Bloomberg A low inflation spell in an election year should be good news for any government, right? Wrong. For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the subdued inflation numbers, due largely to low food prices, may present a budget problem. His government may have to shell out more to compensate farmers for low market prices of some crops under a plan announced ...

Bloomberg Volkswagen AG’s Audi unit agreed to pay an 800 million-euro ($926 million) fine for its role in the diesel-cheating scandal that has disrupted the car industry for more than three years and landed Audi’s longtime leader in jail. The penalty consists of the maximum fine of 5 million euros and the seizure of 795 million euros in profits the ...

Bloomberg Volvo AB slumped after uncovering a faulty component in the emissions-control setup of tru-cks widely sold in Europe and the US, the manufacturer’s biggest markets. The world’s second-largest truckmaker has started informing authorities about the issue, caused by materials from which a component is made degrading over time and potentially leading to the release of emissions exceeding limits. The ...

Bloomberg German investor confidence soured on the back of this month’s stock-market selloff and rising concern that global trade tensions will harm economic growth. ZEW’s measure of investor expectations for the region’s powerhouse plunged to levels recorded at the height of the debt crisis in 2012, highlighting the magnitude of current uncertainty. A gauge for the euro area also declined. ...

Bloomberg US health officials want to force pharmaceutical companies to disclose the prices of their products in television advertisements, setting up a clash with drugmakers who see the move as impinging free speech. Under the proposed rule released, the Department of Health and Human Services would require drug companies to share in ads the full list prices of any medication ...

Bloomberg Canadian business sentiment remains at elevated levels, with companies expecting to ramp up investment to build new capacity and accommodate demand, according to a survey by the central bank. The Ottawa-based central bank’s third-quarter survey of executives — which took place in August and September before Canada reached a deal with the US to replace the North American Free ...

Bloomberg UK wages are growing at their fastest pace in almost a decade, suggesting the economy is continuing to operate with little slack. Average earnings excluding bonuses rose 3.1 percent in the three months through August, the most since January 2009, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. Unemployment held at a 43-year low of 4 percent. While wage ...

Bloomberg Escalating tensions between the US and China over trade, the South China Sea and recent arms sales are pushing Taiwan back into the American foreign policy spotlight, attracting Beijing’s ire. After a precedent-shattering phone call with Trump when he was president-elect, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has found a more receptive audience in the US during the recent disputes. She’s ...

Bloomberg Secretary of Defense James Mattis played down tensions with Beijing, saying the US was “not out to contain China” and was cooperating whenever possible, but that there would be times they would “step on each other’s toes.” “Obviously, we’re not out to contain China. We’d have taken an altogether different stance had that been considered. It has not been ...

Bloomberg Emmanuel Macron is changing his people, not his plans. The French president on Tuesday announced his long-anticipated cabinet overhaul prompted by the October 2 resignation of the interior minister and postponed numerous times. The reshuffled government will still be headed by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, since Macron wanted a “renewed team with the same political mandate,” his office said. ...