Business

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 ...

BLOOMBERG  US employment costs accelerated by more than forecast at the start of the year, underscoring persistent inflationary pressures that will keep the Federal Reserve on track for another interest-rate hike next week. The employment cost index, a broad gauge of wages and benefits, increased 1.2% in the first quarter, according to Labor Department figures. It was the first quarterly ...

BLOOMBERG Political tensions between the US and China are contributing to lower container shipments between the world’s two largest economies, on top of an already-underway reshaping of global trade, according to a major shipping industry boss. “We are seeing a de-leveraging of trade between the US and China,” Jeremy Nixon, chief executive officer of Ocean Network Express, said at the ...

BLOOMBERG Taiwan’s industrial production plunged in March, weighed down by a manufacturing sector struggling to overcome a slump in global demand. Industrial output shrank 14.5% last month compared to a year ago, the Economics Ministry said in a statement. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast a 12.3% drop. March’s decline was the biggest contraction since May 2009 — in the ...

BLOOMBERG Adani Group bonds rose after a key company started the first debt buyback by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate since it was targeted by a short seller in January. Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd plans to buy back as much as $130 million of its July 2024 bonds and similar amounts in each of the next four ...