International News

Bloomberg Johnson & Johnson (J&J) said it set aside almost $4 billion to cover the biggest verdict against the company over its Baby Powder and other settlements while it’s appealing the 2018 loss to the US Supreme Court. In a securities filing, J&J said it was taking a “litigation expense of $3.9 billion” related to ‘primarily talc-related reserves and certain ...

Bloomberg Statistics Canada backtracked on its decision to revise down estimates of underlying inflation, raising questions whether the agency has a full grasp of the real state of price pressures in the economy. In a rare move, the agency said it’s reversing a methodological change — unveiled only five days ago — that lowered some readings of core prices. After ...

Bloomberg Democrats begin the final push for President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill this week, dropping any pretense of bipartisanship to quickly pass the package before an earlier round of benefits runs out. This will be the first real test for Democrats’ full control of government since former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, with implications for the rest of ...

Bloomberg Romania’s economy outperformed the rest of the European Union (EU) last quarter as the government opted not to impose the kind of harsh lockdown that shuttered most of the continent. Output not only grew from the previous three months, but surged more than 10 times what analysts had expected. The expansion of 5.3% puts it ahead of all other ...

Bloomberg Around 1,000 European Union (EU) finance firms are expected to open their first offices in the UK after losing their passporting rights because of Brexit. Roughly two-thirds of the 1,500 money managers, payment firms and insurers that have applied for regulatory permission to continue operating in the UK previously had no physical operations in Britain, according to Financial Conduct ...

Bloomberg Europe’s consumer-facing companies face a critical choice for when the pandemic passes: should they exploit the expected pickup in business by raising prices? There’s likely to be a rush to hairdressers, restaurants and tourism agencies reopening when virus curbs end, fueled by pent-up demand and a hoard of cash accumulated after more than a year of forced saving. Some ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) unveiled several programs aimed at boosting the bloc’s civil, space and defense industries, including a low-earth orbit satellite infrastructure to rival Elon Musk’s Starlink network. The push will aim to provide reliable, secure and cost-effective connectivity for governmental and commercial communications, as well as high-speed broadband throughout Europe, the European Commission said on Monday. The commission ...

Bloomberg Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has extended a ban on movement between the country’s 20 regions for another month — until late March — as his new government tries to step up a vaccination campaign to counter the pandemic. A cabinet meeting chaired by Draghi prolonged travel curbs between regions until March 27 and maintained a 10 p.m. curfew, ...

Bloomberg Singapore reaffirmed its forecast for a rebound in economic growth this year after its worst annual contraction since independence, signalling the recovery is on track while more stimulus expected in this week’s annual budget presentation will provide further support. The Ministry of Trade & Industry (MTI) maintained its projection for growth in a range of 4% to 6% for ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc will begin making devices in India for the first time, joining a flock of technology companies setting up manufacturing operations in the South Asian country. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant will start making the devices via a subsidiary of its manufacturing partner Foxconn Technology Group and production will start later this year in its facilities outside Chennai, the ...