Reuters

07

Aug

Election, Joe Biden, Reuters, running mate, USA

Reuters: Biden will soon pick a running mate. Here are the front-runners

PEJOURNAL - Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden is expected to announce his running mate ahead of his party’s national convention that kicks off on Aug. 17. Biden has vowed to choose a woman as his potential vice president. Here are the contenders likely under consideration, according to people familiar with the process. Senator Kamala Harris Following widespread protests over racial injustice and police brutality, pressure increased on Biden to choose a woman of color. Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian parents, fits the bill. Harris, 55, is widely viewed as a favorite. She is a battle-tested former presidential…

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16

Jul

Barack Obama, Elon Musk, FBI, Joe Biden, Kim Kardashian, Reuters, Twitter, Twitter hacking

Reuters: FBI is leading an inquiry into the Twitter hack

PEJOURNAL - The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading a federal inquiry into the Twitter hacking, two sources familiar with the situation said to Reuters, after hackers seized control of accounts belonging to Joe Biden, Kim Kardashian and others in what appeared to be a bitcoin scam. Earlier the FBI had said: “We are aware of today’s security incident involving several Twitter accounts belonging to high profile individuals. The accounts appear to have been compromised in order to perpetuate cryptocurrency fraud.” The FBI’s San Francisco division is leading this inquiry into the Twitter hacking, as more Washington lawmakers called…

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14

Jul

Asian markets, Corona virus, COVID19, Nasdaq, Reuters, U.S.-China tensions

Reuters: Asian markets struggle to digest coronavirus spike

PEJOURNAL - Asian shares are showing a mixed picture on Tuesday after a volatile day in U.S. equity markets amid persistent concerns over the record number of new coronavirus cases worldwide and signs of an economic rebound. Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures lost 0.76% in early trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures added 0.22%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures rose 0.39%. E-mini futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.21%. After a strong start in the United States, equity markets sold off when California announced it was slowing the state’s reopening, shutting bars and banning indoor restaurant dining statewide in response…

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14

Jul

EU, Fitbit, Google, Reuters

Reuters: Google offers data pledge in bid to win EU okay for Fitbit buy

PEJOURNAL - Alphabet Inc’s Google has offered not to use health data of fitness tracker company Fitbit to help it target ads in an attempt to address EU antitrust concerns about its proposed $2.1 billion acquisition, the U.S. tech company said late on Monday. The bid, announced in November last year, would help Google take on market leader Apple and Samsung in the fitness-tracking and smart-watch market, alongside others including Huawei and Xiaomi. “This deal is about devices, not data. We appreciate the opportunity to work with the European Commission on an approach that safeguards consumers’ expectations that Fitbit device…

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06

Jul

BP, CIMB, Energy, Hontop, Malaysia, Oil, Reuters, Singapore

Reuters: CIMB alleges ‘suspicious’ Hontop Energy oil deals with BP

PEJOURNAL - Singapore’s High Court has appointed an independent supervisor to oversee the restructuring of trader Hontop Energy. The move came after Malaysian lender CIMB, its biggest creditor, raised concerns about what it described as ‘suspicious’ deals involving oil major BP, according to an affidavit filed with the court this week and reviewed by Reuters. Hontop, the trading arm of Chinese independent refiner China Wanda Holding Group Co Ltd, is one of four commodity trading firms in Singapore which ran into financial trouble as the oil price crashed. CIMB is seeking repayment of $105 million it lent the company. In…

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16

Jun

economic recovery, Reuters, U.S. stock indexes, Wall Street

Reuters: Wall Street closes higher on signs of economic recovery

PEJOURNAL - Wall Street advanced on Tuesday as the prospect of additional stimulus and a record jump in retail sales suggested the U.S. economy could bounce back sooner than expected, five months into its pandemic-inflicted recession. All three major U.S. stock indexes posted their third consecutive daily gains. The Dow and the S&P remain about 11% and 8% below their respective record closing highs reached in February, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq hovers about 1% below its all-time closing high reached on June 10. Data released by the Commerce Department showed retail sales jumped by a record 17.7% in May, blowing…

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16

Jun

China, Pompeo, Reuters, U.S.

Reuters: Pompeo to meet Chinese delegation in Hawaii this week

PEJOURNAL - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to meet a Chinese delegation at a U.S. military base in Hawaii this week to discuss bilateral ties that have soured deeply since the start of the year, sources familiar with the matter said. In addition to an intensifying strategic rivalry, the world’s top two economies have been at loggerheads in recent months over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic and China’s move to impose new security legislation on Hong Kong. Experts say relations have reached their lowest point in years, and in mid-May President Donald Trump even went so far…

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14

Jun

Black Lives Matter, economic growth, Hispanic Americans, racism, Reuters

Reuters: Systemic racism slows economic growth: Dallas Fed chief Kaplan

PEJOURNAL - Systemic racism and high unemployment levels among black and Hispanic Americans create a drag on the U.S. economy, Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan said on Sunday. “A more inclusive economy where everyone has an opportunity will mean faster workforce growth, faster productivity growth and will grow faster,” Kaplan said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Kaplan said he agreed with his counterpart at the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank, Raphael Bostic - the Fed’s only African-American policymaker - who on Friday called for an end to racism and laid out ways the U.S. central bank can help. The comments…

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14

Jun

France, Macron, racism, Reuters, statues

Reuters: Macron says France won’t remove statues, erase history

PEJOURNAL - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday fighting racism should not lead to a “hateful” re-writing of history following worldwide protests over the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a police officer in the United States. Some protesters in the United States and elsewhere have targeted statues of historic figures associated with slavery or other past human rights abuses. “I will be very clear tonight, compatriots: the Republic won’t erase any name from its history. It will forget none of its artworks, it won’t take down statues,” he said in a televised address to the nation.

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