Bloomberg The UK government pushed back on claims from the former chief aide of Prime Minister Boris Johnson that officials pursued a herd immunity strategy in the early days of the pandemic. Dominic Cummings, who is due to give evidence on the government’s handling of the pandemic to lawmakers on Wednesday, unleashed a series of tweets criticising the UK’s response. ...

Bloomberg Taiwan reported a steady increase in Covid-19 cases, as the government’s decision to revise up past daily totals dented confidence in official data at a time when soft lockdown measures appear to be slowing the rate of new infections. Health authorities reported more than 600 new cases at the weekend, 287 on Sunday and 353 on May 22, and ...

Bloomberg The US called for a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15%, less than the 21% rate it has proposed for the overseas earnings of US businesses — a level that some nations had argued was excessive. The contrast between the new proposal, released by Treasury Department, and higher rate the Biden administration is seeking to be applied ...

Bloomberg Germany will impose fresh restrictions on travelers from the UK due to the rapid spread in Britain of the coronavirus strain first identified in India. Travelers from the UK will have to spend two weeks in quarantine upon arrival in Germany even if they test negative for the virus, according to the foreign ministry. In addition, transport companies will ...

Bloomberg The Eiffel Tower is getting ready to welcome visitors again starting in mid-July as restrictions linked to the coronavirus ease throughout France. The French capital’s iconic structure will reopen from July 16 to tourists eager to climb the 324-meter tower’s staircases or use its lifts, according to an announcement on Twitter. The news comes as the terraces of cafes ...

Bloomberg The euro area’s economic recovery is increasingly being supported by a rebound in services as factories confront a supply squeeze that is pushing up costs. Surveys of purchasing managers by IHS Markit show the 19-nation region emerging from the pandemic crisis as infections drop and the lockdowns that dragged the bloc into a double-dip recession are eased. Service-sector businesses, ...

Bloomberg Kansas City Southern agreed to a $30 billion merger with Canadian National Railway Co, scrapping a $25 billion deal with Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. after it declined to boost its offer. Under the deal, Canadian National will pay $200 and 1.129 shares of its stock for each share of Kansas City Southern, the US railroad said. Kansas City Southern ...

Bloomberg The UK economy is firing on all cylinders as it emerges from months of lockdown, with the private sector expanding at the fastest pace in at least 23 years and retail sales surging. IHS Markit said that its measure of private-sector growth this month hit the highest since the index began in 1998, with hotels, restaurants and other consumer-facing ...

Bloomberg Asian tech shares haven’t been immune from the global selloff in speculative assets, but investors are sifting through the ashes and some see buying opportunities. JPMorgan Asset Management is suggesting that investors buy the dip as combined losses in the region’s technology and consumer discretionary sectors hit about $690 billion from their first-quarter peaks. Pictet Asset Management says Asia’s ...

Bloomberg Angst has been the stock market story of late. It soars, it plunges, and all the while investors fret over sky high valuations and pour over data to figure out when inflation will bring the house of cards crashing down. But sometimes, like now, the problem is far simpler than that: too much supply and not enough demand. Companies ...