Bloomberg Hong Kong airport will allow transit passengers for the first time in three months, building on the wider relaxation of strict Covid-19 border controls in the Asian financial hub. Airlines were informed that transit passengers from so-called group A “high-risk” countries will be allowed to transfer through Hong Kong airport from next month, according to a letter seen …

  Bloomberg UK retail sales unexpectedly fell in February as an end to coronavirus restrictions saw Britons change their spending patterns as they socialised more and returned to the office. The volume of goods sold in stores and online dropped 0.3%, after rising 1.9% in January, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Economists had expected growth of 0.7%. Spending …

  Bloomberg Thailand’s banking system remains resilient with high levels of capital buffer to withstand future risks and uncertainties, the nation’s central bank said, a day after S&P Global Ratings downgraded the top lenders citing increased systemic risks. The capital adequacy ratio of Thai banking system stands at 20% and lenders have increased provisioning against bad loans by $12.8 billion …

  Bloomberg Hungary resumed raising the effective interest rate after the central bank said that the war in neighbouring Ukraine will lead to a sharply deteriorating inflation outlook. The 30 basis-point increase brought the one-week deposit rate to 6.15%, matching the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. But it disappointed currency traders after policy makers spoke of the need of …

  Bloomberg Chinese tech stocks slumped on Friday amid continued concern about the sector’s earnings and the risk of local firms being kicked off American exchanges. The Hang Seng Tech Index slid 5% in afternoon trading, the most in over a week. Delivery giant Meituan plunged 8.2% as investors had worried about the company’s growth ahead of its fourth-quarter results. …

Bloomberg European stocks were set for their first weekly drop in three, as investors consider concerns over the surging inflation and the war in Ukraine hurting growth in the region. The Stoxx 600 Index was down less than 0.1% in London, with banks and energy sectors among the biggest decliners. Real estate and retail stocks outperformed. Last week, the European …

Bloomberg Russian equities erased earlier advance and fall during the second day of limited trading after a record long shutdown of the country’s stock market. The MOEX Russia Index was down 2.9% by 12:18 pm in Moscow after earlier rising as much as 3.3%. Gas giant Gazprom PJSC led losses after the US and the European Union reached a deal …

Bloomberg India’s renewable energy ministry has backed a demand to shield some projects from impending taxes on solar equipment imports, after generators said the added costs will slow the nation’s shift to clean energy. “We have requested Ministry of Finance to consider grandfathering of basic customs duty for projects bid out before March 9, 2021,” the renewable energy ministry said …

  Bloomberg LG Energy Solution will invest around $2 billion on increasing output in North America as the South Korean battery maker ramps up production to meet rising demand for electric cars. LG will spend about $1.5 billion on a joint venture plant with Stellantis NV in Canada, the Seoul-based firm said in a company filing, without disclosing the exact …

  Bloomberg Germany’s ruling coalition agreed on additional measures worth about $16.5 billion to ease the burden on businesses and households from soaring energy costs, including a temporary reduction in fuel prices. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government will cut the tax on fuel for three months by 30 euro cents ($0.33) for gasoline and 14 cents for diesel, Finance Minister Christian …