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PERTH, Australia — The "Kangaroo Route" from Australia to Britain became a shorter hop on Saturday when the first direct passenger service left Perth for London, with the 17-hour flight set to break aviation records.

Qantas' 14,498 kilometre journey from the southwestern city to London is the world's third-longest passenger flight, the Australian carrier said, and the first ever regular service to connect the two continents directly.

Captained by Lisa Norman, it will also be the longest Boeing Dreamliner flight in the world.

The new link is part of Qantas' ambitious plans, unveiled over the past two years, to add ultra long-haul flights to its global schedules.

This will eventually include non-stop flights from Australia's eastern seaboard to Europe in an effort dubbed "Project Sunrise".

Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce last year said such flights were "the last frontier of global aviation ... the antidote to the tyranny of distance and a revolution for air travel in Australia".

The world's second-oldest airline operated its first "Kangaroo Route" service, from Sydney to London, in 1947, when it took four days and nine stops.

Joyce called the new Perth-London service a "game-changing route". Tourism officials hope the shortened travelling time will open up Australia's less-populated west coast to more domestic and international visitors.

A key concern for the Australian airliner has been beefing up comfort levels for the ultra-long journey, with passengers set to enjoy improved air quality, lower cabin noise and reduced turbulence.

Some passengers will also wear special monitors and devices so researchers from the University of Sydney can collect data on their sleeping and activity patterns, mental state, eating patterns and hydration before, during and after their long flight, Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported.

Some of the world's longest non-stop international flights include Qatar Airways' 14,535-kilometre Doha-Auckland service, Emirates' Dubai-Auckland 14,200-kilometre service, United Airlines' 14,000-kilometre Los Angeles-Singapore journey and Qantas' 13,800-kilometre Sydney-Dallas route.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will impose tariffs on about $50 billion in Chinese goods imports to retaliate against the alleged theft of American intellectual property, White House officials said on Thursday.

The new import duties will target industrial sectors where “China has sought to acquire an advantage through the unfair acquisition or forced technology transfer from US companies,” Senior White House Economic adviser Everett Eissenstat told reporters.

Trump was due to unveil the sanctions later Thursday.

The products subject to the new tariffs have not yet been officially identified and Thursday’s announcement did not immediately impose new import duties.

But the move sent stocks diving on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about two per cent ahead of the announcement, and ratcheted up Trump’s campaign of confrontation with trading partners.

In a memorandum that was due to be signed on Thursday, Trump would direct US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to publish a proposed list of products that could be subject to tariffs.

He would also direct Lighthizer to take action against China at the World Trade Organisation, charging Beijing with preventing US companies from licensing their technology in China.

The measure also directs the US Treasury to develop new proposals to increase safeguards against investments that could compromise US national security.

White House officials on Thursday indicated that the actions capped years of efforts to encourage China to end the alleged unfair practices and respect market-oriented practices.

“Those dialogues failed under the Bush and Obama administrations,” White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro told reporters. 

“The problem is that with the Chinese in this case talk is not cheap, it’s been very, very expensive and finally the president decided we needed to move forward.”

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday and forecast at least two more hikes for 2018, signaling growing confidence that US tax cuts and government spending will boost the economy and inflation and lead to more aggressive future tightening. 

In its first policy meeting under new Fed chief Jerome Powell, the US central bank indicated that inflation should finally move higher after years below its 2 per cent target and that the economy had recently gained momentum.

The Fed also raised the estimated longer-term "neutral" rate, the level at which monetary policy neither boosts nor slows the economy, a touch, in a sign the current gradual rate hike cycle could go on longer than previously thought. 

"The economic outlook has strengthened in recent months," the Fed said in a statement at the end of a two-day meeting in which it lifted its benchmark overnight lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a range of 1.5 per cent to 1.75 per cent.

Inflation "is expected to move up in coming months and stabilise" around the Fed's target, it said.

The rate hike was widely expected. All 104 economists polled by Reuters from March 5-13 said the Fed would increase borrowing costs this week.

The move was the latest step away from years of stimulating the world's largest economy in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis and recession. The Fed tightened policy three times last year. 

The combination of $1.8 trillion in expected fiscal stimulus and recent hints of price and wage pressures had prompted some Fed officials to speculate more Americans could be drawn into an already tight labour market and that inflation could rise to the target, or even well above if the economy got too hot. 

Policymakers were largely split on Wednesday as to whether a total of three or four rate hikes would be needed this year. They predicted rates would rise three times next year and two times in 2020, a further indication of confidence in the economy.

