News

  BEIJING / AP US, European and Chinese regulators say they will jointly enforce product safety in online commerce, and an American official said they are making progress on crafting standards for hoverboards. The statement by American, European Union and Chinese officials reflects the rapid growth of international e-commerce, which the officials said “has created new challenges” in protecting consumers from ...

  WONSAN / AP The bright red slogans hang from buses, government buildings and even some restaurants and gas stations, urging North Koreans to work harder to make the country’s 200-day “speed campaign” a success. “Have you carried out the plan for today?” one poster asks. It’s the second such drive this year, and while outside economists doubt their effectiveness, ...

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank reinstated a waiver on Greek debt, allowing the nation’s banks more access to cheaper refinancing lines but stopping short of including such bonds in quantitative easing for now. The ECB “decided to reinstate the waiver affecting the eligibility of marketable debt instruments issued or fully guaranteed by the Hellenic Republic,” the institution said in ...

  Bloomberg Growth in the euro area’s private sector slowed more than economists predicted in June, with firms expressing concerns about uncertainty ahead of the U.K.’s vote on its European Union membership. A Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing and services fell to 52.8 from 53.1 in May, London-based Markit Economics said on Thursday. The decline to the lowest level since ...

  Bloomberg Germany’s economy is showing little sign that Britain’s referendum on European Union membership is damping investment, according to Markit Economics. A Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing and services was at 54.1 in June after a reading of 54.5 in May, the London-based company said on Thursday. While that’s the lowest in two months, it’s well above the 50 ...

  Bloomberg France’s private-sector economy shrank for the first time in four months in June, with manufacturing slumping the most in more than a year. A composite Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 49.4 from 50.9 in May, London-based Markit Economics said on Thursday. That’s below the 50-point mark that divides expansion from contraction. A gauge for manufacturing dropped to 47.9, ...

  Bloomberg The euro will strengthen this year no matter which way the U.K. votes in Thursday’s referendum on its European Union membership, according to one of the most accurate forecasters of the currency. A record current-account surplus and rising inflation-adjusted bond yields will limit any declines in the shared currency to $1.10, said Daisuke Karakama, chief market economist at ...

  Bloomberg Volkswagen AG’s typically close-knit owners publicly split for the first time over the diesel crisis after the German state of Lower Saxony withheld support for two executives under investigation for their role in the scandal. Volkswagen’s second-largest shareholder abstained from what is typically a ceremonial vote at the annual meeting, declining to back former CEO Martin Winterkorn and ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM The share of global electricity generated by solar photovoltaics (PV) could increase from 2 per cent today to as much as 13 per cent by 2030, according to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Released on Wednesday at InterSolar Europe, Letting in the Light: How Solar Photovoltaics Will Revolutionise the Electricity ...

  DUBAI / WAM Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, Chairman of Emirates Islamic and Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Emirates NBD Group, rang the market-opening bell on Wednesday to celebrate the listing by the bank of a US$750 million Sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai. The nominal value of Sukuk currently listed on Nasdaq Dubai has reached US$41.81 billion, the largest total ...