Pandora leads European equities higher, Greek stocks outperform

May 10 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet representatives of British and European banks in London on Thursday to discuss issues involved in doing business with Iran, a British banking industry source said on Tuesday.

The United States and Europe lifted sanctions in January under a deal with Iran to limit its nuclear programme, but other U.S. sanctions remain, including a ban on transactions with Iran in dollars being processed through the U.S. financial system.

This has meant that few European banks, and none of the big ones that have deep relationships with the U.S. banking system, have been willing to get involved in trade with Iran, much to Tehran's frustration.

The British Bankers' Association confirmed a meeting was due to take place between Kerry and representatives from member banks, but declined to provide further details.

An industry source in London said Iran would be the focus of the meeting and representatives from several European banks would also be involved.

A spokesman travelling with Kerry, who is in Paris and London this week for meetings with European counterparts and an anti-corruption conference, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kerry said last month that the United States was not opposed to foreign banks doing business with Iran in line with the terms of last year's nuclear deal.

He said he wanted to clear up uncertainty in the business community outside the United States about investing in Iran.

The Iranian government has complained about not getting the full economic fruits of the nuclear deal. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the most powerful figure in Iran, has blamed the delays squarely on the United States.

"The U.S. Treasury ... acts in such a way that big corporations, big institutions and big banks do not dare to come and deal with Iran," Khamenei said in March.

The Iranian business community's hopes of rapidly emerging from years of economic isolation have been fading.

Iranian business leaders believe the United States has failed to spell out exactly what is permitted and what is not, maintaining uncertainty and putting off international banks from processing Iran-linked transactions. (Reporting by Rachel Armstrong, Jonathan Saul and David Brunnstrom; Writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

"Kerry to Discuss Iran with European Banks in London." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 10 May 2016. Web. 10 May 2016.

Response

The conflict between U.S. and Iran continues as U.S. sanctions remain against Iran after the U.S. and Europe lifting sanctions in January under a deal with Iran to limit its nuclear programme. Big banks that have deep relationships with U.S. and even some European banks are not willing to get involved in trade with Iran causing problems in the Iranian economy. This article seems to be for Iran and slightly against U.S. since it talks more on Iran rather than the U.S. and Europe. Iran seems to be the victim of the issue in this article. I believe that ruining the Iranian economy doesn't really solve the issue. I think U.S. should repeal the sanctions if they want a peaceful relationships with Iran. 

North Korea Capital Gears Up For Congress; South Fears Nuclear Test

SEOUL:  North Korea has started welcoming delegates from around the country to its first ruling party congress in 36 years, state media reported today, as rival South Korea expressed concern that Pyongyang could conduct a nuclear test before or during the event.

The isolated North has conducted a series of weapons tests, including three failed launches of an intermediate-range missile, in the run-up to the Workers' Party congress starting in Pyongyang on Friday.

North Korea's young leader Kim Jong Un has aggressively pursued nuclear weapons and could be looking to a successful test this week as a crowning achievement. South Korean Defence Minister Han Min-koo said Pyongyang's fifth nuclear test may come before or around the time of the opening of the congress.

"North Korea's goal is to be internationally recognised as a nuclear weapons state," Han told a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday. "We believe its nuclear capability is advancing."

At the congress, which foreign media organisations have been invited to cover, Kim is expected to declare his country a nuclear weapons state and formally adopt his "byongjin" policy to push simultaneously for economic development and nuclear capability.

It follows Kim's father's Songun, or "military first," policy and his grandfather's Juche, the North's home-grown founding ideology that combines Marxism and extreme nationalism.

Pyongyang citizens "fervently welcomed participants of the congress who have given all their patriotic passion ... as a new generation of true warriors of Juche revolution under the leadership of dear comrade Kim Jong Un," North Korea's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said on Tuesday.

Security has been stepped up ahead of the congress.

The Daily NK, a website run by defectors with sources in North Korea, said that since mid-April, free movement in and out of the capital had been stopped and security personnel summoned from the provinces to step up domestic surveillance.

The party congress is the first since 1980, before the 33-year-old Kim was born. His father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il, who died in December 2011, never held one.

While some past party congresses featured representatives from countries the North has ties with, South Korean officials have said they were not aware of invitations sent to official foreign guests for the upcoming event.

North Korea has become increasingly isolated over its pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, and was hit with tightened UN Security Council sanctions in March that were backed by its chief ally, China, in response to a January nuclear test.

Pyongyang has conducted a flurry of missile and other weapons tests in the run-up to the congress, although not all have been successful. It made three attempts last month of what was believed to be its intermediate-range Musudan missile, all of which failed, according to US and South Korean officials.

The congress is expected to last four or five days, South Korean government officials and experts said. Kim may decide to take on the post of party General Secretary, a position held by his late father, elevating himself from first secretary.

"It is now his era, and the elders have passed away, and the idea will be that if he remains first secretary, then he might think he won't get enough respect because of that," said An Chan-il, former North Korean military official who now heads a think tank in Seoul.

http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/north-korea-capital-gears-up-for-congress-south-fears-nuclear-test-1402083

"North Korea Capital Gears Up For Congress; South Fears Nuclear Test."NDTV.com. Reuters, 03 May 2016. Web. 03 May 2016.

Response:
This article talks about the world's concern that has been there for years, North Korea. North Korea has worried the world by conducting their fourth nuclear test on Jan 2016. Although it may not be true, South Korea is still concerned about this issue. Since now North Korea has decided to recognized as a nuclear weapon state, South Korea has raised its concern about North Korea. This article has a bias against North Korea since it talks about their nuclear weapons and missiles. I believe that this article points out a good point about North Korea and some action must be taken to stop them.