Bloomberg The US budget deficit more than tripled to a record $3.1 trillion in the latest fiscal year on the government’s massive spending aimed at softening the blow from the coronavirus pandemic. The increase brought the deficit as a share of gross domestic product to 16% in the year ending in September, the largest since 1945, a Treasury Department report ...

Bloomberg The UK, beset by growing coronavirus concerns and struggling to bridge the gap with the European Union over a post-Brexit trade deal, has had its credit rating cut by Moody’s Investors Service. The credit assessor cited softer economic growth, an erosion of fiscal strength and a weakening in institutions and governance as it lowered the nation’s grade by one ...

Bloomberg Justin Trudeau’s government is set to launch a diversity challenge as part of an effort to increase the share of women and minority groups in corporate leadership positions. The goal of the program — called the 50/30 challenge — is to encourage companies to reach gender parity on their boards and in senior management positions, and 30% representation of ...

Bloomberg Twitter Inc. is changing its Hacked Materials Policy, walking back a set of rules at the heart of its enforcement action against a controversial article that included potentially damaging allegations against US presidential candidate Joe Biden. In a series of tweets, policy chief Vijaya Gadde said the firm will no longer remove hacked content “unless it is directly shared ...

Bloomberg The UK should learn from other European nations where more people have returned to their offices during the pandemic, a senior figure in the City of London financial district said. Catherine McGuinness, policy chair for the City‘s Corporation, urged the government to scrutinise the evidence so more workers can get back. She pointed to Paris, where she said there ...

Bloomberg Apple Inc.’s latest iPhones won Wall Street over by dint of lower prices and a major design overhaul, fuelling expectations of a new cycle of sales growth for the world’s largest corporation. At a virtual event, the company showed off the iPhone 12 in black, red, blue, green and white with a 6.1-inch screen, part of the biggest re-design ...

Bloomberg Automakers are so eager to replace less-lucrative cars with higher-margin SUVs, they’re willing to scrap iconic nameplates along the way. Volkswagen’s newest North American model, the Taos, is perhaps the starkest example of this yet. The German automaker made room to manufacture the compact sport utility vehicle in its Mexican assembly plant by ceasing production of the Beetle, one ...

Bloomberg Volkswagen AG’s Audi is expanding its partnership with Chinese manufacturer FAW as the German premium brand seeks to build more battery-powered cars geared to customers in its largest market. Audi and FAW signed a memorandum of understanding to start a company that will produce electric cars for the Chinese market from 2024, Audi said in a statement. The new ...

Bloomberg Microsoft Corp. joined the growing ranks of tech giants allowing some of its employees to work from home permanently if they wish. The software maker has instituted a “hybrid workplace” to give employees greater flexibility once its offices in the US reopen, the company said in a blog post. Microsoft said it’s letting any of its employees work from ...

Bloomberg Sales of electric vehicles in Europe are growing at such a pace that the continent looks increasingly likely to outpace China in the near future. That’s one of the findings of a report by London-based automotive research firm Jato Dynamics. However, it found that Europe and the US still have a few things to learn from China, the world’s ...