Bloomberg UK retail sales rose less than expected in December, adding to evidence that a succession of Covid-19 lockdowns is dragging down the economy. Sales in shops and online increased 0.3% after declining in November, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. That’s a percentage point less than economists had expected. From a year earlier, sales rose 2.9%. The report ...

Bloomberg President Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, his first calls with foreign counterparts since his inauguration this week. In a nod to continental cooperation, Biden’s first conversation was with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and then Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The White House, in a statement, said Biden underscored to Trudeau “the strategic ...

Bloomberg China’s passed a controversial law that gives the coast guard more freedom to fire on foreign vessels, a move that could fuel risk of military miscalculation in the Western Pacific. The law is aimed at “safeguarding national sovereignty, security and maritime rights,” the official Xinhua News Agency said in a report on Saturday. The law will take effect from ...