International News

  Bloomberg Chile’s economic boom is proving more resilient than many had forecast, with activity expanding faster than expected in November for the eighth time in the past nine months. The Imacec index, a proxy for gross domestic product, rises 14.3% in November from the year earlier, above the 12.9% median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. For the month, ...

  Bloomberg UK automakers expect sales to rebound this year as the semiconductor shortage eases and demand for battery-powered vehicles grows. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) estimates new-car registrations in Britain will climb 19% to 1.96 million in 2022. The group said it will update that forecast — formulated shortly before the emergence of the highly transmissible ...

  Bloomberg President Joe Biden promised to “fight for fairer prices” for farmers and consumers as he announced plans to combat the market power of the giant conglomerates that dominate meat and poultry processing. “Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism, it’s exploitation,” Biden said. “That’s what we’re seeing in meat and poultry.” Biden joined Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Attorney General ...

  Bloomberg German joblessness continued to fall in December before the country tightened restrictions to ward off a wave of infections sparked by the omicron variant. Unemployment in Europe’s largest economy falls by 23,000, beating economists’ forecast for a drop of 15,000. The jobless rate slid to 5.2%. “The labour market developed well towards the end of the year,” said ...

  Bloomberg The French government said it will ease access to crisis funds and could delay loan repayments for businesses struggling with a drop in activity as the surge in omicron cases hits tourism and leisure activities. “We are standing by firms and workers in difficulty,” Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said after meeting with representatives of business groups. “This ...

  Bloomberg The surge in euro-area inflation that surprised policy makers in recent months is close to its peak, according to European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau. A report on French consumer prices in December shows the first signs of stabilisation and the ECB expects upward pressures to fade through 2022, the French central bank ...

  Bloomberg Argentina extended an export ban on seven beef cuts until the end of 2023, doubling down on its unconventional approach to taming meat prices for local consumers. The government also prohibited exporters from shipping full cattle carcasses and half carcasses, among other categories, for the next two years. Argentine beef is part of the national identity, producing mostly ...

  Bloomberg The shift to remote work for high-paying jobs will accelerate this year, according to a new report, defying city officials who are desperate to bring workers back and reinvigorate their economies. More than a quarter of all professional positions in North America, largely concentrated in the US, will be fully remote by the end of this year, up ...

  Bloomberg Germany’s Finance Minister Christian Lindner said the new government is working on tax relief measures of more than 30 billion euros ($34 billion). “In this legislative period, we will relieve people and medium-sized businesses by well over 30 billion euros,” he told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. Planned measures include the ability to fully deduct contributions to pension ...

  Bloomberg Mario Draghi’s government has won lawmakers’ support for a 32 billion-euro ($36 billion) budget plan for 2022 aimed at supporting Italy’s growth. The bill was approved with a confidence vote in parliament in Rome, and will face a final formal vote. The spending plan — the first drafted by the executive led by the former European Central Bank ...