International News

Bloomberg Robert Bosch GmbH, the world’s largest auto-parts maker, is stocking up components in the UK LVMH is building up its inventory there. Channel tunnel operator Eurotunnel is expanding its parking lot for trucks in France. European firms that do a lot of business with the UK are preparing for the worst. Their frenzied activity reflects the growing likelihood that ...

Bloomberg Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a populist push in his final budget before elections, cutting taxes for middle-class voters and giving cash handouts to farmers. The government will allocate 750 billion-rupee ($10.6 billion) a year for the cash plan for about 120 million farmers and give taxpayers 185 billion rupees of relief in the year to March 2020, ...

Bloomberg China has snapped up more US soybeans following two days of trade talks in Washington. State-run buyers Cofco Corp. and Sinograin purchased more than one million tons of American soybeans each, the companies said in separate statements on Saturday. The purchases are “to implement the consensus that the leaders of both China and the US have come to,” according ...

Bloomberg Talks for a $20 billion Malaysian rail project are still ongoing, with the Southeast Asian nation expecting to make a decision “as soon as possible,” the Star newspaper reported, citing Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Mahathir said the status of the East Coast Railway Link is being negotiated with China, and that he couldn’t disclose further information until the outcome ...

Bloomberg Indonesia postponed construction of second phase of Jakarta’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project because of a land-use issue, the Jakarta Post reported. The company delayed the ground breaking of the project, that was originally scheduled in January, because the State Secretariat has yet to issue a land-use permit for Medan Merdeka, the area near the Presidential Palace, Sabandar said. The ...

Bloomberg The British automotive industry saw investment plunge last year as carmakers delayed decisions on upgrading machinery and factories amid mounting concern about the impact of a hard Brexit. Spending plunged 46 percent to 589 million pounds ($769 million), the lowest since the global financial crisis, the Society of Motor Manufacturers said in a statement. Concern about the impact of ...

Bloomberg Spain remained an economic bright spot in the euro zone in late 2018 even though the country, like the rest of the region, faces a weaker outlook this year. Growth unexpectedly accelerated to 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter, contrasting with figures reported by Germany, France and Italy, where trade tensions, violent pro-tests and budget struggles hobbled growth. Spanish ...

Bloomberg Italy fell into recession at the end of 2018, capping a year of political turmoil, higher borrowing costs and fiscal tensions that took their toll on the economy. Output shrank 0.2 percent in the three months through December, following a 0.1 percent decline in the previous quarter, statistics agency Istat said in a preliminary report. The year-end shrinkage was ...

Bloomberg While many Americans in the frozen Midwest hunker down indoors, central Iowa farmer Ethan Crow has been outside lining his barn and fences with extra bales of hay and corn stalks to break the wind hitting his cattle. He checked on his roughly 50-head herd every few hours to make sure they had feed and he chipped ice off ...

Bloomberg Chinese executives are sounding warning bells over the world’s second-largest economy. At least 20 companies, including China Life Insurance Co. and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., told investors that full-year earnings would fall well short of expectations. Reasons they cited included the country’s economic slowdown, as well as recent changes to accounting rules and the equity market’s $2.3 trillion rout ...