International News

Bloomberg Bangkok’s condominium market, once a favourite of Chinese investors, faces a bleak year as the novel coronavirus outbreak keeps buyers away. Foreigners are set to account for as little as 10% of purchases in 2020, down from a fifth two years ago, consultancy Agency for Real Estate Affairs estimates. Chinese buyers used to provide the bulk of overseas interest ...

Bloomberg Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro will travel to the US next month for the fourth time in a year with a pro-business agenda that includes trying to convince electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Inc to set up a plant in the South American country. Bolsonaro’s visit will be on March 7-10 and his plans include attending a business seminar in Miami, ...

Bloomberg The mood among German business hasn’t being dramatically shaken by the coronavirus outbreak, suggesting they see a short-term impact that won’t overly disrupt a pickup in 2019. The closely watched IFO confidence index unexpected rose this month, as did a measure of expectations. The increase comes as executives wait to see if authorities can get the outbreak under control ...

Bloomberg UK retail sales jumped the most in almost two years in January, ending the worst run for British stores on record and adding to signs of an economic rebound after the December election created a Brexit breakthrough. Sales excluding auto fuel rose 1.6% from December, the biggest increase since May 2018. Economists were expecting a rise of 0.8%. Sales ...

Bloomberg Ivi.ru, Russia’s largest streaming platform, hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc to study options to fund the firm’s growth, according to the firm’s chief executive officer. “These could be private placement, strategic alliances or an IPO,” Oleg Tumanov, Ivi’s founder and CEO, said in an interview in Moscow. “We need funding to produce our own content and keep growing faster ...

Bloomberg Audi halted output of its E-Tron SUV to resolve production issues including battery-supply bottlenecks as it prepares to flank the model with a sportier variant, underscoring the struggles traditional automakers face to boost electric cars and challenge Tesla Inc. Manufacturing at Audi’s factory in Brussels stopped and the plant will remain idle until Tuesday, a company spokeswoman said. Audi ...

Bloomberg France warned British Prime Minister Boris Johnson not to use “blackmail” to secure a trade deal as European Union member states prepare to finalise their negotiating position, allowing talks between the two sides to begin next week. Ministers from the bloc’s 27 national governments will meet on Tuesday in Brussels, where they are expected to sign off on the ...

Bloomberg Volkswagen AG faces a new reckoning over its diesel-emissions scandal — its first US jury trial. The world’s largest automaker says it’s paid plenty to right wrongs, but hundreds of car owners who declined to join a $10 billion settlement contend it hasn’t repented enough. A trial set to begin on Monday in San Francisco federal court will subject ...

Bloomberg Authorities in northern Italy temporarily closed some universities after a surge in coronavirus cases left the country with the most infections in Europe, including two cases in the financial hub of Milan. The number of reported cases rose to 60 on February 22, including 47 in the Lombardy region, which borders Switzerland and includes Milan, Italy’s second-biggest city. All ...

Bloomberg Warren Buffett, long under pressure from activists to detail how climate change affects his businesses, used part of his annual letter to shareholders to highlight how wind power generated by a Berkshire Hathaway Inc utility shows the company is reducing its reliance on fossil fuels. Buffett’s letter, with topics ranging from share repurchases to the makeup of corporate boards, ...