International News

  Bloomberg Norway’s economy contracted as expected at the beginning of the year, while a rebound after removal of virus-related measures bolstered the outlook for quarterly interest rate hikes by Norges Bank. Mainland gross domestic product, which adjusts for the nation’s offshore industry, shrank 0.6 percent in the first quarter from the previous three months, dented by the last pandemic ...

  Bloomberg Shares in Venezuela’s state-owned telecommunications company soared this week in Caracas as the government announced plans to offer stakes in public companies, boosting expectations for a revival in the local market. Cia. Anonima Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela SA, or CANTV, surged 41% in two days, according to Caracas Stock Exchange data, after President Nicolas Maduro said his government ...

Bloomberg India’s move to restrict wheat exports is set to reverberate through global agricultural markets, exposing just how tight global supplies are after the war in Ukraine and threatening to drive up food prices even more. The government said in a notification it will suspend overseas sales to manage its food security. This drew criticism from the agriculture ministers of ...

Bloomberg India’s monsoon will arrive early this year, providing much-needed relief after a record-breaking heat wave damaged crops and threatened the health of millions of people across the region. The mercury surged as high as about 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts this month, after the average temperature soared in March to the highest ever for the ...

  Bloomberg Singaporeans are flocking to apply for passports after travel restrictions eased, unlocking pent-up wanderlust after two years of Covid-19 restrictions. The number of passport applications has spiked to more than 7,000 a day, peaking at 14,000, according to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, which described the surge as “overwhelming.” That compares with about 2,000 a day before the ...

  Bloomberg The Malaysian state of Sarawak is in talks with Norway about setting up a sovereign wealth fund, Premier Abang Johari Tun Openg said in a statement. Sarawak, home to some of the biggest aluminum smelters and hydroelectric dams in Southeast Asia, would try to achieve the same standard and success of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the premier said ...

  Bloomberg Hiro Mizuno, former chief investment officer of Japan’s GPIF, the world’s largest pension fund, has recounted how Kofi Annan once said to him that Asian nations were a “desert” of responsible financing. Mizuno told the story in 2019, two years after he began to champion investing based on environmental, social and governance metrics. Things have changed since then. ...

Bloomberg California Governor Gavin Newsom said that his state has a record $97.5 billion operating surplus, as high tax rates on its wealthiest residents mean he has more cash to fund liberal priorities such as education and health care. The surplus is bigger than the entire 2020 spending of any other state except New York and Texas. Of that windfall, ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) cut its prediction for 2022 euro-area growth and almost doubled its estimate for inflation, according to new draft projections. In the first forecast since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the European Commission says gross domestic product will expand 2.7% in 2022 and 2.3% in 2023, according to a draft seen by Bloomberg. That’s down ...

  Bloomberg Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, is considering a visit to Indonesia to explore investment opportunities in the resource-rich Southeast Asia country. The chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the rocket manufacturer’s site in Boca Chica, Texas, on Saturday, during which Widodo extended an invite. “Hopefully in November, thank ...