International News

BLOOMBERG Oil dipped after hot inflation data led traders to anticipate that central bankers are likely to stay hawkish for the coming months, offsetting hopes for higher demand from Asia. West Texas Intermediate dropped below $76.50, reversing earlier reached gains after China and India released strong manufacturing and oil-sales data. Crude has weakened this year as the prospect of tighter ...

BLOOMBERG China’s economy is showing signs of a stronger rebound after Covid restrictions were abandoned, with manufacturing posting its biggest improvement in more than a decade, services activity climbing and the housing market stabilising. The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 52.6 last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said, the highest reading since April 2012. A non-manufacturing gauge measuring ...

BLOOMBERG Finland’s economy contracted more in the fourth quarter than a flash estimate had indicated, affirming that the Nordic nation has entered a recession. Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.6% last quarter from the previous three-month period, when it contracted a revised 0.1%, Statistics Finland said. A flash estimate had indicated a 0.2% decline in output. GDP was stagnant compared ...

BLOOMBERG Volkswagen AG reaffirmed its commitment to an automotive plant in Xinjiang after a visit by its China chief, despite persistent concerns of human rights abuses in the country’s far western region. The German carmaker said it has no indication that workers are mistreated at the facility in the city of Urumqi, which is operated by a subsidiary of its ...

BLOOMBERG The Swiss economy unexpectedly failed to grow in the final months of 2022 as manufacturing output contracted and exports weighed on momentum. Gross domestic product stalled in the fourth quarter, according to government data. That falls short of the median economist prediction in a Bloomberg survey, which had anticipated a 0.1% increase. Exports showed a significant decline of 0.9% ...

BLOOMBERG Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen both hailed their post-Brexit deal as a chance to reset frayed relations between the two sides. For investors in British assets, the repair work is only just beginning. BlackRock Inc and Abrdn Plc are among asset managers overseeing more than $9 trillion combined that expect the deal ...

BLOOMBERG The UK and European Union (EU) reached a deal on Northern Ireland’s trading arrangements, ending more than a year of often acrimonious wrangling over the post-Brexit settlement for the region, people familiar with the matter said. The agreement follows a meeting between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, according to the people, ...

BLOOMBERG Supporters of Italy’s Democratic Party have chosen Elly Schlein as their next leader, a surprise result that signals a shakeup in the country’s main political opposition and also means that women now lead both of the country’s biggest parties. The 37-year-old, who also holds US citizenship, won about 54% of the over 1 million votes cast during an informal ...

BLOOMBERG The Philippines has filed 10 diplomatic protests against China over alleged “violations” in the South China Sea with barely two months into 2023, underscoring renewed tensions between the two nations over the disputed waters. These form part of the 77 diplomatic protests filed against China under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs said in a ...

BLOOMBERG China’s stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine puts it in an “awkward” position internationally and any weapons support to Russia would come with “real costs,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said. Sullivan emphasized in three interviews with US television networks that the Biden administration doesn’t have evidence that China is giving “lethal support” to President Vladimir Putin’s ...