International

• Wednesday, October 18th 2017 - 08:24 UTC

  The Fed started to reduce its US$4 trillion boost portfolio from the financial crisis

  

  The Federal Reserve has started to run down some of the investments it made to boost the US economy after the financial crisis. The Fed holds a US$4.2trn portfolio of US Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities, and it will initially cut up to US$10bn each month from the amount it reinvests.

• Wednesday, October 18th 2017 - 07:21 UTC

  OECD suggests “reversing the Brexit process” would boost the UK economy

  

  Reversing the Brexit process would boost the UK economy, the international economic body, the OECD has said. A new referendum or a change of government leading to the UK staying within the EU would have a “significant” positive impact on growth, the OECD said.

• Wednesday, October 18th 2017 - 07:16 UTC

  The “Amazon Effect” is coming to oil markets

  

  By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com - While OPEC mulls over further steps to once again support falling oil prices, tech startups are quietly ushering in a new era in oil and gas: the era of the digital oil field. Much talk has revolved around how software can completely transform the energy industry, but until recently, it was just talk.

• Tuesday, October 17th 2017 - 18:47 UTC

  Business calls on the Bank of England to delay raising interest rates

  

  Bank of England should hold off from raising interest rates next month, according to a forecasting body. Bank governor Mark Carney has said rates could go up in the “relatively near term”, with many analysts expecting a hike in November. However, the EY Item Club said such a move risked hurting the UK's “fragile economic outlook”.

• Tuesday, October 17th 2017 - 11:59 UTC

  Argentina's Ferreira Rubio elected chair of Transparency International

  

  Delia Matilde Ferreira Rubio was elected chair of Transparency International, the global anti-corruption movement, at its Annual Membership Meeting in Berlin. Rueben Lifuka was elected as vice-chair, along with seven new board members. All will serve a three-year term.

• Tuesday, October 17th 2017 - 11:51 UTC

  May and Juncker agree “Brexit negotiations should accelerate”, but differences remain

  

  Brexit negotiations should “accelerate over the months to come,” says a joint statement from the UK prime minister and the president of the EU Commission. Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker met in Brussels on Monday for a dinner they called “constructive and friendly”.

• Tuesday, October 17th 2017 - 11:45 UTC

  Airbus takes a majority stake in Bombardier frustrating Boeing's strategy

  

  Canada's Bombardier Inc. announced on Monday it has sold a majority stake in its CSeries passenger jet business to European aerospace giant Airbus for no cost. The move comes after lackluster sales and after the U.S. Commerce Department imposed harsh duties on Bombardier, charging the Montreal-based company is selling the CSeries planes in the U.S. below cost and receiving government subsidies.

• Tuesday, October 17th 2017 - 11:41 UTC

  Madrid tells Catalonia's leader he has until Thursday to comply with Spanish law

  

  Spain’s deputy prime minister has said that Catalonia’s leader did not give an adequate response in his letter about the region’s independence and has until Thursday to comply with the country’s laws. Carles Puigdemont’s letter, issued two hours before a Monday deadline, did not clarify whether he in fact declared Catalonia’s independence from Spain. He called for talks with Spain’s government.

• Tuesday, October 17th 2017 - 11:35 UTC

  Two Catalan independence leaders remanded and charged with sedition

  

  A Spanish judge has remanded two key members of the Catalan independence movement in jail. Jordi Sánchez, who heads the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), and Jordi Cuixart, leader of Omnium Cultural, are being held without bail while they are under investigation for sedition.

• Tuesday, October 17th 2017 - 11:23 UTC

  Political killing of investigative reporter and government critic in Malta

  

  A prominent blogger in the Republic of Malta, who had accused the island's government of corruption, has died in a car bomb attack, according to police. Daphne Caruana Galizia, 53, was reportedly killed when the car she was driving exploded shortly after she left her home in Bidnija, near Mosta.