Bloomberg Ethiopians in the south of the country have voted almost unanimously to have their own state, part of a push for increased autonomy that’s intensified since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018. South West will become Ethiopia’s 11th state after 1.26 million Ethiopians in six zones and one locality took part in a September 30 referendum. About ...
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Quarantine-free entry for UK, US travellers, says Singapore
Bloomberg Singapore is pressing ahead with plans to reopen its borders despite battling a record Covid-19 outbreak, saying it will allow vaccinated travellers from nine more countries including the US and UK to enter without having to quarantine. The other places to qualify are Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain with travel to Singapore to start from October ...
Read More »New leader steps in as corruption probe claims Austria’s Kurz
Bloomberg Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz resigned in the face of corruption allegations, a stunning blow for a rising star of European conservative politics. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, whom Kurz recommended as his successor, now begins the work of salvaging the ruling People’s Party/Green Party coalition. He’s due to meet Green officials and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on Sunday. ...
Read More »Czech turmoil as president in ICU after vote
Bloomberg Czech President Milos Zeman was rushed to the hospital over complications related to his chronic health problems, a development that may snarl government negotiations after his ally suffered a shock election defeat. Zeman, 77, has spent the past years in a wheelchair suffering from diabetes and neuropathy. A staunch supporter of Russia and advocate of deepening ties with China, ...
Read More »German Greens, Liberals spar over budget matters
Bloomberg Talks to form a three-way coalition government in Germany risk getting bogged down over finance and budget matters, based on divergent policy objectives outlined by leaders of the two junior parties over the weekend. Volker Wissing, secretary-general of the business-friendly FDP, said his party won’t accept tax increases or a loosening of the so-called debt brake, according to a ...
Read More »Canada’s surprise jobs surge recoups all pandemic losses
Bloomberg Canada has recovered all of the roughly three million jobs lost to Covid-19. The country’s economy added 157,100 jobs in September, returning the labour market to pre-pandemic levels, Statistics Canada said in Ottawa. That compares with economists’ expectation of 60,000 new jobs, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. The unemployment rate fell to 6.9% from 7.1% ...
Read More »Brazil’s inflation slows after topping 10% in September
Bloomberg Brazil’s consumer prices rise less than expected in September, supporting the central bank’s view that inflation peaked just above 10% and will start to slow as rising borrowing costs cool down the economy. Inflation accelerated to 10.25% from a year ago, its fastest pace since February 2016, and to 1.16% from the month prior, the national statistics institute reported. ...
Read More »European factories sound alarm over supply squeeze
Bloomberg European manufacturers are increasingly strained by global supply-chain problems that are pushing up prices and may last well into next year. A gauge by IHS Markit measuring business activity in manufacturing falls last month by the biggest margin since April 2020 — the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Growth in new orders, output and employment slowed considerably. “Supply issues ...
Read More »Musk sees output in Germany starting this year amid delays
Bloomberg Elon Musk plans for Tesla Inc.’s electric-car plant near Berlin to start producing vehicles as early as next month even as the US company still awaits final approval for the project that’s been delayed by legal challenges. The factory is to begin making Model Y cars in November or December, Musk said during a visit to the site in ...
Read More »Sweden’s economy shrinks in August
Bloomberg Sweden’s economy shrinks far more than anticipated in August, driven by a slump in exports, raising concerns the recovery of the largest Nordic economy may be cut short. Gross domestic product contracted 3.8% in August, the biggest fall since the monthly indicator was launched in February, according to a flash estimate from Statistics Sweden. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted ...
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