Bloomberg British companies signaled output dropped at the fastest pace since the start of the pandemic as the government budget deficit widened to a record, adding to evidence that the economy probably has lurched into a recession. S&P Global said its index of sentiment from purchasing managers fell more sharply than expected in January, led by a deterioration in …

Bloomberg Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s cautious approach to sending Leopard battle tanks – or allowing other countries to export their own stocks of the German-made military vehicles – to Ukraine is confusing allies and creating splits within his own government. Three Baltic states over the weekend called on Germany as Europe’s leading power to quickly change course. An adviser to Ukrainian …

Bloomberg Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ruled out supporting Sweden’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) after an activist burned Islam’s holy book in Stockholm at the weekend. Turkish parliamentary approval is required for the membership, so Erdogan’s comments suggest Sweden and neighboring Finland’s efforts to join Nato are now a more distant prospect. “If you cannot …

Bloomberg The Biden administration has confronted China’s government with evidence that suggests some Chinese state-owned companies may be providing assistance for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, as it tries to ascertain if Beijing is aware of those activities, according to people familiar with the matter. The people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations, declined to detail the …

Bloomberg Serbia will look into a European Union plan that proposes normalizing ties with Kosovo as it risks losing its chance to join the bloc, President Aleksandar Vucic said. Serbia’s leader for more than a decade, Vucic announced plans for a broad public debate to consider the proposal which, according to media reports, envisages the Balkan country and Kosovo developing …

  Bloomberg Debt sales in Europe have broken through €240 billion ($260 billion), beating a previous record for January set in 2020. Offerings from the UK and European Union on Tuesday pushed marketwide sales this month to at least €244 billion, with the final tally set to move even higher once final terms are set on Tuesday’s eight offerings, according …

Bloomberg The rupiah is enjoying its best performance in more than two years as foreign inflows turbocharge its catch-up with emerging market peers. The Indonesian currency climbed 1.2% against the greenback to 14,895 per dollar on Tuesday, its strongest in four months. It has surged about 4.7% over the last month, Asia’s second-best performer. The return of overseas bond investors …

  Bloomberg Nigeria’s central bank will allow citizens to swap old naira notes for redesigned bills to boost adoption and circulation of the new currency before the old bills cease to be legal tender at the end of the month. The central bank of Nigeria in October 2022 announced plans to redesign its highest-value banknotes in a bid to mop …

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) wouldn’t object to a dividend payment if Greek banks prove they can fulfill all supervisory demands even under an adverse scenario, said Andrea Enria, head of the ECB’s Supervisory Board. If the banks “are able to remain above all our supervisory tripwires, let’s say, requirements and buffers, including a payment of some distributions, …

  Bloomberg Binance Holdings Ltd., the world’s largest crypto platform, acknowledged that it mistakenly keeps collateral for some of the tokens it issues in the same wallet as exchange customer funds. Reserves for almost half of the 94 coins that Binance issues, known as Binance-peg tokens or “B-Tokens” are currently stored in a single wallet called “Binance 8” which also …