Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel asked the German people for forgiveness after making a rare public apology for sparking massive criticism with plans for a five-day Easter shutdown. Merkel dropped the proposal, calling it a “mistake,” after a hastily-arranged video conference with the heads of Germany’s 16 states around 33 hours after announcing the move. She defended one of Germany’s toughest ...

Bloomberg The UK government has “significantly underestimated” how much it will cost to decarbonise heating in British homes, a touchstone of its net zero promise. The simple step of insulating Britain’s drafty homes is essential before gas boilers can be replaced with low carbon technology like heat pumps. The cost of improving energy efficiency could be as much as 18,000 ...

Bloomberg France still sees gross domestic product growth of 6% this year, even after new lockdown measures came into force in Paris and other regions to contain the coronavirus. “I confirm our ambitions to reach 6% growth in 2021,” Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a radio interview on France Inter. “The moment when we lift the restrictions, our ...

Bloomberg US sales of new homes declined in February to a nine-month low as severe winter weather in parts of the country limited foot traffic against a backdrop of elevated prices that may be restraining momentum. Purchases of new single-family homes decreased 18.2% — the sharpest decline since July 2013 — to a 775,000 annualised pace from an upwardly revised ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) took advantage of high demand for its social bonds to accelerate funding for a regional jobs program. The bloc pulled in above 96.5 billion euros of orders for a 13-billion-euro offering of five-year and 25-year notes. This syndication is the second in March and will mean the EU is three-quarters of the way through funding ...

Bloomberg BT Group Plc announced a bonus for 59,000 workers, weeks ahead of a potential strike over Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Philip Jansen’s restructuring plans. Staff such as engineers and call center workers who were on the front line during the pandemic will receive 1,000 pounds ($1,371) in cash immediately, the British phone company said in a statement. It said that’s ...

Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet approved the government’s budget plans for this year and next, including an extra 60 billion euros ($71 billion) in net debt for 2021 to help offset the impact of the coronavirus. The additional borrowing this year takes the total to more than 240 billion euros, as Germany spends freely to support businesses affected by ...

Bloomberg Overseas investors have been pulling out of Malaysian equities for 20 straight months. March could mark the turn of the tide. Foreigners have poured a net $97 million into local stocks this month through March 22, while withdrawing a combined $1 billion from four other Southeast Asian markets tracked by Bloomberg. The inflows come as valuation of Malaysia’s main ...

Bloomberg The Nasdaq 100 Index led US equity futures higher while Treasury yields were poised for a third day of declines. Futures on the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average also pointed to a recovery in the underlying gauges which slipped amid a setback for reopening favourites. Government bond yields fall across Europe. Assurances by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome ...

ABU DHABI / WAM In implementation of the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the UAE has announced that it will invest $10 billion with the Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund – Indonesia Investment Authority. Investments will focus on strategic sectors in Indonesia, ...