Bloomberg China’s economic recovery continued in July with industrial growth remaining steady, even as weak retail sales undercut the rebound. Industrial output rose 4.8% in July from a year earlier, the same as in June, but lower than economists’ expectations. Overall retail sales fell 1.1%, compared to a projected 0.1% increase. The July data show that China’s recovery is still ...

Bloomberg Singapore could consider opening its borders to tourists in an effort to attract more traffic into its once-bustling airport. The city-state could unilaterally allow passengers from certain countries or regions that have kept virus cases at similar or lower levels than Singapore, Ong Ye Kung, the newly appointed transport minister, said in a speech to his staff, without naming ...

Bloomberg Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said she’s ready to be interim president in place of incumbent Alexander Lukashenko as national strikes were starting a day after the country’s biggest opposition protest. “I am ready to take responsibility and act in this period as national leader” until new presidential elections are held, Tikhanovskaya said in a video address published on ...

Bloomberg The Philippines is looking to further reopen its economy even as coronavirus infections continue to rise, after a poll showed adult unemployment was at a record high last month. The government wants to allow more economic activity and extend aid to small businesses after 27.3 million Filipinos in a Social Weather Stations survey in early July said they were ...

Bloomberg New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has delayed the general election by four weeks until October 17 as the nation’s first community outbreak of Covid-19 in more than three months worsens. Ardern said on Monday she delayed the election from September 19 after consultation with other political parties, to provide certainty to voters. A fresh outbreak of the virus ...

Bloomberg Malaysia has detected a strain of the new coronavirus that’s been found to be 10 times more infectious. The mutation, earlier seen in other parts of the world and called D614G, was found in at least three of the 45 cases in a cluster that started from a restaurant owner returning from India and breaching his 14-day home quarantine. ...

Bloomberg The almost daily drumbeat of tensions between the US and China shows little sign of letting up, while touching on everything from the coronavirus to trade to defense issues to monetary policy. President Donald Trump has made his tough positions on China a key element in the lead-up to the US presidential election, now less than three months away, ...

Bloomberg German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz proposed extending job-preserving subsidies during the coronavirus crisis to 24 months, saying the measure would cost the government an extra $12 billion. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government re-launched short-time compensation to shield workers and companies in Germany from massive job cuts during the pandemic. The benefit, normally limited to 12 months, initially covers as much ...

Bloomberg The UK housing market saw a surge in activity last month after a government tax break pushed sales to the highest in more than a decade, according to Rightmove. The property website said the number of agreed sales jumped in July, with the value hitting $48 billion. That’s the most since Rightmove began tracking the data over 10 years ...

Bloomberg California is bracing for another round of targeted blackouts on Monday as a heat wave continues to smother the region and power supplies run low. While the state’s grid operator said no outages were planned for Sunday night —sparing the region a third consecutive night of blackouts —the respite may be fleeting. The California Independent System Operator has warned ...