Bloomberg Economic growth in the euro area probably picked up at the end of the first quarter, according to Markit Economics, which also said that concerns remain about the health of the region. Markit’s composite Purchasing Managers Index of manufacturing and services rose to a three-month high of 53.7 in March from 53 in February. That keeps the measure well ...

Bloomberg On a typical weekday, hundreds of heavy trucks arrive at the Chempark Leverkusen, a sprawling complex of refineries flanking the Rhine River in western Germany. For the past two years, the trucks have been forced to make long detours to avoid a crumbling Autobahn bridge that dates to when the Beatles were singing Twist and Shout in Hamburg. Designed ...

Brussels / AFP The US and Cuban presidents expressed hope for the improving relationship between their nations even as they underscored deep differences over human rights and governance, in an extraordinary news conference punctuated by Raul Castro’s critique of the American social safety net and an awkward miscue on a closing handshake. “After more than five very difficult decades, the ...