The Fed's preferred measure of inflation was expected to end 2018 at 1.9 per cent, unchanged from the previous forecast, but it is seen rising a bit above the Fed's target next year.

The US unemployment rate by the end of 2018 is expected to edge down to 3.8 per cent, indicating the Fed sees more room for the labour market to run. Fed officials predicted the rate also would settle even lower at 4.5 per cent in the longer run.

US joblessness stood at 4.1 per cent last month.

While recent home sales and retail spending data have been on the weak side, the overall economic picture has brightened after growth accelerated to 2.3 per cent last year. 

Before the meeting, analysts were split over whether the Fed, which is wary of an early misstep under its new leadership, would raise policy tightening expectations until more price pressures are clearly evident. There are also looming outside risks to the economy such as a possible global trade war. 

JAKARTA - Indonesia has won an appeal against the European Union in a dispute over the bloc's anti-dumping duty on biodiesel, the Ministry of Trade said in a statement on Wednesday.

The European Court of Justice, the EU's highest court, ruled that the bloc must do away with anti-dumping duties of between 8.8 percent to 23.3 percent on imports of Indonesian biodiesel products.

Indonesia is one of the world's largest exporters of palm oil-based biodiesel.

"With the elimination of these duties, businesses can once again export biodiesel to the EU," said Oke Nurwan, director general of foreign trade at the Indonesian trade ministry.

He added that the elimination of duties was valid from March 16, 2018.

The Indonesia Biofuel Producers Association welcomed the ruling.

"We're asking producers to prepare exports soon," said Paulus Tjakrawan, vice chairman of the association.

He declined to give an estimate on expected export volumes.

The EU court ruling reinforces a decision made by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) earlier this year, which said the EU needed to bring its measures into conformity with WTO agreements.

Indonesia also plans to challenge anti-subsidy duties in the United States in a U.S. court and at the WTO.

Indonesia has also been pushing domestic biodiesel consumption as part of an ambitious plan to develop its biofuels industry. It plans to expand biodiesel subsidies to cover palm-oil blended fuels for use by its huge mining sector in addition to the power sector.

NEW DELHI — Nearly 50 countries expressed concern on Tuesday to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) about the "serious threat" posed by unilateral trade actions, a pointed reference to US import tariffs that have caused a global outcry.

Delivering concluding remarks after a two-day informal meeting of the WTO members in New Delhi, Indian Trade Minister Suresh Prabhu did not refer to the United States by name.

He said members expressed deep concern over the "serious threat" posed to the credibility of the WTO, particularly on its principle of "non-discrimination" following the cycle of recent unilateral trade measures.

"In some interventions, the need for WTO members taking urgent and coordinated action to address the underlying issues was highlighted," Prabhu said.

"It was recognised by almost all the participants that it is the collective responsibility of WTO members to address the challenges facing the system and putting it back on a steady and meaningful way forward so that it continues to serve the people of our countries."

Calling for a united front to respond to the US tariffs, WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo said the recent unilateral trade measures have the potential to escalate tensions.

"We heard today, many, many countries saying we have a concern over this. There is a potential of escalation. We should try to work in the framework of WTO," Azevedo said. 

Separately, Prabhu told reporters that the United States was committed to the World Trade Organisation, even though Washington has raised concerns about the functioning of the WTO and asked for reforms.

US President Donald Trump has pressed ahead with import tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent for aluminum, but exempted Canada and Mexico and offered the possibility of excluding other allies, backtracking from an earlier "no-exceptions" stance. 

Prabhu also said India will bilaterally discuss import curbs on steel with the United States.

LONDON — Sterling surged on Monday as Britain and the European Union agreed to a 21-month post-Brexit transition period and a potential solution to avoid a "hard border" for Northern Ireland. 

The pound, which had already been rallying on expectations for a transition deal, gained further after British Brexit Minister David Davis and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier announced an agreement.

Investors had largely expected Britain to secure an agreement at Thursday's EU summit, but concern remained that a deadlock over the Irish border would derail a deal. 

Securing the terms of a transition phase — which will last to the end of 2020 — was vital, because it means London and Brussels can now focus on what sort of trading relationship the two sides will have after Britain leaves the EU next year.

Against the dollar the pound rose as much as 1 per cent to $1.4088, its strongest since February 16 and the biggest one-day rise since January, before falling back. It was up 0.6 per cent at $1.4031 at 16:00 GMT.

