitious global expansion that sent its shares up 7 percent in extended trading. Netflix signed up 7.1 million new subscribers globally, far more than the 5.2 million analysts had expected, despite higher prices, beating targets at home and abroad, according to research firm FactSet. Original shows like "Marvel's Luke Cage" and British drama "The Crown" pe
  
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• Business euphoria over Trump gives way to caution, uncertainty

  18-01-2017 23:29
  By Patrick Rucker and Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Early optimism among business lobbyists and executives that Donald Trump's election heralded better days has slowly given way to uncertainty as the president-elect fires off mixed and sometimes confusing messages on healthcare, taxes and trade. Some of that has frayed as questions arise over the nuts and bolts of Trump's campaign promises, although many in the business community said they remained optimistic. Doubts deepened over the we
  
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• In inaugural speech will Trump call on our better angels?

  18-01-2017 23:27
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Tradition suggests it's time for Donald Trump to set aside the say-anything speaking style and rise to the inaugural moment.
  
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• Stocks, U.S. dollar, bond yields rise after Yellen comments

  18-01-2017 23:25
  By Sinead Carew NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar rose and stocks also gained ground on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggested the U.S. central bank was ready to raise interest rates quickly this year. U.S. Treasury yields rose too after Yellen said "waiting too long to begin moving toward the neutral rate could risk a nasty surprise down the road - either too much inflation, financial instability, or both." Oil futures tumbled, however, dragging down the energy sector i
  
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• Man says Milwaukee's sheriff detained him for shaking head

  18-01-2017 23:23
  
  MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Milwaukee man says a tough-talking, cowboy-hat wearing Wisconsin sheriff detained him after a flight because the man shook his head at the lawman, who's gained a national prominence for his outspoken support of Donald Trump.
  
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• Price tries to reassure on health care; Dems not buying it

  18-01-2017 23:16
  
  Offering reassurances, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for health secretary said Wednesday the new administration won't "pull the rug out" from those covered by "Obamacare." Democrats ...
  
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• The Latest: Trump hotel in DC off-limits to media

  18-01-2017 23:14
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
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• CIA publishes new guidelines for handling Americans' info

  18-01-2017 23:11
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA is updating its policies on how it stores, searches and shares information on Americans.
  
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• Xi portrays China as global leader as Trump era looms

  18-01-2017 22:58
  By Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - China will build a "new model" of relations with the United States, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday in a speech that portrayed China as the leader of a globalised world where only international cooperation could solve the big problems. Two days before the inauguration of Donald Trump who has promised to be a U.S. president putting "America first", Xi urged countries to resist isolationism.
  
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• South Korean court dismisses arrest warrant for Samsung chief

  18-01-2017 22:58
  By Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean court on Thursday dismissed a warrant to arrest the head of the Samsung Group [SAGR.UL], the country's largest conglomerate, amid a graft scandal that has led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. The pre-dawn decision by the Seoul Central District Court to allow Jay Y. Lee to go home is likely to come as a major relief to the company, whose leadership vacuum Lee has tried to fill since his father suffered a heart attack in 2014. Lee, who ha
  
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• Higher gasoline, rental costs boost U.S. consumer inflation

  18-01-2017 22:57
  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer prices increased in December as households paid more for gasoline and rental accommodation, leading to the largest year-on-year increase in 2-1/2 years and signalling that inflation pressures could be building. The rise in inflation, coming as economic growth strengthens, was corroborated by a separate report on Wednesday from the Federal Reserve, which said pricing pressures "intensified" somewhat from late November through the end of 2016.
  
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• EU leaders welcome Brexit clarity, Merkel says EU united ahead of talks

  18-01-2017 22:56
  EU leaders on Wednesday welcomed clarity from Britain over what it wants from Brexit talks, with Germany's Angela Merkel promising a united front in what will be "very intensive" negotiations. Responding to Prime Minister Theresa May's speech on Tuesday that made clear that Britain would quit the European Union's single market, Merkel welcomed the fact that London had accepted that free movement of EU citizens was not something it could opt out of without losing other EU rights. "There cannot be
  
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• Fed's Yellen expects drag of stronger dollar on U.S. exports to continue

