Business

BLOOMBERG Hungarian inflation, the European Union’s (EU’s) fastest, eased for a third month, bringing the central bank closer to cutting the bloc’s highest key interest rate. The inflation rate dropped to 24% in April from 25.2% the previous month, lower than the median estimate of 24.1% in a Bloomberg survey. Month-on-month prices increased 0.7%. Central bank officials will assess the ...

BLOOMBERG China is expected to roll out new policies to protect supply chains and boost its birth rate, after President Xi Jinping led a high-profile meeting that established these areas as top economic priorities. Economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) say the government could announce new specific measures on how to address those challenges in ...

BLOOMBERG Asia remains in the grip of a blistering heat wave, chiming with predictions from climate scientists that 2023 could be the world’s hottest year. In an ominous sign ahead of the northern hemisphere summer, an emerging El Nino weather pattern is pushing the mercury to unprecedented levels in southern parts of the continent. Vietnam reported its highest ever temperature ...

BLOOMBERG The UK is proposing “significant changes to the listing rulebook” in a bid to make London more attractive as a financial centre with its moribund capital markets stoking fears about the city’s ability to compete with New York and Asian hubs. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) wants to replace its premium and standard listing categories with a single offering ...

BLOOMBERG For decades, Europe’s commodity traders have avoided being regulated on par with other financial firms. A new proposal currently working its way through the European Union (EU) legislative system could change that. As part of a package updating its landmark MiFID II regulations on financial markets, the European Parliament has proposed to review its “ancillary activities exemption,” according to ...

BLOOMBERG CVS Health Corp cut its earnings forecast for the year as it looks to pay for two major acquisitions that are central to its strategy of broadening its health-care services. Adjusted profit for 2023 will be $8.50 to $8.70 a share, Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS said in a statement, a decrease of 20 cents across the range from its ...

BRUSSELS / WAM In 2022, 75% (193.5 million) of the European Union’s (EU) 20-64-year-olds were employed, the highest share recorded since the start of the time series in 2009, according to data on the labour force published by Eurostat. The employment rate dropped to 72% in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but rebounded to 73% in 2021 and further ...

BLOOMBERG China’s manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in April, a sign the economic recovery remains patchy and may be struggling to sustain momentum. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 49.2 from 51.9 in March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. The gauge dropped below the level of 50 — which signals contraction from the previous month — ...

BLOOMBERG Singapore should avoid an outright contraction in its economy this year, despite being battered by the effects of a global slowdown, the city state’s prime minister said. While the city-state’s economic growth will slow, inflation may moderate in the second half of this year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an e-mailed speech. The Monetary Authority of Singapore ...

BLOOMBERG Pakistan said inflation in April was expected to accelerate to a record after increases in food and energy prices and a depreciation in the currency. Price gains may be in a range of 36%-38% year-on-year, from 34.8% in March, the finance ministry said in its monthly Economic Update and Outlook. A slow recovery in damages from last year’s floods ...