Business

1 Apr 2019; DW: The United States has halted deliveries to Turkey of equipment related to the F-35 fighter jet, the Pentagon said Monday, ramping up pressure on its NATO ally over the planned purchase of Russia's S-400 missile defense system.

TUNIS, April 1. /TASS/. Tunisia’s company TELNET on Monday signed a contract with the Russian operator of commercial launches of Soyuz-2 rockets GK Launch Services for putting in space Tunisia’s first satellite, the Webmanagercenter portal said.

The Tunisian group TELNET held a special ceremony at the Digital Research Center in Sfax on Monday of signing a contract for launching in 2020 its first satellite Challenge ONE with Russia’s Soyuz-2 rocket. Taking part in the ceremony were GK Launch Services CEO Alexander Serkin and TELNET CEO Mohamed Frikha.

CARACAS, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced Monday that he had decided to name a new minister of electricity.

"I have decided to designate a worker from the electricity industry with 25 years of experience, an electrical engineer," said Maduro, referring to the newly appointed minister Igor Gavidia.

Gavidia is an engineering graduate from the Central University of Venezuela and was president of the former electricity company Electrificacion del Caroni.

CAPE TOWN, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) will double its loan approval book from its current 8 billion U.S. dollars to about 16 billion dollars during 2019, the bank's president Kundapur Vaman Kamath said on Monday.

"In 2019, the bank will build on the strong momentum in our operations and aims to double its loan approval book to about 16 billion dollars," Kamath said at the 4th Annual Meeting of the NDB Board of Governors taking place in Cape Town.

SHANGHAI, April 1 (Xinhua) -- World famous consumer brands including Apple, Louis Vuitton and Gucci have announced their decisions to cut their suggested retail prices to give the gains from China's value-added tax (VAT) cut to consumers.

China on Monday started to slash VAT in multiple industries.

Apple's online store in China lowered the price of iPhone XS and iPhone XS MAX by 500 yuan (74.6 U.S. dollars), while that of iPhone XR dropped 300 yuan. Its newly launched iPad Air, iPad mini and AirPods are also on the price-cut list.

LONDON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- British lawmakers on Monday voted to turn down all the four proposed Brexit options on the table, the second time since Friday that none of MPs' proposed Brexit options wins clear backing in the House of Commons.

MPs voted down all the four Brexit proposals chosen by House Speaker John Bercow in a bid to break the current Brexit deadlock. The British government has until April 12 to decide how Britain will leave the European Union (EU).

New Delhi, Apr 1; PTI/GANASHAKTI: GST collections scaled record high of Rs 1.06 lakh crore in March, up from Rs 97,247 crore in the previous month, as compliance improved amid increased number of returns filed.

"Total gross GST revenue collected in March, 2019 is Rs 1,06,577 crore of which Central GST is Rs 20,353 crore, State GST is Rs 27,520 crore, Integrated GST is Rs 50,418 crore and cess is Rs 8,286 crore," an official statement said.

Total number of summary sales return GSTR-3B filed for the month of February up to March 31, stood at 75.95 lakh.

KRASNOYARSK, April 1. /TASS/. Russia’s aluminum producer Rusal has fully resumed supplies of primary aluminum to the United States and Europe to the level prior to US sanctions, Chief Executive Officer Evgenii Nikitin said in an interview with TASS at the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum on Monday.

"The volume (of supplies to Europe and US - TASS) has been fully resumed on aluminum. It has not been resumed on alloys, though we are working towards that," he said.

CEO noted that the company continues resuming supplies to all export markets in pre-sanctions volumes.

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares surged Monday in Europe and Asia after the release over the weekend of encouraging manufacturing data in China that suggest government stimulus may be gaining traction.

Germany’s DAX gained 1.0 percent to 11,634.87 while the CAC40 in France jumped 0.9 percent to 5,396.96. Britain’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.8 percent to 7,340.09. Wall Street looked set to extend gains from last week, with the future contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.7 percent to 26,103.00. That for the S&P 500 also gained 0.7 percent, to 2,856.90.

LONDON (AP) — Further evidence has emerged that British manufacturers are building up their cushions against the possibility the country crashes out of the European Union without a deal.

Financial information firm IHS Markit found that Brexit stockpiling is giving a boost to production — at least temporarily.

According to the firm, its purchasing managers index for the sector rose to a 13-month high in March to 55.1, up three points from the previous month. Anything above 50 indicates an expansion in output.