December, 2022

• 20 December

  India’s unemployment rate climbs in December

  

    Bloomberg India’s unemployment rate in December climbed to its highest point since a nationwide pandemic lockdown, as the country struggles to produce enough jobs to absorb a growing workforce. The joblessness rate in the first three weeks of December was over 8% of the available labour force, Mahesh Vyas, head of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt Ltd, ...

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• 20 December

  China confirms change to Covid death definition as doubts grow

    Bloomberg China confirmed it’s narrowed how it defines a Covid death, adding weight to speculation that its strikingly low official tally is hiding the true picture of the chaos unleashed by this month’s abrupt pandemic pivot. The country will only count people who tested positive for Covid and died of respiratory failure as official virus deaths, Wang Guiqiang, a ...

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• 20 December

  India’s Maruti Suzuki blames high taxes for low ownership

  

    Bloomberg India’s biggest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, said government levies put vehicles beyond the reach of much of the population, adding to criticism of the country’s tax regime from Tesla Inc and Toyota Motor Corp. “Government policies are such that they treat cars as luxury products that need to be heavily taxed,” Maruti Chairman RC Bhargava said at ...

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• 20 December

  Taiwan export orders flash warning signal

    Bloomberg Taiwan’s export orders plummeted by the most since the height of the global financial crisis more than a decade ago, a sign of worsening global demand for technology products. Overseas orders to Taiwanese firms fell 23.4% in November from a year earlier, according to a statement from the Economics Ministry. That was almost double the 12.8% drop economists ...

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• 20 December

  IPOs pick up in Hong Kong next year with China reopening plan

  

    Bloomberg After the worst year for initial public offerings (IPO) in Hong Kong since the financial crisis, bankers and analysts expect a recovery in listings in the Asian financial hub as China moves forward with reopening plans. Proceeds raised in the city totalled $12.9 billion in 2022, down 70% versus last year, outpacing the 29% contraction in the Asia ...

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• 20 December

  Beijing accused of building on unoccupied reefs in S China Sea

  

  Bloomberg China is building up several unoccupied land features in the South China Sea, according to Western officials, which they said was part of Beijing’s long-running effort to strengthen claims to disputed territory and potentially bolster its military presence in a region critical to global trade. Fishing fleets that operate as de facto maritime militias under the control of authorities ...

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• 20 December

  Thai navy confirms 5 sailors dead after ship sinks in storm

  

  Bloomberg The Royal Thai Navy said that at least five sailors have been confirmed dead after a ship sank off the coast of southern Thailand during a storm. There were 105 sailors on board the HTMS Sukhothai, a corvette which went down 37 kilometers (20 nautical miles) offshore the province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, according to a navy tweet and ...

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• 20 December

  Explosion reported at Russian pipeline bringing gas to Europe

    Bloomberg An explosion was reported at Russian gas pipeline that goes to Ukraine for further supplies to Europe. The blast occurred at the section of the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod link, according to Russian media reports, citing the press office of the regional governor. It wasn’t immediately clear if flows of gas were impacted. A fire site was extinguished after the incident ...

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• 20 December

  South Africa’s Ramaphosa tightens grip on ANC

  

  Bloomberg South African President Cyril Ramaphosa emerged from a ruling party electoral conference with a stronger mandate, yet still has to overcome a series of political hurdles to tackle a daunting economic to-do list. The country is gripped by an energy crisis that’s idling businesses for six or more hours a day, the crumbling freight-rail system prevents key exports from ...

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• 20 December

  Trump’s political woes add up with Jan 6 criminal referrals

  

  Bloomberg The double-whammy of one House committee referring Donald Trump for criminal prosecution and another debating release of his tax returns adds to an accumulation of political blows that some Republican strategists say will further hobble the former president’s already troubled bid for another run at the White House. The House panel investigating the January 6 Capitol attack made four ...

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