Business

BEIJING (AP) — Asia stock markets followed Wall Street lower Wednesday as investors looked ahead to a speech by the Federal Reserve chairman for signs of possible plans for more U.S. interest rate cuts.

Benchmarks in Tokyo, Shanghai and Australia declined while South Korea advanced.

U.S. stocks fell Tuesday after another slide in bond yields and a mixed batch of corporate earnings. Financial sector stocks led the declines.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump acknowledged Tuesday his aggressive China trade policies may mean economic pain for Americans but insisted they’re needed for more important long-term benefits. He contended he does not fear a recession but is nonetheless considering new tax cuts to promote growth.

Asked if his trade war with China could tip the country into recession, Trump brushed off the idea as “irrelevant” and said it was imperative to “take China on.”

“It’s about time, whether it’s good for our country or bad for our country short term,” he said.

20 Aug 2019; MEMO: Swiss prosecutors have ordered that an Israeli billionaire should stand trial on corruption and bribery charges allegedly involving a widow of the former President of Guinea, international news agencies have reported.

SALALAH, Oman, Aug 20 (NNN-ONA) – The Arab Conference on Sustainable Cities, kicked off on Monday in Salalah, Oman, aiming to discuss sustainable urban planning strategies and the role of real estate developers in sustainable development.

The two-day conference would review several topics, including sustainable urban development, smart cities, urban planning and design standards, smart partnerships for real estate developers, and local, regional and global models of urban development.

Lucknow, Aug 19 (PTI) Petrol and diesel prices in Uttar Pradesh will go up by Rs 2.5 and Re 1 respectively from Monday midnight as the government increased VAT.

The Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol has been increased to 26.80 per cent or Rs 16.74 per litre (whichever is higher) and on diesel 17.48 per cent or Rs 9.41 per litre (whichever is higher), according to an official order.

The order will come into effect from Monday midnight.

Mumbai, Aug 20 (PTI) The rupee opened on a weak note and fell 23 paise to 71.66 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday amid rising crude oil prices and unabated foreign fund outflows.

On Monday, the rupee had tumbled 29 paise to close at an over six-month low of 71.43 against the US dollar amid growing worries over economic slump.

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/: OPEC+ countries participating in the Vienna Agreement on the reduction of oil production fulfilled the terms of the agreement by 159% in July 2019, a source told TASS after the meeting in absentia of the OPEC+ technical committee.

"The percentage of fulfillment of the agreement in July is 159%," the source said.

20 August 2019; AFP: Huawei on Tuesday dismissed Washington's three-month delay to a ban on US firms selling to the Chinese tech giant and said the decision would not change the fact it had been "treated unjustly".

The US Commerce Department effectively suspended for a second time tough rules stopping the sale of components and services to the telecoms titan and a prohibition on buying equipment from it.

TEHRAN, Iran, Aug 19 (NNN-TASNIM) – Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Sunday reiterated Iran’s position, for the departure of foreign forces from the region.

Zarif made the remarks, in a meeting with Kuwait’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, in Kuwait on Sunday.

Zarif urged cooperation among regional states, saying, outsiders will have to leave the region, ultimately.

LONDON, Aug 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — A confidential government dossier warning of the impact of a no-deal Brexit was described Sunday as a worst-case scenario document.

Michael Gove, the cabinet minister tasked by Prime Minister Boris Johnson with preparing for a no-deal departure by Britain from the European Union, commented after details from the dossier were published in London by the Sunday Times.