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Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is weighing as much as 50 billion euros ($61 billion) in additional debt spending to fight fallout from coronavirus crisis. Germany’s coronavirus cabinet discussed the financing for Covid-19 tests and other measures to support Europe’s largest economy. The funding — equivalent to about 1.5% of German gross domestic product — reflects an initial estimate, and ...

Bloomberg UK unemployment climbed to its highest rate in almost five years in the fourth quarter as the economic toll from the coronavirus pandemic continued to mount. The number of people looking for work rise 121,000 from the third quarter, taking the jobless rate to 5.1%, the most since early 2016, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. The ...

Bloomberg Facebook Inc. backed down from its news blackout in Australia after government agreed to amend world-first legislation forcing the tech giant and Google to pay local publishers for content. The social-media platform switched off news sharing in Australia last week in opposition to the proposed law, and Mark Zuckerberg and government officials have been locked in talks to find ...

Bloomberg Johnson & Johnson (J&J) said it set aside almost $4 billion to cover the biggest verdict against the company over its Baby Powder and other settlements while it’s appealing the 2018 loss to the US Supreme Court. In a securities filing, J&J said it was taking a “litigation expense of $3.9 billion” related to ‘primarily talc-related reserves and certain ...

Bloomberg Statistics Canada backtracked on its decision to revise down estimates of underlying inflation, raising questions whether the agency has a full grasp of the real state of price pressures in the economy. In a rare move, the agency said it’s reversing a methodological change — unveiled only five days ago — that lowered some readings of core prices. After ...

DUBAI / WAM Upon the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, will chair a government retreat on Tuesday, ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) announced on Monday that its Thamama Centre of Excellence (Thamama) has generated $1.1 billion (AED4.04 billion) in business value since its inception in 2017. The announcement was made at Adnoc’s Innovation Week, which is taking place virtually from February (21-25). Named after the reservoir formation most dominant in Abu ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The second day of the International Defence Exhibition (Idex) and the Naval Defence Exhibition (Navdex) 2021 has seen the UAE Armed Forces sign 11 new deals, worth AED 7.293 billion, with local and international companies. The cumulative value of deals signed at Idex and Navdex 2021 is now AED 12.323 billion. Staff Brigadier-General Mohammed Al Hassani, ...

KUWAIT / WAM Official delegations representing the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar met in the brotherly State of Kuwait on Monday in the first meeting between the two sides to follow up on the Al-Ula Declaration. The two sides discussed joint mechanisms and procedures to implement the Al-Ula Declaration and underscored the importance of preserving Gulf unity, ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Japan-UAE cooperation in the fields of hydrogen and ammonia can lead to the establishment of their international supply chains, a top Japanese official told Emirates News Agency (WAM). “In fact, the UAE is endowed with not only oil and gas, but also bright sunshine, so the country has a great potential for supplying hydrogen in the ...