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US factories in China are open, but with worker shortage

Bloomberg Most US factories in China’s manufacturing hub around Shanghai will be back at work this week, but the “severe” shortage of workers due to the coronavirus will hit production and global supply chains, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. While about 90% of the 109 US manufacturers in the Yangtze River delta expect to resume production ...

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Beijing auto show delayed by virus

Bloomberg China’s annual auto show, which was scheduled to be held in Beijing in April, will be pushed back because of the novel coronavirus outbreak. The new date for the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, originally scheduled for April 21-30, will be announced at a later date, the organiser said. The postponement of the show in the world’s largest auto market ...

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China shutdown ripples across India from drugs to electronics

Bloomberg India, the world’s second-most populous nation, is facing the ripple effects of shutdowns in China with production of medicines to mobile phones being hit as supply chain disruptions prolong. Prices of paracetamol, the most commonly used analgesic, have jumped by 40% in India, while the cost of azithromycin, an antibiotic used for treating a variety of bacterial infections, has ...

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Coffers are depleted in coronavirus-hit China

Bloomberg China’s provinces are facing the economic fallout from the coronavirus with depleted ammunition, given they were already bracing for a deterioration in public finances before the outbreak hit. More than half of mainland provinces expect slower expansion of revenue in 2020 than last year’s average local income growth, according to their budgets published before the disease outbreak became widespread ...

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Indonesia’s exports plunge before coronavirus-led supply disruptions

Bloomberg Indonesia’s exports slumped in January just as the coronavirus began spreading, with Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati warning of a hit to global trade. Exports fell 3.7% from a year ago versus a median estimate for a surplus of 1.2% in a Bloomberg survey of economists, the statistics office said on Monday. Imports declined 4.8%, resulting in a trade ...

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Britain to spend $1.6bn on climate supercomputer

Bloomberg The UK said it will spend 1.2 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) on developing the most powerful weather and climate supercomputer in the world. The programme aims to improve weather and climate modelling by the government forecaster, the Met Office, Business Secretary Alok Sharma said in a statement on Monday. The machine will replace the UK’s existing supercomputer, which is ...

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UK’s consumers to face higher prices for EU goods, deal or not

Bloomberg UK consumers will face higher prices on goods coming from the European Union (EU) after Brexit, whether Boris Johnson signs a free trade agreement with the bloc or not, according to a major business group. Products imported from the EU after January 1 2021 will require customs declarations, which cost between 16 pounds ($21) and 56 pounds per product ...

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GM to exit Australia, retire Holden brand in $1.1 billion overhaul

Bloomberg General Motors Co will leave Australia, New Zealand and Thailand by year-end as it exits poor-performing markets and focuses on new technologies such as self-driving cars and electric vehicles. The largest US automaker will take $1.1 billion in charges mostly in the first quarter, of which $300 million is cash, to cover the costs of leaving those markets, it ...

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EU fights for ‘purpose’ in grand plan for AI, technology rules

Bloomberg China might have data and the US might have money, but Europe has purpose. That’s the message European Union tech czar Margrethe Vestager aims to convey on Wednesday when she unveils plans to help the bloc compete with the US and China’s technological might on its own terms, conforming with fundamental EU rights including strict privacy and non-discrimination rules. ...

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Vodacom sees African growth in nano-loans

Bloomberg Vodacom Group Ltd sees its African financial-services business as a cornerstone of growth as the wireless carrier expands into products such as funeral insurance and loans of as little as $2. The unit of the UK’s Vodafone Group Plc uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to customise its financial offering depending on the different needs of markets ranging from ...

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