Bloomberg Singapore started contact tracing for airport staff who may have come into contact with two travelers infected with the omicron variant of Covid-19 who transited through Changi Airport on their way to Australia from South Africa, the health ministry said. Two individuals, described as being from southern Africa, flew from Johannesburg to Singapore on a Singapore Airlines flight, and ...

Bloomberg Retail investors were quick to plow cash into the biggest US exchange-traded funds and industries like airlines and travel stocks when the market was hammered. The day-trading crowd snapped up roughly $2 billion in assets like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 as the buy-the-dip crowd stepped in where Wall Street didn’t, according ...

Bloomberg President Vladimir Putin warned the West not to cross the Kremlin’s security “red line” as the US and the UK said any Russian incursion into Ukraine would trigger serious diplomatic and economic responses. Expansion of western military infrastructure into Ukraine would leave Moscow exposed to the risk of attack in as little as five minutes “if supersonic weapons are ...

Bloomberg France is preparing to offer Boris Johnson proposals for an agreement with the European Union (EU) on migration, less than a week after Emmanuel Macron slammed the UK premier for not taking the issue seriously enough. Prime Minister Jean Castex was expected to write to Johnson to suggest they work on a pact with the EU after at least ...

Bloomberg Germany’s incoming chancellor threw his support behind mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations as European leaders take a tougher line in a bid to check a brutal surge in infections. During a video conference, Olaf Scholz told outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and state premiers that he would support a broad requirement to get shots, according to a person familiar with the discussions. ...

Bloomberg Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean reached levels not seen in two decades in 2020 as the pandemic swept away jobs and pushed many in the region into poverty. The number of Latin Americans who don’t have access to enough food rose by 13.8 million to 59.7 million between 2019 and 2020, according to a UN report. The ...

Bloomberg New Zealand’s main opposition National Party appointed its fifth leader in four years, choosing newcomer Christopher Luxon to restore its support and take on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Luxon, a former Air New Zealand chief executive, was elected leader by National Party members of parliament at a caucus in Wellington. The 51 year-old is the protégé of former prime ...

Bloomberg UK consumers took on unsecured loans at the fastest pace since the aftermath of the first lockdown, adding to signs that people are becoming more willing to spend. Consumer credit rises 706 million pounds ($942 billion) in October, more than economists forecast the highest figure since July last year, Bank of England figures show. Borrowing on credit cards accounted ...

Bloomberg French inflation accelerated in November to the quickest pace in more than a decade as surging energy and manufactured goods prices offset a fall in fresh food costs. After Germany recorded a 6% surge in prices in the same period, the inflation data for the euro area’s second largest economy adds to concerns over the ECB’s insistence that the ...

Bloomberg The Italian economy is likely to recover from the pandemic faster than previously forecast, growing by as much as 6.4% this year, according to a study by Confindustria, the country’s federation of employers. A strong third quarter should allow 2021 gross domestic product to increase by 6.3%-6.4%, the study showed, well above the official government forecast of 6%. That ...