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Taiwan reports first major Chinese military activity after election

By Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan’s defence ministry said it detected 18 Chinese air force planes operating around Taiwan and carrying out “joint combat readiness patrols” with Chinese warships on Wednesday, the first large-scale military activity after the Taiwanese election. China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has over the past …

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Oil near flat as extreme cold’s hit to U.S. output offsets China data

By Stephanie Kelly NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices were near flat on Wednesday as severe cold that disrupted some U.S. oil production offset disappointing economic growth in China that stoked worries about energy demand. Brent crude futures settled down 41 cents to $77.88 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) gained 16 cents …

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Wall St ends lower, Treasury yields gain as strong data cools rate-cut hopes

By Stephen Culp NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. stocks followed their European counterparts to a lower close on Wednesday and U.S. Treasury yields resumed their uphill climb as robust economic data chilled bets that the Federal Reserve could begin reducing its policy rate as early as March. All three major U.S. indexes finished the session lower, …

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Dollar hits new one-month high as data weighs on rate cut hopes

By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) -The dollar index hit a fresh one-month high on Wednesday after U.S. retail sales data signaled economic strength, dimming expectations for imminent rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Retail sales rose 0.6% last month after an unrevised 0.3% gain in November, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said. Economists polled …

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Russia is developing ties with N. Korea in all areas, including ‘sensitive’ ones – Kremlin

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia is developing its relations with North Korea in all areas, including “sensitive” ones, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. North Korea’s foreign minister lauded comradely ties with Russia on Tuesday and then held rare talks in the Kremlin with President Vladimir Putin, who has been invited by Kim Jong Un …

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FTSE 100 hits 7-week low as inflation climbs, China data weighs

By Sruthi Shankar and Khushi Singh (Reuters) – Britain’s FTSE 100 hit a seven-week low on Wednesday after a stronger-than-expected UK inflation reading and U.S. retail sales data tempered hopes of early interest rate cuts this year, while underwhelming data from China hurt commodity-linked stocks. Extending losses for a third straight session, the blue-chip index …

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