S&P Global Ratings downgraded China’s long-term sovereign credit rating by one notch on Thursday to A+ from AA-, citing increasing risks from the country’s rapid build-up of credit. Source: Reuters
Russian oil and gas giant Rosneft on Wednesday announced they had signed a deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to develop five oil blocks despite escalating tensions in the region. In an official statement, the Russian crude producer said it had signed “documents required to put in force” production sharing agreements with the KRG which would allocate 80 percent of the projects to Rosneft. Source Kurdistan24
After a southern Swedish police station was damaged in a blast on Wednesday, police officers have said threats against them are becoming increasingly common. Early on Wednesday morning, the entrance to the police station in Helsingborg was destroyed in an explosion which Minister of Justice Morgan Johansson said was “a serious attack on the judiciary”. Source TheLocal
Italian auction house Sant’Agostino said on Wednesday that bidders at its next sale will be able to settle up in Bitcoin, a world first according to the auctioneers. Early next week, around 600 Italian and foreign design objects, mostly pieces of furniture, will go under the hammer at Sant’Agostino and “Bitcoins will be accepted as payment”, the Turin auction house said in a statement. Source TheLocal
