International News

  Bloomberg Italy’s sovereign rating outlook was lowered to negative by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited accumulated risks from Russia’s war in Ukraine to departure of PM Mario Draghi. Italy’s finance ministry called action “questionable.” The credit quality of the European nation, which is rated Baa3 by Moody’s, is under pressure from heightened government risk that could impede structural reforms, ...

Bloomberg Canadian employment unexpectedly falls for a second straight month in July as workers dropped out of the labour force, adding to evidence the economy is losing momentum. The country shed 30,600 jobs last month, Statistics Canada reported in Ottawa, a surprise negative reading compared to the 15,000 gain anticipated by economists. Still, the unemployment rate held at a record ...

Bloomberg Argentina’s new Economy Minister Sergio Massa pledged Wednesday night to stop printing money that helps fuel runaway inflation, outlining his strategy to turn around the country’s deepening crisis. Massa rolled out his economic roadmap after being sworn in by President Alberto Fernandez as the third such minister in a month. Massa’s measures also focused on boosting exports, reducing the ...

  Bloomberg Thomson Reuters Corp. journalists in the US launched a daylong strike on Thursday, first walkout in decades among the media company’s long-unionised staff. Employees began a 24-hour strike after claiming the company didn’t fairly negotiate pay increases, according to the Communications Workers of America’s NewsGuild, which represents US-based Reuters reporters, photographers and video journalists. The group said about ...

Bloomberg Searing temperatures are shriveling corn crops across Europe, in the latest sign of a deepening crisis that spans everything from Rhine River transport to Spanish olive growers. Sown in the spring, corn is under stress due to a lack of rain as the region struggles with rolling heat waves. Three-quarters of Romania, Europe’s biggest producer, is affected by drought ...

  Bloomberg German factory orders sank for a fifth month in June as rampant inflation and global supply disruptions continued to weigh on the outlook in Europe’s largest economy. Demand slipped 0.4% from May, driven by a decline in orders for investment goods, particularly from abroad. That brought annual number down 9%. Economists had predicted a drop of 0.9% on ...

  Bloomberg Toronto benchmark home prices fall for a fourth-straight month, a record-breaking streak of declines that some economists warn could become an historic downturn in Canada’s real estate market. The home-price index in Canada’s largest city declined 3.9% in July from the month earlier, bringing the total drop since April to 13.3%, according to data released on Thursday by ...

Bloomberg AP Moller Maersk A/S raised its profit forecast for this second time this year after congestion on trade lanes boosted global freight rates, creating an “exceptional market” for transport companies. Maersk, which controls about one-sixth of the world’s container trade, and its peers have benefited from supply-line disruptions as a shortage of shipping capacity has enabled them to charge ...

Bloomberg France experienced its driest July on record as searing heat spread across Europe, putting strain in key crops. The average precipitation across the country was 8.1 millimeters, making it the driest month since March 1961, forecaster Meteo France said on its website. Rainfall in Brittany, Auvergne and Corsica was at least 95% below the norm. The scorching temperatures and ...

  Bloomberg Relentless heatwaves blasting Spain this summer threaten to sink production of olive oil from the world’s top exporter of the cooking ingredient, according to Agriculture Minister Luis Planas. If there is no temperature relief or rains in the coming weeks, this year’s olive harvest could be notably lower than previous ones,” said Planas in an interview, declining to ...