Libya supreme court 'invalidates elected parliament' | ||
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Tripoli (AFP) - Libya's supreme court invalidated the country's internationally recognised parliament on Thursday, news agency LANA reported, setting the stage for more political chaos in the violence-wracked nation. The court had been asked by an Islamist lawmaker to rule on the constitutionality of the June 25 vote that led to the creation of Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani's government, one of two rival administrations in the country. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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EU 'ready to punish Luxembourg over tax' if needed: Juncker aide | ||
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Brussels (AFP) - The EU is already probing Luxembourg's tax breaks for global firms and will take action if necessary, a spokesman for European commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said Thursday after leaked documents on the deals were published. "If the decision is negative, Luxembourg will have to take corrective actions," Margaritis Schinas, the spokesman for former Luxembourg prime minister Juncker, told AFP. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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UK Industrial Production Comes In Better Than Expected | ||
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UK Industrial production increased by 0.6% between August and September, which is better than the expected 0.4% increase. The marginal uptick reflects increases of 3.8% in mining and quarrying, 0.4% in manufacturing, and 1.5% in the water supply, sewerage, and waste management sector, the Office of National Statistics said. Production and manufacturing increased by 1.5% year-over-year in September.
Markets are down in Europe. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Markets Are Down Ahead Of The ECB's Big Announcement | ||
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European stocks are down ahead of the ECB decision on rates and policy at 12.45 p.m. GMT. A press conference will follow at 1.30 p.m. GMT. Germany's DAX is down 0.14% Spain's IBEX is down 0.57% Italy's FTSE MIB is down 0.65% The UK's FTSE 100 is down 0.33% France's CAC 40 is down 0.36% In Asia, the Nikkei closed down 0.86% after rallying since Friday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed down 0.20%. US futures are slightly lower: the S&P is down 4.5 points and the Dow is down 26 points. Today's big economic event is the European Central Bank's policy decision and president Mario Draghi's press conference. Analysts aren't expecting much action, but Draghi will likely face questions about growing rifts at the ECB. At 9.30 a.m. GMT the UK's industrial production numbers for September are out, with a 0.4% boost since August expected. Later on from the US, at 1.30 p.m. GMT initial jobless claims numbers will be out, with 285,000 applications for unemployment benefits expected. Data on unit labour costs and productivity will be released at the same time. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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McDowell off to flying start at WGC-HSBC Champions | ||
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Shanghai (AFP) - Former US Open champion Graeme McDowell gave himself a two-shot cushion ahead of the field after the first round of the WGC-HSBC Champions Thursday. Starting on the 10th, the Northern Irishman scorched through his first 12 holes in seven-under par. Despite two bogeys coming in "G-Mac" was pleased with his opening five-under par 67 at Sheshan which put him two shots clear of six players tied for second on three-under. "A big key to this golf course is driving the ball well," McDowell told reporters afterwards. "I drove it very well today. I think I missed only one fairway, which is very important. Set up a few opportunities. The greens are in fantastic shape and I putted very well. "So seven-under par through 12 holes was a beautiful start. Dropped a couple coming in, but all in all, very pleased with five-under par on what I thought was a reasonably tricky day." McDowell, the 2010 US Open champion, lies 16th on the European Tour's Race to Dubai and needs a high finish in the $8.5 million event here to achieve his goal of getting a shot at a $5 million bonus pool for the top 15 players after the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in a fortnight's time. The wind switched Thursday and blew harder than on the practice days. With narrow fairways and lush, punishing rough after nearly a week of rain in the city, it all meant that only seven players broke 70 on the par-72, 7,261-yard Sheshan International Golf Club layout. "This is as tough off the tee as I think I've ever seen this golf course," McDowell added. "If we get three more days of this, I don't think sort of 10-under, 12-under par is going to get beat out there." One of the sextet in second on three-under par 69 is this year's US Open champion Martin Kaymer. "I think it's a very good score," said the German world number 13. "So even when I was at one point level par today, but just kept telling myself you will have plenty of birdie chances, so you just need to be patient." Joining Kaymer on three-under are Americans Rickie Fowler, Brandt Snedeker and Chris Kirk, plus England's Tommy Fleetwood and South Africa's Tim Clark. "The rough is very rough," said Fowler, who finished in the top five of every major championship in 2014. "I drove the ball well today and hit a lot of fairways. I think I only missed two. That made things a lot easier for me out there. I was able to stay in the short grass today." Eleven players are a shot further adrift after carding two-under par rounds of 70. They include world number two Adam Scott of Australia, and the England pair of former world number one Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, who won this tournament two years ago when it played at Mission Hills in Shenzhen. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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