Bloomberg Austria’s government said it won’t accept asylum seekers fleeing the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan and will instead focus on assisting them locally. “I am clearly against voluntarily accepting more people,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said, according to excerpts of an interview published by broadcaster Puls 24. “That won’t happen on my watch.” The ruling People’s Party has taken a hard ...

Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel reinforced her vow to push for additional sanctions against Russia if the Kremlin uses the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline linking Russia to Germany as a “weapon.” The comments came two days after President Vladimir Putin raised the stakes in mounting tension over energy with the EU. Putin imposed conditions on any extension of a gas-transit ...

Bloomberg Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob struck a tone of reconciliation in his inaugural public address, seeking to bring stability to a nation that has seen three premiers in 18 months. Ismail extended an invitation to opposition leaders to be part of the National Recovery Council that oversees the country’s plan to exit the pandemic, and the special Covid-19 ...

Bloomberg Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven shocked the political establishment on Sunday by announcing he will end his seven-year term in November, as well as stepping down as the leader of the Social Democrats. “In next year’s election campaign, the party will be led by someone other than me,” Lofven, 64, said in a speech outside Stockholm. The former union ...

Bloomberg A tax break on property purchases played a smaller part than commonly thought in the UK’s pandemic housing boom, according to a report that accuses Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak of wasting billions of pounds of public money. The analysis by the Resolution Foundation claims that the build-up of savings during lockdowns, changes in housing preferences and cheaper ...

Bloomberg German exporters are facing increasing pressure in their home market from Chinese exports to the EU, according to a study by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research. Chinese exports to the region contain more and more sophisticated industrial goods — such as machinery, pharmaceutical and automotive products — which have long been considered the domain of German manufacturers. According ...

Bloomberg Portugal will ease limits on the size of groups that can be seated at restaurants as it takes the next step in a plan to gradually lift restrictions put in place to contain the pandemic. Restaurants will be able to host groups of as many as eight people indoors and 15 people in outdoor seating, Presidency Minister Mariana Vieira ...

Bloomberg Italy and Spain are set to record the fastest pace of economic expansion this year in more than four decades, a strong rebound that will help the countries overcome last year’s deep recession. Spain’s GDP will expand 6.2% in 2021, while Italy will record a rate of 5.6%, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. That’s a 0.3 and ...

Bloomberg Money transfer startup WorldRemit Ltd is seeking to raise cash at a valuation of about $5 billion ahead of a potential initial public offering. The London-based company is in talks with investors about a funding round, though the deal hasn’t been finalised and terms may still change, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. The ...

Bloomberg Mexico is evaluating how to regulate worker conditions in the nation’s fast growing gig economy, which could involve legal changes, said Labour Minister Luisa Maria Alcalde. The country is working with the Social Security Institute and Mexico City authorities on a plan to regulate digital platforms, Alcalde said in an interview. There’s no proposal yet, she said, but there ...