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  Hanoi / AFP Vietnam’s economy slowed in the first half of 2016, official figures showed on Wednesday, with a severe regional drought and a spate of fish deaths adding to losses caused by turmoil in global markets. GDP growth dropped to 5.52 percent in the first six months compared to 6.32 percent in the same period last year. The ...

  Tokyo / Bloomberg Toyota Motor Corp. said it’s recalling about 3.4 million vehicles to repair separate flaws involving leaky fuel tanks and curtain air bags that may crack and injure occupants. The larger fuel tank recall affects 2.87 million vehicles worldwide, including Prius hybrids and Corolla compacts, the company said in an e-mail. Toyota said fuel emissions control canisters ...

  Tokyo / AFP India’s 10-year bond yield was near a six-week low as a pickup in monsoon rains eased concern that a reduction in crop output will stoke food costs. Total rainfall has been 13 percent below normal since June 1, according to the weather department. The shortfall was 25 percent mid-June. Investors are drawing comfort from this year’s ...

  London / AFP Britain’s exit from the European Union may erode the bloc’s leadership role in fighting climate change and stymie crucial efforts to set more ambitious targets for cutting greenhouse gases, officials and experts said. The damage will become worse the longer the divorce proceedings drag on, or if Brexit inspires other EU nations to follow suit, they said. ...

  Bloomberg French President Francois Hollande targeted a key pillar of the U.K.’s financial industry, calling into question the City of London’s status as a clearing hub after Britons voted last week to leave the European Union. “The City, which could make its clearing operations in euro, won’t be able to do so any more,” Hollande said after the first ...

  Bloomberg Scandinavia’s biggest bank estimates Denmark sold almost $750 million in kroner to weaken the currency after it became clear early on Friday that Britons had voted to leave the European Union. The flight into safe-haven markets triggered by Brexit drove the krone to its strongest level against the euro in more than a decade, forcing the central bank ...

  Bloomberg A larger proportion of Britons are worried that Brexit will hurt their personal finances than voted to leave the European Union last week, illustrating the extent of uncertainty among U.K. consumers in the wake of the historic vote. About 61 percent of 2,000 people surveyed by researcher Retail Economics over the weekend said they were concerned about the ...

  Paris / AFP There is a great risk that France misses its 2017 deficit target because of increased spending since the start of the year, the Court of Auditors warned on Wednesday. Francois Hollande’s government has repeatedly promised that it will bring the public sector deficit to 2.7% of gross domestic product (GDP) next year, below the three percent limit ...

  Bloomberg Russia will only take its battle against inflation so far. Reserves and the ruble’s free float is where it draws the line. Authorities are looking at how to keep tapping a wealth fund to cover the budget deficit even though their method of doing so floods the economy with excess cash, according to four officials familiar with the ...

  Frankfurt / AFP Consumer confidence in Germany is on the rise as households feel that robust domestic demand, rising wages and low inflation will keep Europe’s biggest economy on a growth path, a poll found on Wednesday. “In contrast to the weather, German consumer sentiment is showing itself from its sunny side,” market research company GfK said in a statement. ...