Finance news

• Global markets pause as two-day rally loses steam

  26-05-2016 23:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A two-day global stocks rally showed signs of fatigue Thursday as oil prices briefly breached $50 a barrel before pulling back. Bourses in Paris and Frankfurt mustered 0.7 percent gains, but stock indices in London, New York and Tokyo finished with minor moves. The pause came ahead of key US economic data Friday and a speech by US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
  
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• TSX ends slightly lower after posting a nine-month high

  26-05-2016 23:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Fergal Smith TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged slightly lower on Thursday, including losses for resource stocks as oil and gold prices dipped. It has been "climbing a wall of worry," overcoming concerns about the health of the economy and the prospect of U.S. interest rate hikes, said Rick Hutcheon, president and chief operating officer at RKH Investments. Barrick Gold Corp fell 1.3 percent to C$22.21, while spot gold dipped 0.3 percent.
  
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• Venezuelan opposition warns foreign contracts need assembly's OK

  26-05-2016 23:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Venezuela's opposition-led National Assembly on Thursday warned that contracts signed between the leftist government and foreign companies without lawmakers' approval would be null. President Nicolas Maduro this month declared an economic emergency and state of emergency that lets his administration sign contracts without Congress' approval. "We're going to tell all the embassies that the only valid contracts are those reviewed by the National Assembly," its President Henry Ramos said.
  
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• Anacor received rival bid before Pfizer deal: filing

  26-05-2016 23:29
  
  (Reuters) - Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inchad received an offer from a third party before it agreed to be bought by Pfizer Incin a $5.2 billion deal last week, regulatory filings showed.
  
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• REFILE-WRAPUP 3-Canada's biggest banks braced for more oil losses

  26-05-2016 23:28
  
  TORONTO, May 26 (Reuters) - Canada's biggest banks warned on
  Thursday of further losses from oil loans in coming quarters as
  energy companies struggled to repay loans, even as growth in
  wealth...
  
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• Wall Street hits 'pause' after two-day surge

  26-05-2016 23:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Investors this week have grown more comfortable with expectations the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates as soon as June, with many taking the view that such a hike would reflect improvement in the country's economy. "People are taking their foot off the gas after making a bunch of money, and now they're waiting for the next data point," said Phil Blancato, chief executive of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management in New York. Trading near 16.5 times expected earnings, the S&P 500 appea
  
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• Bank of Canada risks being too optimistic, some economists warn

  26-05-2016 23:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Andrea Hopkins TORONTO (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada is being overly optimistic in counting on an economic rebound that is unlikely to come, raising the risk policymakers will be forced to cut rates before year end, some market players warned on Thursday. "It is wishful thinking that the economy is going to rebound strongly." Most analysts polled by Reuters expect the next Bank of Canada move to be a hike, not a cut. At the time, Governor Stephen Poloz said the benefit of acting swiftly "out
  
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• Oil dips after hitting $50/bbl as glut worries resurface

  26-05-2016 23:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices hit $50 a barrel on Thursday for the first time in seven months, then bounced below that level and settled lower on the day as investors worried robust price gains could encourage more output and add to the global glut. Wildfires in Canada's oil sands, unrest in the Nigerian and Libyan energy sectors, and a near economic meltdown in OPEC member Venezuela have knocked out nearly 4 million barrels per day in immediate production, sparking a buying
  
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• US STOCKS-Wall Street hits 'pause' after two-day surge

  26-05-2016 23:03 via news.yahoo.com
  Wall Street treaded water on Thursday following two days of strong gains as advancing utilities offset declines in materials, banks and other cyclical industries. Investors this week have grown more comfortable ...
  
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• US STOCKS-Wall Street pauses after two-day run higher

  26-05-2016 22:17 via news.yahoo.com
  Wall Street treaded water on Thursday following two days of strong gains as advancing defensive sectors offset declines in materials, banks and other cyclical industries. Investors this week have grown ...
  
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• McDonald's French HQ raided in tax probe

  26-05-2016 22:04 via news.yahoo.com
  
  French police said Thursday they had raided the French headquarters of McDonald's and seized documents last week as part of an investigation into tax fraud. Agents of a special corruption, financial and tax crime unit searched the premises west of Paris on May 18, taking away company files, a police source said. French authorities suspect McDonald's has been illegally lowering its tax bill by channelling French earnings to Luxembourg, where its European headquarters is based, and where corporate
  
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• U.S. rates may rise 'fairly soon,' Brexit a concern: Fed's Powell

  26-05-2016 21:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Howard Schneider and Lindsay Dunsmuir WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve on Thursday continued to lay the groundwork for an interest rate increase in the next two months, with a senior policymaker saying the economy will likely be ready for such a move "fairly soon." Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell, a voting member of the U.S. central bank's rate-setting committee, said in a speech in Washington that he felt the economy was on a "solid footing" and within reach of the Fed'
  
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• Bank of Canada hires former Merrill Lynch economist as advisor

  26-05-2016 21:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Bank of Canada has hired former Merrill Lynch economist Sheryl King as an advisor who will represent the central bank in its New York office, it said on Thursday. King will report to Deputy Governor Lynn Patterson and work closely with the Consulate General of Canada in New York, the Bank of Canada said in a statement. "Ms. King will promote and strengthen ties between the Bank of Canada and New York's financial and economic communities, with an emphasis on financial market and financial sta
  
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• If you waste $50 each time you skip class, would you do it?

