Bloomberg US retailers are bracing for more returns than usual, adding stress to an industry already grappling with increasing labor costs and supply-chain issues. Shoppers are expected to return more than $761 billion in merchandise sold last year, representing about 16.6% of total US retail sales, according to a survey of retailers. That’s up from 10.6% during 2020. Fraudulent …

  Bloomberg UK house prices rise at the slowest pace in more than six months in January after a bumper end to 2021 left the average value of a home at a record high. Prices rise just 0.3% following four months of gains above 1%, mortgage lender Halifax said on Monday. In a sign of a more normal market, the …

  Bloomberg Chinese shares climbed on their return from a weeklong holiday, with sentiment boosted by Friday’s jump in Hong-Kong listed names and easing concerns about regulatory headwinds for the nation’s battered tech sector. The CSI 300 Index ended up 1.5% on Monday after rising as much as 2.4%. While that marked the benchmark’s best post-Lunar New Year holiday performance …