International News

Bloomberg Malaysia isn’t a laggard in securing vaccines, Science Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said, seeking to allay concerns about the speed of the country’s purchases of shots. The nation is set to get its first delivery of vaccines before the end of February and the government will try its best to get as many people inoculated within a year, he said. ...

Bloomberg China will donate 500,000 coronavirus vaccine doses to the Philippines and vowed to accelerate infrastructure investment in the Southeast Asian nation as ties between the two improve. The pledge was made by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during meetings with Filipino counterpart Teodoro Locsin and President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila, according to statements from Duterte’s office and the Philippines’ ...

Bloomberg Gold demand in the world’s second-biggest user will rebound this year after collapsing in 2020 as the rollout of vaccines pushes life back closer to normal, according to the World Gold Council (WGC). Some of the weddings and festive buying that had been postponed because of the pandemic will come back in 2021, and this pent-up demand will boost ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s unemployment rate for the three months ended December is likely to exceed the highest level in 16 years because of the impact of tightened coronavirus restrictions, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on his blog on Sunday. The latest jobless rate is scheduled to be released on Tuesday. Unemployment stood at a high of 6.4% for the three ...

Bloomberg Nazara Technologies Ltd, the cricket games developer backed by billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, became the first Indian gaming technology company to seek a market debut as mobile entertainment takes off across the world’s No. 2 smartphone arena. The Mumbai-headquartered startup filed initial public offering documents with India’s market regulator. Its impending debut on the local exchanges could encourage other Indian ...

Bloomberg Surging house prices in the UK are making it more difficult for younger generations to follow the most common path for accumulating wealth, widening a gap between the rich and the poor. Homeowners are benefiting from the coronavirus crisis, with cheap borrowing and government tax cuts driving real estate prices to an all-time high last year. The cost of ...

Bloomberg Italy’s government expects debt to rise more than expected this year, as it gets ready to boost fiscal stimulus to support its battered economy. The Treasury, led by Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri, expects Italy’s debt to rise to 158.5% of output in 2021, up from 155.6%, while the country’s budget deficit would be 8.8%. The new forecasts, first reported ...

Bloomberg American automakers are asking the US government to help solve a debilitating shortage of computer chips that is closing auto factories worldwide and could restrict production until the fall. The American Automotive Policy Council — a lobbying organisation for General Motors, Ford Motor and the US operations of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles — is agitating with the US Commerce Department ...

Bloomberg UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is planning to give a one-time benefit payment of 500 pounds ($680) to nearly six million people to help ease the economic fallout from a third coronavirus lockdown, the Times of London reported. The plans come ahead of an April deadline when last March’s 20 pound-per-week uplift to universal credit payments is ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) has set out plans to strengthen the international role of the euro, as its seeks to erode the dominance on the US dollar and lessen the bloc’s vulnerability to financial risks, including US sanctions. The plan includes measures to help protect against currency shocks, and allow greater scrutiny of foreign takeovers, according to a draft ...