Bloomberg Hong Kong’s retail sales surprisingly rebounded in April, lifting the sector out of contraction after strict Covid curbs hammered consumer spending earlier this year. Sales value rose 11.7% in April from a year earlier, the Census and Statistics Department said. That was far better than the median estimate of a 7.9% decline expected by economists in a Bloomberg survey. …

  Bloomberg Bank of England (BOE) Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said the UK housing market is starting to slow and will be dragged down by rising interest rates and easing economic growth. “We see evidence of a slowdown,” Cunliffe said in an interview on ITV News. “There are some straws in the wind that show the market is starting to …

  Bloomberg Stocks in Europe and US futures climbed on Thursday as investors assessed attractive valuations and a drop in oil prices against hawkish messages from central bankers on reining in inflation. Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index rose 0.5%, with construction and consumer shares leading gains, while energy stocks were laggards. Trading volumes are lighter than usual, with UK markets shut …