Bloomberg Hundreds of Ethiopian troops converged on a town near the border of the northern Tigray province, days after the government and rebels from the region agreed on a humanitarian truce. Over the past few days, 32 buses carrying soldiers were seen in Kobo in Amhara state south of Tigray, some of whom may be replacing personnel who were ...
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Russia-Ukraine war shakes German industry to the core
Bloomberg Germany’s industrial base, just emerging from pandemic and unprecedented supply-chain challenges, is taking another beating with Russia’s war on Ukraine hitting its powerhouse car, chemical and precision machinery manufacturers. As the conflict pushes energy costs to new heights and a wave of inflation builds, scores of companies including BMW AG, BASF SE and ThyssenKrupp AG have warned their ...
Read More »Jobless rate drops in nearly every US state
Bloomberg The unemployment rate fell last month in more than half of US states, including in 12 where jobless rates dropped to record lows. Nebraska and Utah, with unemployment at 2.1%, tied for the lowest in the country, according to Labour Department data. Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Wisconsin also posted record lows ...
Read More »Italian business, consumer confidence slump in March
Bloomberg Confidence among Italian businesses and consumers fall sharply on concerns about the economic consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The economic sentiment index fell to 105.4 in March from a revised 107.9 in February, statistics office Istat said. Measures of consumer and manufacturing confidence both declined, with the former reaching its lowest level since January 2021. Expectations for ...
Read More »EU proposes $1.65bn package to shore up food security
Bloomberg The European Union (EU) is proposing a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.65 billion) funding package for farmers, plus freeing up fallow land for crops as it seeks to shore up food security after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Food prices have soared as the war cuts off most shipments from Ukraine, a major grain and chicken exporter. In the first ever release ...
Read More »Hot UK inflation spurs biggest bets on rate cuts in 15 years
Bloomberg Faster inflation would normally fuel expectations for higher interest rates. In the UK, where price gains are the quickest in three decades, traders are betting on rate cuts. They’re paying heed to a warning this month from the Bank of England that surging costs for energy, clothing and food could lead to a weaker growth outlook. Money markets show ...
Read More »Big cap stocks in US turn into world’s top haven as risk rises
Bloomberg Investors are scrambling for safety as risks mount, from the war in Ukraine to rising interest rates and a global recession. They have found it in the US stock market — particularly the biggest American companies. The S&P 500 Index is up more than 8% over the past two weeks, recouping all of its losses since the Russian ...
Read More »Bitcoin’s stealth rally past $45,000 erases its losses for the year
Bloomberg Bitcoin’s stealth rally over the past two weeks not only pushed it past a key level of $45,000 — it also put the world’s biggest cryptocurrency back in positive territory for the year. The token rises to around $47,000 at 3:30 pm in Hong Kong, well above the $35,000-to-$45,000 range where it’s been stuck since early January. With ...
Read More »Earth Hour 2022: Time to make peace with nature, says UN chief
Abu Dhabi / WAM Noting that climate disruption, biodiversity loss and pollution threaten lives, jobs and health the world over, the UN chief said on Saturday that it was essential “to make peace with nature.” “Without nature’s help, we cannot thrive or even survive on this planet Earth,” Secretary-General António Guterres underscored in his message for Earth Hour, commemorated annually ...
Read More »UAE, Kuwait to establish a new virtual trade corridor
Abu Dhabi / WAM AD Ports Group on Sunday announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kuwait General Administration of Customs to establish a new virtual trade corridor between the UAE and Kuwait, under the supervision of Department of Economic Development – Abu Dhabi (Added). The signing took place in Kuwait following a visit by ...
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