  26-05-2016 21:11
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - As college attendance wanes through the semester, one professor teaches her 300 geoscience students how to work out the cost of cutting class.
  
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• Philips Lighting unit valued at 3.0 billion euros in IPO

  26-05-2016 21:08
  
  AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Philips said on Thursday it has set pricing in the initial public offering of its lighting arm at 20 euros per share.
  
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• U.N. calls for emergency economic body to prop up Yemen economy

  26-05-2016 20:49 via news.yahoo.com
  The United Nations envoy to Yemen said on Thursday he has proposed setting up an economic rescue body to save the country's economy from collapse as peace talks drag on with no agreement yet in sight. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed did not give any details of who would sit on such a body or what it would do but said a further fall in the rial currency in the past two weeks had added to strains on Yemenis ahead of the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan. "The situation, if it remains as it is, will lead to mo
  
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• CFPB fines ex-Wells Fargo employee over mortgage fee-shifting scheme

  26-05-2016 20:42
  
  (Reuters) - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined former Wells Fargo & Co employee David Eghbali $85,000 and banned him from working in the mortgage industry for a year for an illegal...
  
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• Saudi Aramco boosting market share as it prepares for listing: CEO

  26-05-2016 20:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Saudi oil giant Aramco is gaining market share and pushing for greater efficiency, chief executive Amin Nasser said in an interview, as it acts as a "bridge" to a future when the nation relies less on energy exports. Nasser also told Reuters that the state-owned group was pressing on with preparations for its partial privatization via a stock market listing, which he said lay at the heart of Riyadh's "Vision 2030", a long-term economic plan headed by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Riya
  
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• U.S. business spending mired in weakness, but economy picking up

  26-05-2016 19:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. business spending intentions weakened in April for a third straight month amid soft demand for machinery, but a surge in contracts to purchase previously owned homes to a 10-year high supported views economic growth was gaining speed. The growth picture was further boosted by another report on Thursday showing the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, pushing them back to near cycle lows. The Commerce Department said orders for non-defense capi
  
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• Wall Street lower as material stocks weigh

  26-05-2016 19:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Ankur Banerjee REUTERS - Wall Street was slightly lower on Thursday as material stocks fell and after oil struggled to stay above the psychologically important $50-per-barrel mark. Oil has rallied in recent weeks as wildfires in Canada and unrest in Nigeria and Libya brought a faster-than-expected recovery to an oversupplied market. [O/R] "The global surplus still exists and there is still a possibility that oil prices could retrace further," said Dominick Chirichella, senior partner at the E
  
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• Gawker hires bank, makes 'contingency' plans after Hogan lawsuit

  26-05-2016 19:46
  
  (Reuters) - Gawker Media, the New York-based owner of online news and gossip website Gawker.com, is exploring a sale following a court ruling that it pay $140 million to wrestler Hulk Hogan over the...
  
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• Beijing picks London for first yuan-bond outside China

  26-05-2016 19:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  China's government has launched a renminbi-denominated sovereign bond in London, the first of its kind outside of the world's second biggest economy, Britain's Treasury said on Thursday. Beijing issued a bond worth 3.0 billion renminbi (RMB) ($460 million, 400 millions euros), the Treasury said in a statement. "Choosing London as the destination to issue this bond -- the first Chinese sovereign RMB bond issued outside of China -- reinforces the UK's strong economic and financial relationship wit
  
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• Clinical trials firm BioClinica explores sale: sources

  26-05-2016 18:59
  
  (Reuters) - BioClinica Inc, a U.S. pharmaceutical contract research organization owned by buyout firm JLL Partners, is exploring a sale that could value it at as much as $1.3 billion, including debt,...
  
