Bloomberg France is preparing to offer Boris Johnson proposals for an agreement with the European Union (EU) on migration, less than a week after Emmanuel Macron slammed the UK premier for not taking the issue seriously enough. Prime Minister Jean Castex was expected to write to Johnson to suggest they work on a pact with the EU after at least ...

Bloomberg Germany’s incoming chancellor threw his support behind mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations as European leaders take a tougher line in a bid to check a brutal surge in infections. During a video conference, Olaf Scholz told outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and state premiers that he would support a broad requirement to get shots, according to a person familiar with the discussions. ...

Bloomberg Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean reached levels not seen in two decades in 2020 as the pandemic swept away jobs and pushed many in the region into poverty. The number of Latin Americans who don’t have access to enough food rose by 13.8 million to 59.7 million between 2019 and 2020, according to a UN report. The ...

Bloomberg New Zealand’s main opposition National Party appointed its fifth leader in four years, choosing newcomer Christopher Luxon to restore its support and take on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Luxon, a former Air New Zealand chief executive, was elected leader by National Party members of parliament at a caucus in Wellington. The 51 year-old is the protégé of former prime ...

Bloomberg UK consumers took on unsecured loans at the fastest pace since the aftermath of the first lockdown, adding to signs that people are becoming more willing to spend. Consumer credit rises 706 million pounds ($942 billion) in October, more than economists forecast the highest figure since July last year, Bank of England figures show. Borrowing on credit cards accounted ...

Bloomberg French inflation accelerated in November to the quickest pace in more than a decade as surging energy and manufactured goods prices offset a fall in fresh food costs. After Germany recorded a 6% surge in prices in the same period, the inflation data for the euro area’s second largest economy adds to concerns over the ECB’s insistence that the ...

Bloomberg The Italian economy is likely to recover from the pandemic faster than previously forecast, growing by as much as 6.4% this year, according to a study by Confindustria, the country’s federation of employers. A strong third quarter should allow 2021 gross domestic product to increase by 6.3%-6.4%, the study showed, well above the official government forecast of 6%. That ...

Bloomberg Unfilled jobs surpassed one million in Canada, a sign that employers are having difficulty finding workers as they ramp up hiring. There were 1,014,600 job vacancies in September, Statistics Canada reported in Ottawa. That represents about 6% of all jobs, a vacancy rate that’s up from as low as 3% last December. Employers in high-contact industries like food services ...

Bloomberg German unemployment extended its decline in November as businesses added staff to work off a backlog in orders. Unemployment in Europe’s largest economy falls by 34,000, beating economists’ forecast for a drop of 25,000. That pushed the jobless rate to 5.3%. “Consequences of the current, worrying corona situation in Germany have hardly shown up so far,” Federal Labour Agency ...

Bloomberg The new coronavirus variant is set to test European economy’s recent ability to withstand fresh restrictions on activity. With the new strain from South Africa looming as a threat to public health, adding to the existing headache of rising infections that have already forced Austria and Slovakia to impose lockdowns, a pandemic that countries around the region had previously ...