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CNN Business February 23, 2020 Some of the world's biggest economies are on the brink of recession Markets closed out last week on an anxious note. It's not difficult to see why: the coronavirus continues to spread, and there are signs that some of the world's top economies could slide into recession as the outbreak compounds pre-existing weaknesses. Take Japan: The world's third-largest economy shrank 1.6% in the fourth quarter of 2019 as the country absorbed the effects of a sales tax hike and a powerful typhoon. It was biggest contraction compared to the previous quarter since 2014. Then there's Germany. The biggest economy in Europe ground to a halt right before the coronavirus outbreak set in, dragged down by the country's struggling factories. The closely-watched ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment in Germany decreased sharply for February, reflecting fears that the virus could hit world trade. Bank of America economist Ethan Harri

Dailyhunt February 23, 2020 The news of the discovery of gold mines with 3,500 tonnes of gold reserve in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district first broke on the Feb 20th in regional papers. By February 22nd, 2020, the entire Indian media was abuzz with the news that Sonbhadra gold mines had gold deposits estimated to be around 3,350 tonnes and worth Rs 12 lakh crore, which is almost five times India's current gold reserve. The reports quoted a District Mining Officer and estimated that with this find, India's current gold reserve of 626 tonnes, would jump to second place in the world behind US which holds 8,133.5 tonnes of gold. Even though the reports mentioned 'gold deposits', they equated it to actual gold mined and added the entire 3350 tonnes to India's current gold reserve. Such exuberant reporting continued till later in the day when Geological Survey of India intervened and denied making any such discovery. In this article, Alt News will trace ho

Financial Express Sunil Jain February 27, 2020 Apart from India’s high import duties, the stand on stents and GM crops only worsened matters, and also hurt India. The optics of US President Donald Trump’s visit and the signal it sent of strong Indo-US ties notwithstanding, it has to be disappointing that even a ‘limited’ trade deal—to use the term put out by the Indian side in the run-up to the visit—wasn’t signed. President Trump saying he was saving the big trade deal for later, though, saved India—and him—the blushes. There are, it goes without saying, legitimate Indian concerns, such as on freeing up agriculture, given the huge subsidies the US gives, even if they are fashioned in such a way as to be WTO-compliant. Similarly, loosening IPR norms, as the Americans want, can’t be in India’s interests since a lot more drugs will then get patent protection even if they represent no major innovation. But, surely, the Indian position on putting price controls on high-end medi

The Office of the United States Trade Representative 2019 SPECIAL 301 PUBLIC HEARING February 27, 2019 – 10:00am – 3:25pm  Office of the United States Trade Representative 1724 F Street, NW Rooms 1 and 2 Washington, DC 20508 The Special 301 Hearing is open to the public. All participants and attendees will be requested to present a government-issued photo ID to enter the hearing room.  Please allow at least 20 minutes for security processing.  Members of the press are welcome to attend.  Format: Each party will appear for a maximum of ten (10) minutes.  Parties are allotted a maximum of five (5) minutes for prepared statements.  Five (5) minutes are reserved for questions presented by the Special 301 Committee.  HEARING SCHEDULE 10:00-10:10 – Opening Remarks – Office of the United States Trade Representative  Government 10:10-10:20 – Government of Bolivia 10:20-10:30 – Government of Bulgaria 10:30-10:40 – Government of Indonesia 10:40-10:50 – Government of Korea  10:50-11:00 –

GreatGameIndia February 25, 2020 A legal dispute regarding brokerage fees sheds light on how NSO Group sold its first Pegasus license to a foreign country. American businessman Elliott Broidy, currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for possible violations of lobbying laws, was originally tapped as one of the architects of the deal despite admitting to illegal gifts worth $1 million shortly before. U.S. businessman and venture capitalist Elliott Broidy, currently under federal investigation for violating lobbying laws, was one of the original architects of the first deal Israeli surveillance company NSO Group signed to sell its Pegasus spyware to a foreign power, according to court documents. Parts of the relevant documents were recently released for publication following a legal battle Calcalist has been waging for over a year. The information about Broidy, a controversial figure in the U.S., came to light as part of a lawsuit filed in August 201