Versus the euro, sterling climbed as much as 0.8 per cent to 87.455 pence per euro, its best level since February 8.

The yield on two-year British government bonds — which is most sensitive to Bank of England (BoE) interest rate decisions — hit a new high since the June, 2016 Brexit referendum.

"We think sterling can go up to $1.44 which could mean that in terms of euro-pound you could get two big figures to the downside," Hans Redeker, global head of currency strategy at Morgan Stanley, told Reuters. 

"I think this week you will have the BoE preparing for a May rate hike, which is not a big surprise...But it's happening in a context when other factors are also playing in favour of sterling — the relationship with Europe and momentum coming into the negotiations on Brexit."

Sterling faces a crucial week, with the BoE announcing an interest rate decision on Thursday after inflation and wages data is published. It is expected to keep rates on hold but to prepare the market for a possible increase in May, a rise it had signalled as contingent on a transition agreement.

Business leaders echoed a warning from Barnier that the deal will only be legally binding if London ratifies the whole withdrawal treaty by March. 

Analysts do not expect the BoE to serve up any surprises on Thursday, but will be looking at both consumer inflation data, due on Tuesday, and wage data due on Wednesday for any sign of inflationary pressures building in the economy.

Viraj Patel at ING said the pound could rise as high as $1.43 this week if economic data also supported sterling and the BoE sounded more hawkish than expected.

Sterling has been among the best performing major currencies since it slumped after the Brexit vote in 2016. It hit a post-Brexit vote high of $1.4346 in January.

"Despite modest growth and moderating inflation, the BoE is likely to reiterate its intention to gradually raise rates as it sees limited slack in the economy," UBS analysts told clients. 

"Now that a transition deal has been tentatively agreed, it may motivate more hawkish language from the BoE." 

UBS said sterling could rally as far as 85 cents per euro. 

CAIRO — Egypt announced on Sunday the names of 23 state companies it will offer stakes at the beginning this year, part of a plan to raise about 80 billion Egyptian pounds ($4.6 billion) through minority share offerings on the Cairo bourse.

They included Banque Du Caire, one of the country's largest banks, major oil companies Middle East Oil Refining and Engineering for Petroleum and Process Industries (ENPPI), as well as Misr Insurance Company.

The government had said that it intended to sell shares in dozens of state companies to boost public finances and draw more investors to the Cairo exchange, but had previously only identified a handful of companies as candidates.

The 23 companies range from banking and petroleum to real estate and will look to sell stakes ranging from 15-30 per cent in the next two to two-and-a-half years, the finance ministry said in a statement announcing the list.

The list includes some companies already traded on the exchange and others that will hold an initial public offering.

Egypt's economy has been struggling to recover since a popular uprising in 2011 drove foreign investors and tourists away, but a $12 billion International Monetary Fund lending programme signed at the end of 2016 has helped to spur growth and lure back foreign investors.

The state owns vast swathes of Egypt's economy, including three of its largest banks — National Bank of Egypt, Banque Du Caire, the United Bank of Egypt — along with much of its oil industry and real estate sector.

ENPPI has been discussed previously as a candidate to be the first state company to offer shares this year, and others such as Banque Du Caire have been mentioned in recent years but their offerings have been delayed.

The last time state-owned companies were listed on the exchange was in 2005 when shares of Telecom Egypt, the state's landline monopoly, and oil companies Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals and AMOC were floated.

Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals will now sell another stake and was included in the list announced on Sunday.

BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed overcapacity in world steel markets and agreed on Saturday to work on solutions within the framework of the Group of 20 (G-20) group of industrialised nations, Merkel's spokesman said.

In a telephone discussion, the two newly re-elected leaders emphasised close ties between the two countries, both facing planned US steel and aluminum tariffs, and agreed to deepen their strategic partnership, Steffen Seibert said in a statement.

They also underscored the importance of multilateral cooperation on global trade, a pointed response to an accelerating shift away from multilateral action and institutions by the United States under President Donald Trump.

US officials have said they will seek to work with "like-minded" countries at the G-20 finance leaders meeting early next week in Argentina, to push back against China's state subsidies and investment policies.

The Merkel-Xi call came amid tensions between the United States, Europe and China over US tariffs.

Merkel and Xi "discussed the problem of global overcapacities in the steel market and backed continued efforts to work toward solutions in the framework of the G-20 Global Forum [on Steel Excess Capacity]", Seibert said, referring to a body initiated at the G-20 summit in Hangzhou, China in 2016. 

