Bloomberg The UK posted a 31.7 billion-pound budget deficit ($45 billion) in April as the new fiscal year got under way. The shortfall reported by the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday was in line with the median forecast of economists but well below the 47.3 billion pounds registered in April last year, when the first coronavirus lockdown pummeled the ...

Bloomberg Sales of previously owned US homes dropped unexpectedly in April for a third straight month as an inventory crunch pushed up prices by the most on record and restrained purchases. Contract closings decreased 2.7% from the prior month to an annualised 5.85 million, the slowest pace since June, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. The median ...

Bloomberg France will likely decide on Wednesday whether additional restrictions are needed at its border with the UK to fend off a coronavirus variant first identified in India. The UK is trying to make a case to France that extra curbs aren’t necessary, citing the large share of its vaccinated population, a person familiar with the discussions said. About 70% ...