  18-01-2017 22:54
  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that she expects the stronger dollar, whose rise in part is fueled by expectations the Fed will gradually raise interest rates, to continue to drag on U.S. exports. In response to questions from the audience at a Commonwealth Club of California event in San Francisco, Yellen also said that while the rise in equities also can be partly attributed to expectations of future Fed rate hikes, investors should take uncertain
  
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• Supreme Court nominee returns to bench as judge, not justice

  18-01-2017 22:53
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Merrick Garland, the judge nominated by President Barack Obama to the U.S. Supreme Court, made his return to the courtroom on Wednesday to hear cases as a federal appeals court judge, not a Supreme Court justice.
  
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• Fed's Yellen says 'makes sense' to gradually raise interest rates

  18-01-2017 22:50
  By Ann Saphir SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - With the U.S. economy close to full employment and inflation headed toward the Federal Reserve's 2 percent goal, it "makes sense" for the U.S. central bank to gradually lift interest rates, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday. "Waiting too long to begin moving toward the neutral rate could risk a nasty surprise down the road - either too much inflation, financial instability, or both," Yellen told the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco.
  
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• Italy not worried about ECB ending asset-buying - Econ Minister

  18-01-2017 22:48
  Italy is not worried about the prospect of the European Central Bank ending its asset-buying programme and thinks its banks could benefit from the move, Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Wednesday. The ECB has decided to reduce the size of the programme that has seen it buy some 1.5 trillion euros worth of bonds in the last two years and is due to wrap it up at the end of 2017. Padoan told Reuters in an interview that Italy, which has one of the world's biggest public debt piles, was no
  
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• MPs' Brexit vote

  18-01-2017 22:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A guide to how Theresa May's promise of a vote on the UK's Brexit deal could pan out.
  
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• Trump U.N. pick echoes his criticism but breaks from him on issues

  18-01-2017 22:44
  By Patricia Zengerle and Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump's pick for U.N. ambassador echoed his condemnation of the world body and pledged to push for reforms at her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, but broke from the president-elect on some other policy issues, including Russia and NATO. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley seconded criticism of the United Nations by Trump and many of their fellow Republicans before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, especially for what
  
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• Obama says reducing leaker Chelsea Manning's prison term serves justice

  18-01-2017 22:43
  By Jeff Mason and Dustin Volz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that former military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning had served a tough prison term and his decision to commute her 35-year sentence to about seven years served would not signal leniency toward leakers of U.S. government secrets. Obama told his final news conference as president that he felt it made sense to commute Manning's sentence because she went to trial, took responsibility for her crime and
  
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• Al Qaeda says Mali bombing punishment for working with France

  18-01-2017 22:36
  ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said in a statement on Wednesday that a suicide bombing that killed dozens in northern Mali was punishment for groups there cooperating with France, according to a translation released by the SITE Intelligence Group. The statement confirmed that the attack had been carried out by al Mourabitoun, an ally of al Qaeda's North African affiliate, and gave the bomber's name as Abdul Hadi al-Fulani. Malian state media had earlier said there wer
  
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• Africa’s object lesson in democracy

  18-01-2017 22:29
  When a group of African nations stands up to a dictator, the world should take notice – perhaps a lesson about democracy has taken root on the continent. Gambia held an election on Dec. 1 and its longtime ruler, President Yahya Jammeh, surprisingly lost the vote. Mr. Jammeh demolished the electoral commission, clamped down on dissent over social media, and extended his rule.
  
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• Obama's parting message: We're going to be OK

  18-01-2017 22:26
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — "We're going to be OK."
  
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• Manchester United appoint counter-terrorism manager

  18-01-2017 22:17
  Manchester United have appointed a full-time counter-terrorism manager in what they believe to be a first in English club football. British media reported that the Premier League club had hired a former inspector from Greater Manchester Police's specialist search unit. The Manchester Evening News said the new chief had started work "alongside the club’s current senior security team, with an emphasis on counter-terrorism and general security improvements".
  
