International News

Bloomberg South Korea’s exports posted the smallest decline since April, offering evidence that the worst may be over for the Asian bellwether of global trade. Exports in December fell 5.2% from a year earlier, data from customs office showed on Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a 8.6% fall. Imports decreased 0.7%. The letup in exports slump adds to ...

Bloomberg Indian stocks rose on the expectation that a slowdown in economic expansion has bottomed out and growth will recover in 2020 on the back of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s planned $1.5 trillion infrastructure push. The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.1% to 41,306.6 at the 3:30 pm close in Mumbai. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also advanced by 0.1%. Stocks ...

Bloomberg China’s manufacturing sector continued to expand output in December, adding to evidence that the world’s second-largest economy is stabilising as the signing of a phase one trade deal with the US nears. The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index remained at 50.2, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. The outlook for export-oriented firms brightened, with a sub-index ...

Bloomberg European gas and power prices extended declines after a last-gasp accord between Russia and Ukraine on natural gas flows averted a winter supply crisis. The two former Soviet allies signed all agreements needed for flows to Gazprom PJSC’s main markets in the west to continue for the next five years. Steady shipments from Europe’s dominant supplier, coupled with record ...

Bloomberg The UK government will give a pay rise to the lowest earners next year, as it seeks to deliver on its election manifesto promise to raise living standards as the country leaves the European Union (EU). Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid said the minimum wage will increase by 6.2% from April 1, in line with the recommendation of ...

Bloomberg A trade deal between the US Companies are lining up debt sales to the tune of $120 billion in January, a 9% increase from last year, according to an informal survey of dealers. Several leftovers from December — such as JD.com Inc and Reinsurance Group of America Inc — could sell debt soon after markets reopen following investor meetings ...

Bloomberg US President Donald Trump said he will sign the first phase of a trade deal with China on January 15. “The ceremony will take place at the White House,” he said on his Twitter account, adding he will be going to Beijing where he said talks will begin on the second phase of the deal. I will be signing ...

Bloomberg US consumer confidence unexpectedly dropped for the fourth time in five months in December, as expectations for income and job-market conditions coutinued to edge down. The Conference Board’s gauge decreased to 126.5 from an upwardly revised 126.8 in November, according to data released on December 21 that missed the median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The measure ...

Bloomberg French President Emmanuel Macron doubled down on his contested plan to transform the country’s pension system, saying in his New Year’s address that it’s a project for “justice and social progress.” The French leader’s intransigence clashes with defiant labour unions that staged a 27th straight day of strikes to protests his plans, despite calls for a truce at Christmas ...

Bloomberg A senior Chinese diplomat said China will honour its phase-one trade commitments, and suggested that the US live up to theirs on issues such as Taiwan. In an interview with Chinese state television CGTN on December 28 night, Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the US, also said talk of a new cold war was “very irresponsible.” The comments came ...