February, 2023

• 1 February

  Swiss holiday retail sales drop in December

    Bloomberg Swiss retail sales fell in December from a year earlier as winter gloom and inflation concerns weighed on consumers. The 2.8% drop — following contractions in October and November — was the first such decline in that month since 2016, suggesting weak household spending at a time of year that typically is among the best for retailers. The ...

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• 1 February

  EU unveils green investment plan

  

    Bloomberg The European Union (EU) unveiled a roadmap for how it plans to keep its industries competitive as the bloc tries to catch up to the US and China, which offer huge subsidies to domestic green technologies. The European Commission wants to use its Green Deal Industrial Plan to boost national support for companies through investment aid and tax ...

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• 1 February

  Gas pipeline’s cost soars to $10.9bn: TC Energy

    Bloomberg The price tag for TC Energy Corp.’s Coastal GasLink project has jumped to C$14.5 billion ($10.9 billion), as labour shortages and contractor disputes continue to plague a pipeline that will supply Canada’s first major liquefied natural gas export plant. The cost could rise another C$1.2 billion if there are more delays that extend construction into 2024, the Canadian ...

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• 1 February

  Worst UK strikes for a decade shut schools and stop trains

  

  Bloomberg Swathes of office staff have been forced to work from home Wednesday as widespread industrial action closes schools and cripples Britain’s rail network. As many as 475,000 union members are on strike, demanding pay rises that do more to combat the cost-of-living crisis. Many were given salary increases of less than 5% last year, even as inflation climbed above ...

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• 1 February

  Swedish bankruptcies 10-year high as housing crunch hits builders

  

    Bloomberg The number of Swedish bankruptcies soared to the highest level in at least a decade in January, as construction companies come under pressure from an ongoing housing-market rout. The number of companies filing for bankruptcy increased by 47% from a year earlier in January, to 622, according to credit reference agency UC. The data highlights the effects of ...

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• 1 February

  Spain hikes minimum wage 8% as business groups walk away

  

  Bloomberg Spain will raise its minimum wage by an inflation-busting 8% after the government and unions struck a deal, brushing aside calls from business groups to refrain from increases at a time of economic uncertainty. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who faces a battle for reelection this year, has faced fierce opposition on the issue from industry lobby groups, which had ...

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• 1 February

  UK house prices in longest slump since 2008

    Bloomberg UK house prices fell for a fifth month in January, the longest string of declines since the financial crisis more than a decade ago, Nationwide Building Society said Wednesday. The mortgage lender said average home costs fell 0.6% this month and by a revised 0.3% in December, steeper than its previous estimate. The monthly decline was also more ...

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• 1 February

  Peru’s inflation spike offers a glimpse of damage from unrest

  

  Bloomberg Peru’s inflation is forecast to have jumped to the highest level in a quarter century as official data start to reflect the damage wrought by two months of social unrest and highway blockades. The January report, due to be published Wednesday at 10 a.m. local time by the national statistics agency, is attracting greater-than-usual interest as economists try to ...

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• 1 February

  US, UK hit Myanmar with new sanctions two years after coup

  

    Bloomberg The US and its allies Canada, the UK and Australia have imposed fresh sanctions on Myanmar, adding to pressure on the military regime, two years since it overthrew the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Tuesday the US restrictions target six individuals and ...

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• 1 February

  US accuses Russia of breaching New START nuclear arms treaty

  

    Bloomberg Russia is breaching the terms of the New START nuclear-arms reduction treaty by refusing to allow inspectors on its territory and stonewalling US efforts to discuss the issue, the State Department said. The department said in a statement that the Russian refusal “prevents the United States from exercising important rights under the treaty and threatens the viability of ...

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