Bloomberg Gap Inc.’s shares rose in late trading as investors took solace in higher-than-expected earnings and improving sales trends even as the chain withdrew its full-year projections. The apparel retailer said macroeconomic uncertainty and its ongoing search for a new executive officer sparked the decision to pull the guidance. Still, the company saw “an improvement in sales trends in ...

  Bloomberg US Navy warships have entered the Taiwan Strait for the first time since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-ruled island tested ties between Washington and Beijing. The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers USS Antietam and USS Chancellorsville are conducting a routine transit through a corridor of the strait beyond the territorial sea of any state, the 7th Fleet ...

  Bloomberg Greek air defense missile locked onto Turkish F-16 fighter jets flying in international airspace over the Mediterranean, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement. Greece’s Russian-made S300 air defense system on the island of Crete locked onto the Turkish planes on Aug. 23 as they flew over the Mediterranean, according to the statement. Earlier in the week, ...

  Bloomberg South Korea’s main opposition picked a high-profile rival of the president as its new leader, adding to the government’s challenges as it struggles to build support after three months in office. The progressive Democratic Party elected Lee Jae-myung on Sunday to lead the charge against conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol. Lee, a populist who pushed to introduce universal ...

Bloomberg South Africa’s governing African National Congress has a chance of retaining its majority in national elections in 2024, according to a survey conducted by the Social Research Foundation. The results of the survey of 3,204 registered voters in July contrasts with a slew of polls forecasting the party that led South Africa out of apartheid in 1994 will dip ...

  Bloomberg Liz Truss is considering cutting Britain’s VAT sales tax by as much as 5 percentage points across the board, the Telegraph reported, a move that may head off criticism she lacks a plan to tackle the country’s cost of living crisis. The potential reduction to 15%, flagged in a newspaper that has strongly backed her leadership campaign against ...

  Bloomberg It’s starting to look like nothing can stop the British pound from sinking to new lows. With talk about inflation surpassing 18% next year and families across the country likely to be pushed into energy poverty this winter, the UK’s economic woes are getting worse by the day. The consensus among traders is that the Bank of England ...

  Bloomberg French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is leaving open the possibility of a new tax on corporate “super profits” after lawmakers rejected the move last month. In an interview published in Le Parisien newspaper, Borne said she’d prefer alternatives to a windfall levy, such as companies lowering prices for consumers and giving bonuses to employees to bolster their spending ...

  Bloomberg Confidence in Germany’s business outlook fell in August as soaring inflation and fears about a possible recession in Europe’s largest economy has intensified. The Ifo Institute’s gauge of business expectations for the next six months inched down to 80.3 from 80.4 in July, though economists had predicted a steeper decline. Current conditions were also assessed more negatively. Still, ...

  Bloomberg Scotland’s public spending deficit shrank after revenue from the North Sea oil industry jumped to the highest in eight years and helped offset the fallout from the pandemic. The shortfall dropped to 23.7 billion pounds ($28 billion), or 12.3% of gross domestic product, in the 2021-22 financial year, according to the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland report. That ...