Bloomberg Boris Johnson’s UK government doesn’t want any of the leaders at the Group of Seven summit to leave Cornwall without knowing just how angry he is with some of them about Brexit. For the second day in a row, Johnson’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has taken to broadcast interviews to condemn European “ignorance†about the UK, as a dispute ...
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Biden-Putin meeting won’t be ‘light-switch’ moment: Blinken
Bloomberg President Joe Biden’s meeting with Vladimir Putin won’t be a “light-switch moment†but the start of a longer process aimed at establishing a more stable relationship, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Biden believes there are areas where the US and Russia can co-operate, Blinken said on CBS’s “Face the Nation,†one of four scheduled talk-show appearances on Sunday. ...
Read More »Merkel’s would-be heir prefers ‘Free Democrats’
Bloomberg The head of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party said he’d prefer to govern with the pro-business Free Democrats, rejecting higher taxes for top earners and criticising the Greens in the buildup to Germany’s election in September. Armin Laschet, Merkel’s would-be heir at the helm of Europe’s biggest economy, told Bild am Sonntag that his Christian Democratic Union is politically closer ...
Read More »Peru’s Fujimori questions vote, accuses president of interference
Bloomberg Peruvian presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori claimed that the June 6 election where she narrowly trails was plagued with irregularities, and accused President Francisco Sagasti of interference. “This is an attempt by the international left to bend popular will,†Fujimori said at a press conference, adding that leftist leaders in the region are determined to declare her competitor Pedro Castillo ...
Read More »Xi orders safety check after deadly explosion
Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered officials to check for safety risks ahead of the Chinese Communist Party’s 100th anniversary, the state-owned radio broadcaster reported, following a deadly gas explosion in Hubei province. Xi told local authorities to “improve political sensitivity†and thoroughly investigate safety risks throughout the country to “create a good atmosphere†for the Party’s anniversary, according to ...
Read More »Pelosi says Trump-era subpoenas go ‘beyond Richard Nixon’ as she vows to investigate
Bloomberg House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanded that Trump-era officials testify under oath about the Justice Department’s effort to secretly subpoena data from House Democrats and the news media. Former attorneys general Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions, along with Rod Rosenstein, a former deputy attorney general, must answer to questions about subpoenas that were issued to at least two Democrats tied ...
Read More »Australia ready to ‘sit around table’ with China
Bloomberg Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government wants to restart dialog with Beijing, as a series of trade reprisals from China strain the already-weakened relationship between the two countries. “We, of course, would like to see the dialog that was occurring to continue again and start again,†Morrison said at a press conference at the Group of Seven ...
Read More »Canadians’ net worth surges on housing but renters left behind
Bloomberg The coronavirus pandemic real-estate boom has made some Canadians richer, while others languish. The net worth of the nation’s households increased by about C$770 billion ($633 billion) in the first three months of 2021, a record 6% gain, to C$13.7 trillion, Statistics Canada said in a report. Since the start of 2020, that figure has increased by more than ...
Read More »UK hotel industry warns 500,000 jobs are at risk
Bloomberg The UK hospitality industry warned it may lose 500,000 jobs when the government’s furlough program to support wages ends. Hotels and restaurants are saddled with back taxes of 93 million ($132 million) that will become an unsustainable burden if the government fails to drop all lockdown rules as planned on June 21, said Kate Nicholls of business lobby group ...
Read More »German factory orders fall in April after mounting supply shortages
Bloomberg German manufacturers unexpectedly saw demand decline in April, signaling that supply shortages and higher prices are undercutting the country’s economic recovery. Orders fall 0.2%, missing a median estimate for a 0.5% gain. The Economy Ministry said weakness was driven in particular by lower domestic demand. Foreign orders were up 2.7% from the previous month. Manufacturing has been a stronghold ...
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