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• Global markets lifted by oil surge

  26-05-2016 18:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Global optimism lifted equity markets Thursday, fuelled by oil breaking through $50 for the first time this year, but Wall Street drifted lower on profit-taking. Higher oil prices boosted the profits, revenues and share prices of energy companies and Asian stock markets were first to feel the benefit, with energy stocks in Europe and the US also attracting strong buying interest. In Europe, Frankfurt, London and Paris extended Wednesday's gains that were won on the back of a financing deal for G
  
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• Fed's Powell says interest rates could rise 'fairly soon'

  26-05-2016 18:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A U.S. rate hike may come "fairly soon" if data confirm the economy is continuing to grow and labor markets are still tightening, Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell said on Thursday in remarks that may help tee up higher rates as soon as mid-June. Powell said the economy remains on a "solid footing" and that he views ongoing job growth and evidence of rising wages as being more important than recent weakness in consumer spending and business investment. "There are good reasons to think that
  
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• South African wheat prices hit record high on import tariffs

  26-05-2016 18:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  South African wheat prices hit an all time high on Thursday as the market reacted to an expected 30 percent hike in import tariffs due to a weak rand and falling global prices. Africa's most industrialised economy is set to increase the tariff to 1,591.40 rand ($102.58) from 1,224.30 rand currently, according to a notice on the South African Grain Information Services website published on late on Wednesday. The expected tariff hike is based on a formula using current world wheat prices and rand
  
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• China hits back as G7 talk about economy

  26-05-2016 18:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  World leaders focused Thursday on pumping up the global economy and worries over the growing clout of China -- which promptly told the G7 club of rich nations to mind its own business. Presidents and prime ministers from the Group of Seven huddled in Japan for two days of meetings, with the refugee crisis, terrorism, the threat of North Korea and sanctions against Russia also filling up their packed agenda.
  
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• Oil tests out $50 a barrel as supply concerns resurface

  26-05-2016 17:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Oil prices tested the $50-per-barrel mark on Thursday as production outages brought a faster-than-expected recovery to an oversupplied market many thought will stay depressed through the year. While a crude glut could grow in coming months if demand stalls, wildfires in Canada's oil sands, unrest in the Nigerian and Libyan energy sectors, and a near economic meltdown in OPEC member Venezuela have knocked out nearly 4 million barrels per day in immediate production. Brent was up 14 cents at $49.8
  
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• Wall Street lower as oil prices slip

  26-05-2016 17:38 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were trading slightly lower on Thursday, after a strong two-day run, as oil prices slipped below the psychologically important $50 a barrel.
  
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• Gawker exploring sale following Hulk Hogan case: New York Post

  26-05-2016 17:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Gawker Media, the New York-based owner of online news and gossip website Gawker.com, is exploring a sale following a court ruling that it pay $140 million to wrestler Hulk Hogan over the publication of a sex tape, the New York Post reported. The Wall Street Journal later also reported that Gawker, founded and run by Nick Denton, had hired investment banker Mark Patricof of Houlihan Lokey to explore strategic options, including a sale. Hogan sued the website for posting a video clip i
  
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• Banco Popular capital hike sparks renewed Spanish bank fears

  26-05-2016 17:26
  
  MADRID (Reuters) - Banco Populartriggered renewed concerns over the health of Spanish banks on Thursday with plans for its second 2.5 billion euro ($2.8 billion) capital increase in less than four...
  
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• Takata in rescue talks with KKR, other investors: sources

  26-05-2016 17:04
  
  TOKYO (Reuters) - Takata Corpis in bailout talks with a number of potential investors including private equity firm KKR & Co , people familiar with the matter said on Thursday, driving up shares in...
  
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• McDonald's French HQ raided in tax probe: police

  26-05-2016 17:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  French police said Thursday they raided the French headquarters of McDonald's and seized documents last week as part of an investigation into tax fraud. Agents of a special corruption, financial and tax crime unit searched the premises west of Paris on May 18, taking away company files, a police source said. French authorities suspect McDonald's has been illegally lowering its tax bill by channelling French earnings to Luxembourg, where its European headquarters is based, and where corporate tax
  
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• Fed's Bullard says markets have better reading now on chances of rate hike

  26-05-2016 16:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Financial markets have a more appropriate reading now on the chances of a U.S. interest rate rise in June than before, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Thursday. "I think they read the minutes correctly," Bullard told reporters after a speech in Singapore, referring to the minutes of the Fed's latest policy meeting in April. Global investors, many of whom had assumed the Federal Reserve was in no rush to raise interest rates, were jolted last week by the minutes which su
  
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• Prosper Marketplace hires banks to explore options: sources

  26-05-2016 16:46
  
  (Reuters) - Prosper Marketplace has hired investment banks Financial Technology Partners LP and JPMorgan Chase & Coto explore strategic alternatives, including selling equity in the company,...
  