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• German AfD rightist triggers fury with Holocaust memorial comments

  18-01-2017 22:11
  By Madeline Chambers BERLIN (Reuters) - A senior member of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) said on Wednesday that media had misrepresented comments he made about Berlin's Holocaust memorial and the need to rewrite history books to focus more on German victims. A speech by Bjoern Hoecke, the AfD's leader in the eastern state of Thuringia, on Tuesday triggered anger across Germany and even caused one member of the radical Left party to report him for incitement to racial hatred. The A
  
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• Samsung Group says it appreciates chief Jay Y. Lee's release

  18-01-2017 22:08
  Samsung Group said on Thursday it appreciated the fact that the South Korean special prosecutor's case against the head of the group, Jay Y. Lee, can proceed without his detention. "We appreciate the fact that the merits of this case can now be determined without the need for detention," Samsung Group said in an emailed statement. Seoul Central District Court earlier rejected the special prosecution's request for a warrant to arrest Lee, who had been held overnight, for suspected bribery, embezz
  
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• Ukrainian president calls for global response to Russian threat

  18-01-2017 22:05
  By Stephen Adler and Sujata Rao DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called for a worldwide effort to counter the threat of Russian cyber warfare and urged the United States to "be great again" by demonstrating leadership on issues such as global security. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to improve ties with the Kremlin and open admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin has put Ukraine, whose Crimea region was annexed by Russia in 2014, under the s
  
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• EU politicians and businesses warn May over 'difficult' Brexit

  18-01-2017 22:05
  
  As PM travels to Davos to deliver ‘global Britain’ message, European leaders present united frontEuropean politicians and multinational bosses lined up to warn Theresa May the UK’s exit from the European Union will be fraught with difficulty, as the prime minister flew out to deliver her “global Britain” message to business leaders in Davos.Key Brussels negotiators told the prime minister she was being over-optimistic in her hope to achieve a quick, clean break from
  
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• Haley supports moving US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem

  18-01-2017 21:56
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley declared her support for moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a shift firmly endorsed by Donald Trump but one that could trigger increased violence in the Middle East.
  
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• Paul Golding Of Britain First Pranked By BBC2's Revolting Show

  18-01-2017 21:52
  
  Paul Golding has been unwittingly pranked by BBC Two’s comedy show Revolting.
  The Britain First leader was interviewed by Eugene X, a “totally non-racist South African” who looked to him for tips for his multi-cultural holiday.
  Flanked by an ominous-looking security guard, Golding appeared to be completely unaware of the set-up despite the odd questions and dubious accent.Eugene then visits Erith dressed in traditional Nigerian dress “to fit in”.
   Elsewhere, Go
  
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• Study shows Facebook's growth as campaign news source

  18-01-2017 21:38
  NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton voters had different media diets, but a study finds common ground in Facebook as an important news source — even if their individual feeds bore little resemblance to each other's.
  
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• Budget pick Mulvaney acknowledges payroll tax lapse

  18-01-2017 21:33
  
  Rep. Mick Mulvaney, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to run the White House budget office, failed to pay more than $15,000 in payroll taxes for a household worker more than a decade ago, prompting ...
  
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• Alibaba's Ma says no chance of U.S. trade war with China

  18-01-2017 21:32
  DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - China and the United States are not about to be drawn into a trade war, Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma said on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
  
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• Obama defends decision to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence

  18-01-2017 21:28
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama firmly defended his decision to cut nearly three decades off convicted leaker Chelsea Manning's prison term Wednesday, arguing in his final White House news conference that the former Army intelligence analyst had served a "tough prison sentence" already.
  
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• The Latest: Obama calls voter fraud claims 'fake news'

  18-01-2017 21:27
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Barack Obama (all times EST):
  
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• Committee decisively approves Mattis for defense secretary

  18-01-2017 21:25
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Armed Services Committee voted decisively Wednesday to approve Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary, clearing the way for retired Marine Gen. James Mattis to be confirmed shortly after the president-elect is sworn in.
  
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• Two British sprinters seriously injured in Spain

  18-01-2017 21:24
  British sprinter James Ellington said he was lucky to be alive after he and team mate Nigel Levine were seriously injured in a road traffic accident in Tenerife. "I truly am blessed as I do not know how me or my training partner Nigel are still alive," Ellington, 31, said on Instagram in a message accompanying an image of him in a hospital bed. "Me and him are both strong characters and will be looking to bounce back from this horrific accident." British Athletics said both were conscious and st
  
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• Monae among performers at Women's March on Washington

  18-01-2017 21:22
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Janelle Monae, Maxwell and Angelique Kidjo are set to perform at the Women's March on Washington this weekend.
  
