International News

China to lift tax on smaller cars to 7.5% through 2017

  Bloomberg China will raise the sales tax on small cars to 7.5 percent, curbing an incentive that has propped up the auto industry, which is heading for its 26th consecutive annual expansion, according to people familiar with the matter. The tax rate is less than the 10 percent originally scheduled to take effect from January. However, it is an ...

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Sinopec sells $3.3bn stake in natural gas pipelines

  Bloomberg China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. is selling a 50 percent stake in a pipeline unit to investors including China Life Insurance Co. for 22.8 billion yuan ($3.3 billion) as it seeks funds to expand its natural gas business. China Life will pay 20 billion yuan for a 43.86 percent stake in the pipeline, while a division of State ...

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China’s output, retail sales go up in November

  Bloomberg China’s industrial output and retail sales growth both accelerated in November, government data showed on Tuesday, in a sign of stabilisation for the world’s second-largest economy. Industrial output rose 6.2 percent in the month, ahead of both October’s figures and economists’ predictions of 6.1 percent in a Bloomberg News survey. Retail sales rose 10.8 percent on-year in nominal ...

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India’s inflation eases more than expected

  Bloomberg India’s inflation grew at its slowest pace in two years as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move to scrap high-value currency notes dented demand. Consumer prices rose 3.63 percent in November from a year earlier, the Statistics Ministry said in a statement in New Delhi on Tuesday. That compares with the 3.9 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey ...

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Global coal use to stall as India props up growth

  Bloomberg Coal demand will “stall and plateau” over the next five years as declines in Europe and North America are offset by growing consumption in India and southeast Asia, according to the International Energy Agency. The fuel’s share of total electricity generation will fall to 36 percent in 2021 from more than 41 percent in 2013, the Paris-based agency ...

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IMF urges more reforms in Spain to keep up recovery

  Bloomberg Spain must make further efforts to reduce long-term unemployment and continue its budgetary adjustment process, the International Monetary Fund said, while noting that the nation’s economic recovery remains robust. In its concluding statement after its assessment of the country’s economic performance, the Washington-based institution said Spain witnessed an “impressive recovery” helped by reforms, fiscal loosening and the European ...

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UK tidal-power plan put at risk by threat to marine lives

  Bloomberg UK plans to generate power by building a 1.3 billion pound ($1.7 billion) tidal lagoon off the South Wales coast are in doubt after a government-backed body said the project could kill thousands of migratory fish. Natural Resources Wales may withhold the marine license that Tidal Lagoon Plc needs to build a 320-megawatt renewable energy project in Swansea ...

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UK November inflation beats expectations

  Bloomberg UK inflation accelerated more than economists forecast in November, boosted by prices for clothing and gasoline. The jump to 1.2 percent from 0.9 percent in October means consumer prices are rising at the fastest pace since October 2014. Economists had anticipated an increase to 1.1 percent. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics also added to ...

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Dutch economy back to pre-crisis levels

  The Hague / AFP The Dutch economy has grown by 2.1 percent this year the government’s economic think tank said, thereby recovering to pre-financial crisis levels. “With one quarter to go, 2016 has been a special year for economic recovery,” the Hague-based Central Planning Office said in a statement. “Production per capita is back to 2008 levels following double ...

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Now, commuters can skip taxes on their Uber ride

  Bloomberg Uber Technologies Inc. is expanding a partnership with WageWorks Inc. that allows users of the ride-sharing giant’s UberPool service to pay for commutes to and from work with pretax funds, bringing the benefit to several cities across the US The program will extend to areas including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston and Denver, according to a statement Tuesday from ...

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