International News

  Bloomberg The UK economy lost fewer jobs than expected and wage growth picked up towards the end of 2016, suggesting the labor market remains relatively resilient. The number of people in work fell by 9,000 to 31.8 million in the three months through November, whereas economists had predicted a 35,000 decline. The jobless rate stayed at 4.8 percent, the ...

  Bloomberg Iceland, the world’s tiniest developed economy, is now pondering whether it has the might to take on the currency markets. The center-right coalition that took office this month wants an overhaul of Iceland’s monetary policy framework, which could lead to fixing the currency or letting it trade within a band, Finance Minister Benedikt Johannesson, 61, said. The review ...

  Bloomberg A self-imposed cash shortage in India is creating chaos for jewellery retailers in one of the world’s biggest gold-buying countries. Sales are plunging. Just ask Renita Ferreira. While her February 24 marriage ceremony has been set for a year, she and her fiance haven’t bought wedding rings, even after many trips to stores in Panaji, the capital of ...

  Bloomberg India’s Tata Group, seeking to cement control over a sprawling $100 billion business empire, is exploring ways to boost its stakes in key listed companies including the maker of Jaguar luxury cars, people with knowledge of the matter said. Tata Sons Ltd., the group holding company, plans to raise its ownership over time in five of its largest ...

  Bloomberg Singapore’s exports surged above economists’ forecasts for a second consecutive month, signaling a recovery in the trade-dependent economy. Non-oil domestic exports rose 9.4 percent in December from a year ago, International Enterprise Singapore said in a report. The median estimate of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 5.8 percent increase. Electronics exports increased 5.7 percent in ...

  Bloomberg Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said they will spend $3.1 billion in the US in the next five years, joining other vehicle manufacturers in announcing investment plans amid threats from President-elect Donald Trump of higher levies on auto imports from Mexico. The planned US investment by South Korea’s two largest automakers is about 50 percent ...

  Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping cautioned against protectionism as he pushed back against criticism of globalization by Donald Trump and other Western populists. “Protectionism is like locking yourself in a dark room, which would seem to escape wind and rain, but also block out the sunshine,” Xi told the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, the first Chinese head of ...

  Bloomberg China’s top underwriter of green bonds said the government may accelerate approvals in 2017 as the nation battles a toxic wave of smog. Guotai Junan Securities Co. said the government should boost incentives for notes with proceeds earmarked for environmental projects, after a People’s Bank of China researcher said it may recommend tax breaks for investors. Chinese firms ...

  Bloomberg China’s government has conveyed its concern over Foxconn Technology Group billionaire Terry Gou’s plan to expand the Apple Inc. assem-bler’s operations in the US after President-elect Donald Trump takes office, people familiar with the matter said. A high-ranking Chinese official recently expressed Beijing’s concerns directly to Gou, the people said, asking not to be identified because the conversation ...

  PARIS / AP I am, therefore I’m paid. The radical notion that governments should hand out free money to everyone — rich and poor, those who work and those who don’t — is slowly but surely gaining ground in Europe. Yes, you read that right: a guaranteed monthly living allowance, no strings attached. In France, two of the seven ...