International News

Bloomberg Gold price’s slump to near a nine-month low is drawing jewelry shoppers in Asia to hunt for bargains. After a year of demand being in the doldrums, retailers are buying more of the precious metal to cater to people like Seema B, a 35-year-old housewife who ventured to Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar to get new bangles after months of putting ...

Bloomberg Germany is mulling around 70 billion euros ($83 billion) in extra debt spending this year to fight the fallout from the coronavirus crisis, according to a person familiar with the plans. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz needs those additional funds because the country’s lockdown is dragging on much longer than expected, the person said, cautioning that the exact number is ...

Bloomberg Latin America faces risks as its economy rebounds from the worst downturn in two centuries, with better fiscal policy needed to ensure a sustained recovery, according to region’s development lender. Output will grow 4.1% this year as vaccine rollouts proceed and businesses continue to open, the Inter-American Development Bank said in forecasts released at its annual meetings. The bank ...

Bloomberg France amassed its biggest-ever green bond orderbook in its second sale of new debt, extending a pole position in the market to finance environmental projects. The nation raised 7 billion euros ($8.3 billion) from the securities maturing in 2044. Investors bid over 34.5 billion euros, about 50% more than for its first such offering in 2017, reflecting the surge ...

Bloomberg British officials are drawing up contingency plans in case the government needs to step in to save Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel from collapse, amid fears that thousands of jobs in a critically key industry are at risk. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and other senior officials have been holding intensive discussions with the company in recent days, aiming to secure ...

Bloomberg Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk used an opportunity to speak to an audience in China to strenuously deny the electric carmaker would ever use a vehicle’s technology for spying. Appearing at the China Development Forum, a conference organized by a unit of the country’s State Council, in a session titled “The Next Disruptive Innovation?” Musk said ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) sued the UK for failing to recover illegal tax breaks doled out to multinational firms, in the second legal move against the former member state this week. Authorities still haven’t clawed back all of the 100 million euros ($119 million) in tax breaks aimed at luring multinational firms to the UK territory of Gibraltar, more ...

Bloomberg The French economy is weathering the Covid pandemic and government restrictions better than previously forecast, putting it on a path to stronger growth this year, the Bank of France said. Activity falls less than the central bank initially expected at the end of 2020 as household and business investment held up despite the lockdown in November. The central bank ...

Bloomberg Portugal will continue implementing measures to protect jobs as it eases confinement measures and tries to recover from the deepest slump in decades, Labor Minister Ana Mendes Godinho said. “Our top priority has been the protection of employment,” Mendes Godinho said. “We plan to continue to monitor and reinforce the measures that are needed to protect the income of ...

Bloomberg Greece is set to issue its longest-maturity bonds since 2008, completing the country’s full return to debt markets. The nation is selling 30-year bonds via banks, which could be an opportunity for investors to pick up yields that are likely to be the highest in the euro area. Greece is following others in the region in seizing on low ...