"In this regard, they emphasised the importance of close multilateral cooperation on trade," he said.

Trump has criticised both Germany and China for their trade surpluses with the United States since taking office in 2017.

Merkel on Saturday said Germany's trade surpluses were narrowing due to rising domestic demand, and the government would continue to try to support that trend.

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier will visit Washington this week to press for an exemption from US steel and aluminum tariffs as part of a broad push by the European Union to reverse the US steps.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz will discuss the issue at a G-20 meeting in Argentina with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Merkel said on Friday the planned US tariffs violated the principles of the World Trade Organisation and the dispute should be resolved via talks if possible.

Seibert said Merkel invited the Chinese government to visit Berlin for official government consultations, and Xi also extended an invitation for Merkel to visit China.

LONDON — World equities made an attempt at recovery on Thursday, with investors trying to focus on positive economic news rather than the prospect of a debilitating global trade war.

A fall in weekly jobless claims in the US served as a reminder that the world's biggest economy is humming along nicely, while the appointment of a new White House economic adviser brought a modicum of stability, analysts said.

"Global equities are positive into the back end of the week, with some welcome certainty from the Trump administration after the hiring of Larry Kudlow as new top economic strategist," said Michael van Dulken at Accendo, a move that helped the dollar recover and gave a fillip to European markets.

But investors remained on tenterhooks while concerns grew over a possible trade war sparked by Trump's "America first" protectionist policies.

"The global markets remain wobbly as global trade concerns fester," the Charles Schwab brokerage said in a note.

Trump's decision to levy sanctions on Russia for alleged election-meddling also gave investors pause.

"Markets are digesting the implications of a US-led trade war and further sanctions against Russia," said Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group. 

In London, Unilever shares fell after the company announced it was moving its headquarters to the Netherlands, a move widely seen as a response to Britain's imminent pullout from the European Union.

British finance minister Philip Hammond played down Unilever's decision to pick Rotterdam over London for its main headquarters, saying the conglomerate would still be paying the same amount of tax in Britain.
"It's only the corporate headquarters that is moving, it's a relatively small number of jobs. It won't impact the amount of tax that Unilever pays in the UK," Hammond told BBC News on Thursday.

"And most importantly, the two fastest growing divisions within Unilever — household products and personal care products — will be concentrated in the UK."
Unilever, Britain's third biggest company, said the decision to end 88 years of joint Anglo-Dutch ownership was not linked to Brexit or any form of protectionism but said it would simplify its structure.

Moreover, Bitcoin sank to its lowest level since the start of February — after Google said it will ban adverts for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings.

LONDON — One of the biggest bitcoin exchanges has struck a rare deal which will allow it to open a bank account with Britain's Barclays, making it easier for UK customers of the exchange to buy and sell crypto-currencies, the UK boss of the exchange said on Wednesday.

Large global banks have been reluctant to do business with companies that handle bitcoin and other digital coins because of concerns they are used by criminals to launder money and that regulators will soon crack down on them.

San Francisco-based exchange, Coinbase, said its UK subsidiary was the first to be granted an e-money licence by the UK's financial watchdog, a precursor to getting the banking relationship with Barclays.

The Barclays account will make it easier for British customers. Previously, they had to transfer pounds into euros and go through an Estonian bank. 

"Having domestic GBP payments with Barclays reduces the cost, improves the customer experience... and makes the transaction faster," said Zeeshan Feroz, Coinbase's UK CEO.

The UK is the largest market for Coinbase in Europe, and the exchange said its customer base in the region was growing at twice the rate of elsewhere.

Feroz said that it took considerable time to get a UK bank on board, partly because Barclays needed to be sure that Coinbase had the right systems in place to prevent money laundering.

Regulators across the globe have warned that crypto-currencies are used by criminals to launder money, and some exchanges have been shut down. 

"It's a completely brand new industry. There's a lot of understanding and risk management that's needed," Feroz said.

Despite growing interest in both digital currencies and the technology behind them, some big lenders have limited their customers ability to buy crypto-currencies, fearing a plunge in their value will leave customers unable to repay debts. 

In February, British banks Lloyds and Virgin Money said they would ban credit card customers from buying crypto-currencies, following the lead of JP Morgan and Citigroup. Coinbase said it had also become the first crypto exchange to use Britain's Faster Payments Scheme, a network used by the traditional financial industry.