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• From Easter Island to Stonehenge, climate change threatens iconic tourist sites

  26-05-2016 16:41 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Extreme weather is becoming one of the biggest risks to World Heritage icons like the Polynesian Easter Island or Britain's Stonehenge, posing a threat to tourism and economies alike, scientists and U.N. experts said on Thursday. Developing countries such as Nepal, home to Mount Everest, and Uganda, where tourists travel to see mountain gorillas, may be particularly hard hit as they rely on income from tourism more than developed countries, the experts said in a report. It's an economic driver t
  
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• Far more donations to 'Out' than 'In' ahead of UK's EU referendum

  26-05-2016 16:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - Groups campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union have pulled ahead of those urging Britons to remain in the bloc in the race to raise funds, the Electoral Commission said on Thursday. Britons will vote on June 23 on whether to remain in the 28-member EU, the world's largest trading bloc, a choice with far-reaching consequences for politics, the economy, defense and diplomacy in Britain and far beyond. Opinion polls have given conflicting steers on
  
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• LPC: Dell’s window wide open for EMC acquisition loan

  26-05-2016 16:29
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Computer giant Dell’s decision to wait out months of extreme credit market volatility appears to have paid off as it launched the biggest US syndicated term loan since last...
  
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• U.S. durable goods orders surge; weekly jobless claims fall

  26-05-2016 16:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods surged in April on strong demand for transportation equipment and a range of other products, but continued weakness in business spending plans suggested the manufacturing rout was far from over. Other data on Thursday showed new applications for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, indicating the economy was gaining momentum after growth braked sharply in the first quarter. The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods,
  
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• Madoff victims may soon recoup another $247 million

  26-05-2016 16:18
  
  (Reuters) - Nearly 7-1/2 years after Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme was unmasked, the court-appointed trustee recouping money for the swindler's victims on Thursday sought court approval to free up...
  
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• US durable goods orders strengthen in April

  26-05-2016 16:13 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The US economy's manufacturing sector showed more pep in April with a 3.4 percent surge in orders for durable goods like cars, aircraft, and electronics, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Total durable goods orders rose to $235.9 billion in April, compared to $228.3 billion the previous month.
  
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• Wall Street flat as stocks pause after recent rally

  26-05-2016 16:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks were little changed at the open on Thursday, taking a breather from their robust two-day run, as investors keenly await a speech from Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Friday. Comments from policymakers in recent days and upbeat U.S. economic data have raised expectations that the Federal Reserve could pull the trigger on a rate increase much sooner than previously thought. "The market will be looking for some direction from Yellen.
  
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• MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi shares drop despite oil over $50 but Dubai lifted

  26-05-2016 16:04 via news.yahoo.com
  * Saudi bourse falls as investors lack encouragement to build positions * But petrochemical stocks gain as oil breaks $50 * Dubai index gains for fourth session in a row * Dubai Parks surges over 6 pct after raising share capital * Egypt slips as local traders exit stock market By Celine Aswad DUBAI, May 26 (Reuters) - A break in Brent crude prices over $50 a barrel failed to support Saudi Arabia's index on Thursday, but helped carry Dubai's index higher for a fourth session. Other markets were
  
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• U.S. jobless claims fall more than expected last week

  26-05-2016 15:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, moving back to near cycle lows as the labor markets remain healthy and the economy regains momentum after stumbling in the first quarter. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 268,000 for the week ended May 21, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast initial claims falling to 275,000 in the latest week.
  
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• Poland's rule of law dispute keeps some investors away: deputy PM

  26-05-2016 15:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Jan Strupczewski BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A constitutional dispute between the new Polish government and the European Union is deterring some foreign investors, Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday. Morawiecki, in charge of economic policy for the new, eurosceptic government, was answering a question on the fallout from a rare investigation by the European Commission into whether Polish government policies are threatening the rule of law.
  
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• BRIEF-Moretime Professional Services to file for bankruptcy

  26-05-2016 14:59
  
  * Board has decided to sell 100 pct of shares in subsidiary Moretime Business Partner AB to
  subsidiary of Nordic accounting and IT company ECIT AS
  
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• Not junk mail: Social Security letter can cut Medicare costs

  26-05-2016 14:52
  
  CHICAGO (Reuters) - The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
  
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• Reformist deputy PM's wings clipped in new Turkish government

  26-05-2016 14:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Seda Sezer ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, an economic reformer whose reappointment this week had initially reassured investors, will see his responsibilities shrink in the new cabinet, with some transferred to an ally of populist President Tayyip Erdogan. Finance Minister Naci Agbal told Reuters on Tuesday the government would take "swift and bold" economic decisions this year.
  
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• Thyssenkrupp says elevator unit core after report on Kone interest

  26-05-2016 14:27
  
  DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - Thyssenkruppsaid its elevator business was a core part of the company, responding to a German magazine report that Finnish rival Konehad proposed a merger at the...
  
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• Thai trading firm Berli to raise $6 billion via equity, bond issues

  26-05-2016 14:21
  
  BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's Berli Jucker Pclsaid it planned to sell bonds and new shares via a rights issue and a private placement to raise up to 214 billion baht ($6.02 billion) and pay debt...
  
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