Bloomberg France is ready to start reducing financial support to businesses and workers hit by coronavirus restrictions as its vaccination program offers a route out of the crisis, Labour Minister Elisabeth Borne said. The government has spent more than 40 billion euros ($48.8 billion) in 2020 and 2021 to protect employment, benefiting 2.7 million people on furloughs last month, up ...

Bloomberg UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak wants the US government to sign up to a global tax on technology companies such as Google and Facebook Inc, he said in an interview with the Mail. He urged President Joe Biden’s administration to discuss the new tax in time for Group of Seven meetings next month. The US has indicated ...

Bloomberg A full global deal to overhaul taxation rules and make multinationals pay more in countries where they operate may not be achieved until October, the chief of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Monday. Speaking in Paris, Angel Gurria said a “180-degree change in the position of the US” has accelerated the talks, making an ...

Bloomberg Sweden’s economy returned to its pre-pandemic level in the first quarter as the recovery in the largest Nordic economy is outpacing most of its wealthy peers. The gross domestic product was unchanged in the first quarter from the year-earlier level, on a calendar-adjusted basis, according to the Stockholm-based statistics office. Swedbank’s analysts Pernilla Johansson and Maria Wallin Fredholm said ...

Bloomberg Assicurazioni Generali SpA offered to buy Italian insurer Societa Cattolica di Assicurazioni SC in a deal valuing the smaller rival at 1.5 billion euros ($1.4 billion). Generali, which already has a stake of about 24% in the company, is offering investors 6.75 euros per Cattolica share in an all cash deal, the insurer said in a statement. The offer ...

Bloomberg The US merchandise-trade deficit narrowed for first time this year as the value of exports surged to a record and imports fell from an all-time high. The deficit shrinks to $85.2 billion from $90.6 billion in March, according to Commerce Department data. The median estimate in Bloomberg survey of economists had called for a $92 billion shortfall last month. ...

Bloomberg China stocks’ biggest weekly surge since February is rekindling investor hopes for a strong rally ahead. But don’t expect the sentiment-driven frenzy of last year, analysts say. The benchmark CSI 300 Index gained 3.6% last week, with turnover nearing the 1 trillion yuan ($157 billion) mark – the most since late February. Foreigners snapped up a record amount of ...

Bloomberg Malaysian stocks dropped and the ringgit weakened after the government imposed a two-week nationwide lockdown to curb a relentless surge in Covid-19 infections. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index falls as much as 1.6% on Monday, before paring losses to 0.7% at the close in Kuala Lumpur. The ringgit slid as much as 0.4% to 4.1480 per dollar, while ...

DUBAI / WAM As part of the ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) announced the allocation of an additional 19 million meals to the Gaza Strip. In collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme, low-income families and individuals will receive food vouchers, equivalent to 19 million meals, to empower them to purchase a ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Mubadala Investment Company on Sunday announced that it has invested GBP 350 million (AED1.82 billion) in IVC Evidensia, Europe’s largest veterinary care provider. Headquartered in Bristol, UK, IVC Evidensia operates a network of more than 1,500 veterinary clinics and hospitals in 12 countries across Europe caring for over four million pets. Founded in 2011, the company ...