International News

  Bloomberg Munich Re more than doubled profits last year as the German reinsurer bounced back from the Covid-19 crisis with the highest gross premiums in its history. Net income rose to 2.9 billion euros from 1.2 billion euros the previous year, according to a statement from the Munich based company on Wednesday. It had forecast profit of 2.8 billion ...

  Bloomberg The European Union unveiled new rules that will make it easier for users to transfer data generated from products like Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa or a Tesla Inc. vehicle. The European Commission’s Data Act will set rules on how companies can access so-called non-personal data, or data that does not contain any information that identifies an individual. The proposal ...

  Bloomberg Thailand’s economy grew faster than expected last quarter, buoyed by rising exports and tourist arrivals, firming its recovery as it faces risks this year from inflation and Omicron variant. Gross domestic product during October-December rose 1.9% from a year ago, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said. That beat the median growth estimate of 0.8% in ...

  Bloomberg South Korea’s early trade figures offered signs that global demand remains robust in February even as the value of shipments rose by the smallest amount in almost a year. Exports advanced 13.1% in the first 20 days of the month from the previous year, led by semiconductors and oil products, the customs office reported. Overall imports rose 12.9%, ...

  Bloomberg India’s monsoon, which irrigates more than half of the country’s farmland and is critical for economic growth, is likely to be normal this year, according to private forecaster Skymet Weather Services Pvt. This could mark a fourth straight year of normal monsoon, and is important because the June-September rainy season delivers as much as 90% of India’s annual ...

  Bloomberg Soaring gasoline prices are fanning inflation and causing a headache for governments and central banks worldwide. In countries with elections coming up, they’re an extra headwind for the incumbents. While the US mid-terms in November are the prime example of fuel prices feeding into the political sphere, upcoming votes in Asia may also be affected. Voting is already ...

  Bloomberg Almost a year after China’s property-market debt squeeze sparked the first in a wave of defaults by developers, the industry is fighting for survival. Home sales continue to plunge and elevated borrowing costs mean offshore refinancing is off the table for many developers. Global agencies are pulling their ratings on property bonds, while a string of auditor resignations ...

  Bloomberg China’s provincial governments are bracing for a tough year, predicting income growth from taxes will slow and land sale revenue will fall, putting them under severe fiscal pressure as they try to spend more to support a faltering economy. Some local authorities are predicting their general revenue this year will be significantly weaker than an expected national economic ...

Bloomberg Germany spent about 42 billion euros ($48 billion) on a program to secure jobs threatened by the coronavirus pandemic. A government program to pay most of an employee’s wages when they can’t work because of operational issues like lockdowns was worth the cost, Germany’s Labor Minister Hubertus Heil said in an interview with Tagespiegel. “The alternative — namely allowing ...

  Bloomberg US retail sales rebounded by more than forecast with the biggest gain since March, as Americans kept spending through a Covid-19 spike and hot inflation to help drive the economic recovery. The value of overall purchases rise 3.8% in January after a downwardly revised 2.5% drop in the prior month, Commerce Department figures showed. The median estimate in ...