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• Slapping ex-PM Valls gets French teenager 3-month suspended sentence

  18-01-2017 21:20
  A teenager who slapped former French prime minister Manuel Valls during an election campaign trip to Brittany was handed a three-month suspended sentence and was ordered to carry out 105 hours of community service, a prosecutor said on Wednesday. Valls, 54, was walking past a group of people in the town of Lamballe on Tuesday after coming out of the municipal office. The 18-year-old accused admitted his guilt, enabling the judge to offer him a swift sentence and avoiding a potential trial, Bertr
  
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• South Korean court dismisses request to arrest Samsung chief

  18-01-2017 21:17
  A South Korean court on Thursday rejected a request for a warrant to arrest the head of the Samsung Group, Jay Y. Lee, over his alleged role in a corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. The decision by the Seoul Central District Court is likely to come as a major relief for the country's largest conglomerate and for Lee, who has tried to fill the vacuum in the group's leadership since his father was incapacitated by a heart attack in 2014. The special prosecuto
  
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• Man United agree Memphis deal with Lyon - report

  18-01-2017 21:16
  LONDON (Reuters) - Manchester United have agreed a deal to sell Dutch winger Memphis Depay to French club Olympique Lyonnais, the BBC reported on Wednesday. The fee for the 22-year-old Netherlands international is 16 million pounds rising to 21.7 million, the BBC said. Depay scored seven goals in 53 appearances for United after moving from PSV Eindhoven for 25 million pounds in May, 2015 but he has played only eight minutes since the end of October. He was the leading scorer in the Dutch top fli
  
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• Oil prices fall on strong dollar, U.S. output rise expectations

  18-01-2017 21:14
  By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Wednesday to their lowest in a week, on a strong dollar and expectations that U.S. producers would boost output even as OPEC's output fell from a record high. U.S. shale production is set to snap a three-month decline in February, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday, as energy firms boost drilling activity. Brent crude ended the session at $53.92 per barrel, down $1.55 or 2.79 percent, while U.S. crude settled at $5
  
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• Manning served tough prison term, commutation would not send wrong signal - Obama

  18-01-2017 21:12
  President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that former military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning had served a tough prison term and his decision to commute her 35-year sentence to about seven years served would not signal leniency toward leakers of U.S. government secrets. Obama told his final news conference as president that he felt it made sense to commute Manning's sentence because she went to trial and took responsibility for her crime. "I feel very comfortable that justice has been serve
  
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• We’re not out to punish Britain, but you need to shed your illusions | Guy Verhofstadt

  18-01-2017 21:10
  
  Although the EU will negotiate a fair deal, the days of Europe à la carte are overBrexit really does mean Brexit. Theresa May’s long-awaited speech this week finally outlined some of her government’s negotiating objectives. Now we know that Britain wants to leave the European single market it helped to create, the customs union, and the European Union as a whole.With only a few weeks left to the likely invoking of article 50, triggering the start of talks on Britain’s wi
  
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• U.S. begins patent probe of graphics processors, DDR memory controllers

  18-01-2017 21:06
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. International Trade Commission began a patent infringement probe on Wednesday after ZiiLabs Inc charged that several firms were importing products to the United States in violation of its patents on graphics processors and DDR memory controllers. The ITC said the products at issue included smartphones, laptops, televisions, Bluray players and gaming systems. It identified 17 firms whose products it wanted to examine, including Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Lenovo Gr
  
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• Jump in manufacturing, tight labour markets show U.S. economic health - Fed

  18-01-2017 21:01
  A pickup in manufacturing, "widespread" reports of labour shortages and improving business investment set the stage for the Federal Reserve's December rate hike amid signs of steady economic growth across the country, the Fed reported Wednesday in its latest Beige Book compendium of economic conditions. Manufacturers in "most" of the Federal Reserve System's 12 regions reported increased sales, the Fed reported in the document, a collection of anecdotal information from businesses assembled befo
  
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