January, 2023

• 24 January

  Europe bracing for a sharp, abrupt real estate reversal

  

    Bloomberg Turmoil at trophy properties in London and Frankfurt offer a glimpse of the damage awaiting European real estate investors as they face the sharpest reversal on record. From a fraught refinancing process for an office building in the City of London to the strained sale of the Commerzbank Tower in Germany’s financial hub, investors are scrambling to find ...

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• 23 January

  Nearly 20% of US firms expect to cut jobs: Survey

    Bloomberg A new survey of business economists suggests US job market conditions are beginning to soften, with firms indicating an easing of labor shortages and a pullback in hiring expectations. A National Association for Business Economics survey showed about a third of respondents say their firms are not facing any labor shortages, and nearly 20% expect employment at their ...

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• 23 January

  Germany probes PayPal over potential market dominance

    Bloomberg Germany’s antitrust regulator opened an investigation into PayPal Holdings Inc. over potential obstruction of competitors and restriction of price competition The Federal Cartel Office is looking at PayPal’s user terms that block business from offering products at lower prices if their customers chose other payment services. The regulator will also look at how the company bans sellers from ...

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• 23 January

  UK ambulance staff stage biggest strike yet as unions join forces

  

  Bloomberg Ambulance workers walked out Monday in the biggest show of industrial action by first responders since trade unions kicked off an historic series of protests against pay levels in Britain’s National Health Service. Workers from Unison, Unite and the GMB labor groups are on strike again with the public advised to only call 999 if there’s a life-threatening situation. ...

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• 23 January

  Paris, Berlin plan high-speed train service

    Bloomberg France and Germany announced a plan to strengthen their rail links as a way to offer greener travel between the two countries. The nations “support the deployment of the high-speed train route between Paris and Berlin, as well as the night train service, both announced for 2024,” according to a joint declaration released after a meeting in Paris ...

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• 23 January

  Londoners escape worst of inflation crisis with big pay hikes

  

    Bloomberg London residents are weathering the cost-of-living crunch better than people in the rest of the UK, one research group concluded. Residents of the capital saw their real wages adjusted for inflation slip by £9 ($11.13) a week compared to a year ago during the fourth quarter of 2022, research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research indicates. ...

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• 23 January

  Berlin’s indecision over tanks for Ukraine draws rebuke

  

  Bloomberg Latvia’s top envoy criticized Germany over its indecision on whether to send Ukraine the Leopard 2 tanks, saying there are no longer any “good arguments” not to give Kyiv the heavier weapons it demands. The three Baltic nations — Latvia, along with Estonia and Lithuania — were expected to reiterate calls for Germany to send the tanks when the ...

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• 23 January

  Burkina Faso cuts French military ties in extremist fight

    Bloomberg Burkina Faso ended its military collaboration with France, the second West African nation to sever defense links that were forged to combat a decade-long insurgency in the region. The government on January 18 criticized a 2018 agreement that enabled the troops to operate in Burkina Faso, according to a letter sent by the nation’s Foreign Affairs Ministry to ...

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• 23 January

  Macron plows ahead with flagship pension reform

    Bloomberg French President Emmanuel Macron’s government formally presented its flagship pension reform at a cabinet meeting on Monday, paving the way for parliament to debate it as unions and opposition parties ready further strikes and protests against the plan. The bill, which raises the minimum retirement age to 64 from 62 and aims to erase deficits in the system ...

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• 23 January

  Biden 2020 campaign chief to stay at White House amid aide swaps

  

  Bloomberg Joe Biden’s deputy chief of staff, Jen O’Malley Dillon, has ruled out returning as campaign manager for the president’s planned 2024 reelection bid, people familiar with the matter say. O’Malley Dillon, who served as campaign manager for his 2020 effort, will stay at the White House rather than reprise the role, the people said. She’ll still be closely involved ...

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