BRUSSELS / WAM In 2022, 75% (193.5 million) of the European Union’s (EU) 20-64-year-olds were employed, the highest share recorded since the start of the time series in 2009, according to data on the labour force published by Eurostat. The employment rate dropped to 72% in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but rebounded to 73% in 2021 and further …

BLOOMBERG Singapore’s top diplomat expressed “grave concern” over altercations in the South China Sea following a near collision between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the highly-contested region. Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said his government wants all nations, including superpowers, to work together to ensure “free access and opportunities” in Southeast Asia and its sea lanes. “So obviously we do view …

BLOOMBERG Russia targeted Ukrainian cities with cruise missiles in the early hours on Monday that Ukraine’s army chief said were mostly intercepted. At least 34 people were reported hurt by a missile strike in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region. The barrage of attacks comes as Ukraine prepares for another ground offensive against Russian forces. Ukraine pushed back Russian troops from some …

MEXICO CITY / WAM At least 18 people were killed and 33 injured when a bus fell off a cliff in western Mexico, Reuters said. The prosecutor’s office in Nayarit, the state where the accident occurred, said the vehicle fell some 15 metres (49.21 feet) down a ravine on a highway connecting the state capital Tepic and the tourist destination …

BLOOMBERG Santiago Pena, a former finance minister, scored a major victory in Paraguay’s presidential election, as voters gave the ruling Colorado Party a third straight mandate to run the South American country. Pena, 44, had 43 percent of the vote with more than 98 percent of voting stations counted, according to preliminary results from the electoral court. His main challenger, …

BLOOMBERG China’s manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in April, a sign the economic recovery remains patchy and may be struggling to sustain momentum. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 49.2 from 51.9 in March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. The gauge dropped below the level of 50 — which signals contraction from the previous month — …

BLOOMBERG Singapore should avoid an outright contraction in its economy this year, despite being battered by the effects of a global slowdown, the city state’s prime minister said. While the city-state’s economic growth will slow, inflation may moderate in the second half of this year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an e-mailed speech. The Monetary Authority of Singapore …

BLOOMBERG Pakistan said inflation in April was expected to accelerate to a record after increases in food and energy prices and a depreciation in the currency. Price gains may be in a range of 36%-38% year-on-year, from 34.8% in March, the finance ministry said in its monthly Economic Update and Outlook. A slow recovery in damages from last year’s floods …

BLOOMBERG  UBS Group AG Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sergio Ermotti selected one of the lender’s former executives, Tom Naratil, to be a key member of the new management team, according to a report by NZZ. Naratil will become the group’s chief financial officer (CFO) and lead the integration division that will oversee Credit Suisse merger, the newspaper said. Bloomberg had …

BLOOMBERG  Goldman Sachs and Bank of America (BofA) pushed back their call for when the next policy change from the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is likely to come, after Governor Kazuo Ueda continued with a largely dovish message at his first policy meeting. Economists at Goldman and BofA now have a base-case forecast for the central bank to adjust its …