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Bloomberg German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz proposed extending job-preserving subsidies during the coronavirus crisis to 24 months, saying the measure would cost the government an extra $12 billion. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government re-launched short-time compensation to shield workers and companies in Germany from massive job cuts during the pandemic. The benefit, normally limited to 12 months, initially covers as much ...

Bloomberg The UK housing market saw a surge in activity last month after a government tax break pushed sales to the highest in more than a decade, according to Rightmove. The property website said the number of agreed sales jumped in July, with the value hitting $48 billion. That’s the most since Rightmove began tracking the data over 10 years ...

Bloomberg California is bracing for another round of targeted blackouts on Monday as a heat wave continues to smother the region and power supplies run low. While the state’s grid operator said no outages were planned for Sunday night —sparing the region a third consecutive night of blackouts —the respite may be fleeting. The California Independent System Operator has warned ...

Bloomberg The Panama Canal is seeing signs of a rebound in global trade as ship transits recover from the depressed levels caused by the pandemic. Total transits through the waterway rose to 933 in July, from 845 in June, which was the fewest since the canal opened an expanded set of locks four years ago to accommodate bigger ships. Initial ...

Bloomberg Peru’s economy contracted less severely than expected in June after the government scaled back lockdown restrictions, even as the country became a global hotspot for coronavirus. Economic activity fell 18.1% from a year earlier, the country’s statistics agency said. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a drop of 25.9%. Industries such as mining, fishing ...

Bloomberg The UK economy will likely be smaller at the end of 2021 than it was before plunging into a record recession this year, according to a Bloomberg survey that casts fresh doubt over Bank of England projections. Calculations based on the median estimate of economists polled this month show gross domestic product (GDP) is set to be around 5% ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Foreign Minister of Israel Gabi Ashkenazi on Sunday inaugurated a phone link between the two countries. In a phone call, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed exchanged greetings with the Israeli foreign minister on the announcement of the peace treaty ...

Bloomberg The first commercial deal under an Africa-wide free trade zone will take place on January 1 next year as outstanding talks are set to move online, the African Union said. While African Continental Free Trade Area entered into force legally last year, transactions that were due to start on July 1 were delayed as the virus set back negotiations ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The National Health Insurance Company – Daman’s Board of Directors on Sunday announced the confirmation of Hamad Al Mehyas as the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO).He led the company following a major reorganisation last year when he was promoted from Chief Commercial Officer – Abu Dhabi to Deputy CEO. Commenting on the appointment, Tareq Abdulraheem Al ...

NOUAKCHOTT / WAM Mauritania has stressed its support for the United Arab Emirates’ position favouring national, Arab and Muslim interests. The Mauritanian News Agency quoted a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Mauritanians Abroad as saying that the country highlighted the UAE’s support for Palestine and the rights of the Palestinian people to establishing a state ...