International News

  Bloomberg Hurricane Ida and the freakish winter storm that froze Texas last February topped last year’s list of most damaging storms, according to the annual report on insurance industry losses caused by natural catastrophes put out by reinsurance giant Swiss Re. The report found that global economic losses from natural catastrophes such as floods, hurricanes and wildfires reached $270 ...

  Bloomberg Germany’s industrial base, just emerging from pandemic and unprecedented supply-chain challenges, is taking another beating with Russia’s war on Ukraine hitting its powerhouse car, chemical and precision machinery manufacturers. As the conflict pushes energy costs to new heights and a wave of inflation builds, scores of companies including BMW AG, BASF SE and ThyssenKrupp AG have warned their ...

  Bloomberg The unemployment rate fell last month in more than half of US states, including in 12 where jobless rates dropped to record lows. Nebraska and Utah, with unemployment at 2.1%, tied for the lowest in the country, according to Labour Department data. Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Wisconsin also posted record lows ...

  Bloomberg Confidence among Italian businesses and consumers fall sharply on concerns about the economic consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The economic sentiment index fell to 105.4 in March from a revised 107.9 in February, statistics office Istat said. Measures of consumer and manufacturing confidence both declined, with the former reaching its lowest level since January 2021. Expectations for ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) is proposing a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.65 billion) funding package for farmers, plus freeing up fallow land for crops as it seeks to shore up food security after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Food prices have soared as the war cuts off most shipments from Ukraine, a major grain and chicken exporter. In the first ever release ...

Bloomberg Faster inflation would normally fuel expectations for higher interest rates. In the UK, where price gains are the quickest in three decades, traders are betting on rate cuts. They’re paying heed to a warning this month from the Bank of England that surging costs for energy, clothing and food could lead to a weaker growth outlook. Money markets show ...

Bloomberg The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak was handed a major boost before Wednesday’s Spring Statement, as data showed the budget deficit was running 26 billion pounds ($34 billion) below official forecasts in the first 11 months of the fiscal year. The undershoot, which may rise even further when full-year figures are published next month, gives Sunak some ...

  Bloomberg Spain will announce a series of tax breaks later this month to mitigate the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said. “The main message is that the government is going to do everything in its power to cushion the consequences of the war,” Sanchez said in an interview with La Sexta television channel. ...

  Bloomberg Swiss watch exports jumped 25% in February as US buyers kept driving a post-pandemic rebound in demand for pricey timepieces. The US remained the top market with a 15% share while China accounted for almost 12% of the nearly 2 billion francs ($2.1 billion) in total monthly exports, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said. American consumers ...

  Bloomberg BMW AG said operating returns for its automotive business will remain robust this year, even as the war in Ukraine and a global semiconductor shortage weigh on production. The company lowered its estimate for automaking returns to between 7% and 9% for 2022, noting that the target range would have been 8% to 10% were it not for ...