January, 2023

• 24 January

  Vodafone sells British HQ and rents part instead

    Bloomberg Vodafone Group Plc sold the headquarters it’s held for decades in Newbury, England, and will rent just over half of the site’s premises back as it downsizes and cuts costs. Iqon Capital agreed to buy the total of seven buildings known as “The Connection” on behalf of Aljazira Capital for an undisclosed figure, it said in a statement ...

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• 24 January

  Euro-area business activity shows region could dodge recession

  

    Bloomberg The private-sector economy in the euro area unexpectedly returned to growth at the start of 2023, offering further signs the region may avoid a recession and comforting the European Central Bank’s focus on underlying inflation risks. S&P Global’s flash Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 50.2 in January, better than the 49.8 reading predicted in a Bloomberg survey and ...

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• 24 January

  Gropyus secures €100m for expansion plan

    Bloomberg An Austrian startup that aims to streamline housing construction raised about €100 million in fresh cash from a group of investors led by Vonovia SE, Germany’s largest landlord. Gropyus AG will use part of the Series B funding to expand its factory in southwest Germany, according to Chief Executive Office Markus Fuhrmann. The Vienna-based company targets output of ...

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• 24 January

  UK recession risks grow with record deficit, output slump

  

    Bloomberg British companies signaled output dropped at the fastest pace since the start of the pandemic as the government budget deficit widened to a record, adding to evidence that the economy probably has lurched into a recession. S&P Global said its index of sentiment from purchasing managers fell more sharply than expected in January, led by a deterioration in ...

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• 24 January

  German indecision on supplying tanks to Kyiv sows discontent

  

  Bloomberg Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s cautious approach to sending Leopard battle tanks – or allowing other countries to export their own stocks of the German-made military vehicles – to Ukraine is confusing allies and creating splits within his own government. Three Baltic states over the weekend called on Germany as Europe’s leading power to quickly change course. An adviser to Ukrainian ...

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• 24 January

  Sweden’s Nato bid in doubt after Erdogan refuses to support

  

  Bloomberg Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ruled out supporting Sweden’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) after an activist burned Islam’s holy book in Stockholm at the weekend. Turkish parliamentary approval is required for the membership, so Erdogan’s comments suggest Sweden and neighboring Finland’s efforts to join Nato are now a more distant prospect. “If you cannot ...

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• 24 January

  US confronts China over companies’ ties to Russian war effort

  

  Bloomberg The Biden administration has confronted China’s government with evidence that suggests some Chinese state-owned companies may be providing assistance for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, as it tries to ascertain if Beijing is aware of those activities, according to people familiar with the matter. The people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations, declined to detail the ...

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• 24 January

  Serbia risks EU path if rejects Kosovo plan: Vucic

  

  Bloomberg Serbia will look into a European Union plan that proposes normalizing ties with Kosovo as it risks losing its chance to join the bloc, President Aleksandar Vucic said. Serbia’s leader for more than a decade, Vucic announced plans for a broad public debate to consider the proposal which, according to media reports, envisages the Balkan country and Kosovo developing ...

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• 24 January

  European bond sales break $260b in busiest-ever January

  

    Bloomberg Debt sales in Europe have broken through €240 billion ($260 billion), beating a previous record for January set in 2020. Offerings from the UK and European Union on Tuesday pushed marketwide sales this month to at least €244 billion, with the final tally set to move even higher once final terms are set on Tuesday’s eight offerings, according ...

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• 24 January

  Resurgent rupiah enjoys its best performance in more than two years

  

  Bloomberg The rupiah is enjoying its best performance in more than two years as foreign inflows turbocharge its catch-up with emerging market peers. The Indonesian currency climbed 1.2% against the greenback to 14,895 per dollar on Tuesday, its strongest in four months. It has surged about 4.7% over the last month, Asia’s second-best performer. The return of overseas bond investors ...

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