Asia Dodges Emerging Slump as Trade Trumps Ukraine: Currencies

By Lilian Karunungan  

Photographer: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images

Ukrainian loyalist fighters stand guard on a hill on the outskirts of Mariupol.... Read More

The faltering emerging-market currency rally is stronger than ever in Asia.
Of the nine developing-nation exchange-rates to strengthen in August, six were from Asia, with South Korea’s won and Malaysia’s ringgit leading the gains. A Bloomberg index of the 20 most-traded emerging-market currencies posted its first back-to-back monthly drop since January as geopolitical strife and the withdrawal of extraordinary monetary stimulus in the U.S. makes investors choosier about where they put their cash.
Asian countries are being favored because of their

Kurd Rebels Fighting Islamic State Boost Hand for Turkey Talks

By Selcan Hacaoglu  

Photographer: Vianney Le Caer/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Yezidi refugees from Sinjar live beneath a motorway underpass located at the entrance... Read More

After fighting the Turkish army for decades, the Kurdistan Workers Party is now confronting a foe that’s shared by its erstwhile enemy, strengthening the group’s hand in talks on a political settlement.
Fighters linked to the PKK, as the group is known, are battling the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, according to Turkish and Kurdish officials and media. The PKK, branded a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and European Union, is also in talks with the Ankara government to end a 30-year armed struggle for autonomy.
Moves toward Kurdish self-rule elsewhere in

U.K. Must Back One Airport Hub to Gain Trade Links, CBI Says

By Kari Lundgren  

Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg

Aircraft stand parked on the tarmac at departure and arrival gates at London Heathrow... Read More

Britain should back the development of a single hub airport to lock in essential trading links to emerging markets and ensure long-term economic growth, the Confederation of British Industry said today.
Hubs like London Heathrow, Europe’s busiest, “act as a catalyst for new routes,” serving almost three times as many destinations as point-to-point rivals, according to a CBI report based on research by Steer Davies & Gleave. Each service to a high-growth market can boost trade by as much as 128 million pounds ($212 million) a year, the CBI said.
The industry group’s comments appear to favor expansion of Heathrow over the development of London Gatwick, Europe’s top single-runway airport, after the

Vodafone Heads to Spain to Protest EU Network Traffic Rules

By Amy Thomson

Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) will use a technology conference in Spain today to criticize proposed rules for handling Web traffic on networks in Europe that the company says will hurt its business and discourage innovation.
Chief Executive Officer Vittorio Colao will join a roundtable discussion in Santander as European leaders meet in Brussels and will decide rules that would prevent carriers from blocking websites or degrading network quality.
Carriers are resisting more restrictions from the European Union as other companies flood networks with content. Netflix Inc. is expanding its

Apple Said to Team With Visa, MasterCard on IPhone Wallet

By Matt Townsend

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Apple Inc. (AAPL) plans to turn its next iPhone into a mobile wallet through a partnership with major payment networks, banks and retailers, according a person familiar with the situation.
The agreement includes Visa Inc. (V), MasterCard Inc. (MA) and American Express Co. (AXP) and will be unveiled on Sept. 9 along with the next iPhone, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.
The new iPhone will make mobile payment easier by including a near-field communication chip for the first time, the person said. That advancement along with

CaixaBank to Buy Barclays’s Spanish Businesses for $1.1 B

By Charles Penty and Macarena Munoz

Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Antony Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Plc, is cutting costs, shrinking... Read More

CaixaBank SA (CABK), Spain’s third-biggest lender, agreed to buy banking operations in the country from Barclays Plc (BARC) for about 800 million euros ($1.1 billion) in cash to expand its business as economic growth picks up.
The sale includes retail banking, wealth and investment management and corporate banking businesses, CaixaBank, based in Barcelona, said in a statement yesterday. The price represents about 40 percent of the book value, it said.
CaixaBank will add about 270 branches to its

Tusk Mixes Charm, Pragmatism as EU’s First Eastern Leader

By Piotr Skolimowski and David McQuaid  

Photographer: Thierry Charlier/AFP via Getty Images

New European Union Council President Donald Tusk during a Special European Summit held... Read More

Donald Tusk relied on a mix of charm and pragmatism to rise to the top of Polish politics and stay in power longer than anyone since the Cold War. Being the European Union’s president will test the extent of those talents.
Emerging from a bitter contest as the 28-nation group’s first leader from the former communist east, the 57-year-old will arrive in December after seven years as his country’s prime minister. He’ll inherit a union fraught with discord over issues from the conflict in Ukraine to a sluggish economy at home.
Tusk has spent more than two decades navigating Poland’s often acrimonious post-communist politics. Ruthless at times, ditching allies when needed, his supreme talent is

U.K. Factory Index Drops to 14-Month Low on Global Risks

By Scott Hamilton  

Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

While the report signals continued growth in manufacturing, it also highlights that... Read More

A U.K. manufacturing index fell to the lowest in more than a year in August as geopolitical risks combined with weak euro-area demand to curb growth.
Markit Economics said its factory gauge dropped to 52.5, the lowest since June 2013, from 54.8 the previous month. The July reading was revised lower from 55.4, indicating expansion that month was weaker than initially estimated. Economists had forecast a reading of 55.1 in August, based on the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.
While the report signals continued growth in manufacturing, it also highlights that Britain’s economy may lose momentum as a stagnant euro area and the

Slowing Euro-Area Manufacturing Adds to Case for ECB Action

By Stefan Riecher  

Photographer: Martin Leissl/Bloomberg

Euro-area manufacturing output expanded less than initially estimated in August.

Euro-area manufacturing activity slowed more than initially estimated in August as Italian output contracted, adding to signs that the region’s economic recovery may need another boost of European Central Bank stimulus.
A Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 50.7 from 51.8 in July, London-based Markit Economics said today. While the number remains above 50, indicating expansion, it’s less than the Aug. 21 preliminary reading of 50.8. Italian manufacturing unexpectedly shrank last month, while German factory growth was less than initially estimated.
Today’s report comes after ECB President Mario Draghi signaled that the 18-nation economy may need more stimulus to avoid a deflationary spiral. Inflation slowed to a fraction of the ECB’s mandate last month and investor bets on prices have

Irish Revival Too Late for Scots as Pound Row Rages

By Dara Doyle and Joe Brennan  

Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland.

Ireland is showing Scotland that the euro is nothing to be scared of after all.
As the Sept. 18 referendum on Scottish independence draws closer, the argument over currency remains at the center of the debate. Nationalist leader Alex Salmond plans to keep the pound as the best option for the new state, ruling out joining the euro. The main U.K. political parties say they won’t enter a currency union, with anti-independence campaign leader Alistair Darling using the pound as his main weapon.
Once a poster child for the nationalist vision of a small country with a strong economy, Ireland turned into a bogeyman after the collapse of its real estate market crippled its banks and pushed the nation into its worst recession on record. Six years on, shielded by