Tokyo / AFP Japan’s economy expanded at a slightly faster pace than first thought, revised figures showed on Wednesday, knocking hopes that the central bank will unleash fresh stimulus this month. The data were unlikely to inspire renewed faith in Prime Minister’s Shinzo Abe’s faltering growth policies, after Tokyo last week said it would delay a tax hike to ...

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank started buying corporate bonds on Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter. Purchases included €3 million ($3.4 million) of bonds sold by French utility Engie SA, along with 10-year notes from Telefonica SA, Spain’s biggest telecommunications company, and securities sold by Assicurazioni Generali SpA, Italy’s biggest insurer, said the people, who aren’t authorized ...

Bloomberg French business confidence fell its lowest level in more than a year in May as strikes hampered refinery output and limited petrochemical supplies. A gauge of sentiment among manufacturing executives dropped to 97 in May, its lowest since March 2015 and down from 99 in April. The central cut its Q2 growth forecast to 0.2% from 0.3%. Workers at ...

  Bloomberg Denmark’s biggest bank is telling clients to hedge against currency losses that will affect more markets than just the pound as Britain’s June 23 referendum on its European Union membership draws closer. Clients of Copenhagen-based Danske Bank A/S are being advised to hedge for a weaker pound against the euro and a weaker euro against the dollar and ...

  Bloomberg Rosneft OJSC, Russia’s largest oil producer, said profit slumped 75 percent in the first quarter as crude prices hit their lowest point in over a decade. Net income dropped to 14 billion rubles in the first three months of the year compared to 56 billion rubles in the same period a year earlier, according to a statement on ...

  Bloomberg Bank of England Governor Mark Carney told hometown university graduates they are entering a more volatile job market where the potential gains from creating new products are greater and many other industries will be wiped out. Much of the tumult comes from the trauma of the 2008 global financial crisis that has shaken past drivers of economic growth, ...

  Bloomberg Daimler AG’s trucks division, seeking to recover from a profit warning last month, aims to boost future earnings with a plan to cut costs by sharing engines, axles and other components across units in North America, Europe and Asia. Once truck markets return to “a more normal level,” the unit will reach its target of an average 8 ...

  Washington / AFP Whether or not Britons vote this month to quit the European Union, fellow voters across the continent are increasingly sceptical of the benefits of staying in the bloc. A Pew Research Center survey published on Tuesday suggests the June 23 Brexit referendum will be close, with 48 percent of British voters polled unfavorable to Europe and ...

  Securing long-term economic viability remains a challenge for the Melanesian states, with geographic isolation, climate change, natural disasters, and aid dependency presenting significant problems for these relatively young countries. Vanuatu has a population of 270,000 and a GDP of $771 million. Designing an economy that is capable of supporting some 83 islands who mainly practice subsistence farming is a ...

  Greece, that hotbed of worst economic practices, has provided a perfect illustration of one of the biggest problems facing governments: In a world that’s increasingly unified by technology, the fiscal systems are still designed for 20th-century business models. The Sharing Economy A series of tax hikes went into effect on June 1 in Greece, including a one percentage point ...