July, 2022

• 5 July

  Goldman sees China household spending rising 4.5% in H2

  

  Bloomberg China’s household spending may rebound in the second half of 2022, increasing 4.5% from a year earlier as Covid restrictions ease and the economy begins to recover, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc economists. That expansion would follow a gloomy second quarter, with Goldman forecasting spending in the April-to-June period likely contracted 1.5%, largely because of slower growth in ...

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• 5 July

  US ambassador urges China to stop spreading Russian ‘lies’

  

  Bloomberg The US ambassador to China called on the Foreign Ministry in Beijing to stop spreading Russia’s “lies,” in an unusually direct and public rebuke by the top American diplomat in the country. Ambassador Nicholas Burns made the “request” in response to a question at a government-backed forum Monday about what China could do to resolve the crisis over Russia’s ...

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• 5 July

  British army says Twitter, YouTube accounts hacked

    Bloomberg The British Army’s Twitter and YouTube accounts have been hacked, according to a statement from an Army spokesperson. A series of posts promoting non-fungible tokens were retweeted on the Army’s account on Sunday. Its YouTube account has been renamed “Ark Invest” and features several videos from a panel hosted by Ark Investment Management LLC last year on Bitcoin. ...

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• 5 July

  China to start trial of tycoon taken from Hong Kong hotel

    Bloomberg A Chinese-Canadian tycoon who was seized at a Hong Kong hotel five years ago and has lost much of his business empire to the Chinese government is going on trial on Monday. The Canadian embassy in Beijing said in a statement that it was aware Xiao Jianhua’s trial would take place. “Canadian consular officials are monitoring this case ...

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• 5 July

  Johnson under pressure over Tory MP who quit in sleaze row

  

  Bloomberg Boris Johnson is under pressure to explain what he knew and when after a string of allegations surfaced over the weekend about the past sexual behavior of Chris Pincher, the Conservative MP who quit last week as one of the prime minister’s enforcers, citing his own drunken behavior. The UK prime minister suspended Pincher from the Conservative Party, almost ...

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• 5 July

  Japan ruling parties set for upper house victory

  

  Bloomberg Japan’s ruling coalition parties are set to win a majority in a July 10 election for the upper house of parliament, with the main opposition party failing to pick up support from voters worried about rising prices, a major poll showed. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komeito are together likely to secure 65-80 ...

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• 5 July

  Macron’s shuffle points to parliamentary problems

    Bloomberg French President Emmanuel Macron shuffled his cabinet after losing his outright majority in parliament last month but made few changes, in a sign that he’s failed to convince major opposition figures to join his coalition. The 44-year-old centrist is keeping Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna in their posts. ...

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• 5 July

  UK’s poorest families ‘brutally exposed’ to cost-of-living crisis

  

  Bloomberg The poorest families in the UK were left “brutally exposed” to the cost of living crunch after almost two decades of income stagnation, the Resolution Foundation warned. In a report, the think tank said too many families faced the current crisis already struggling with low incomes, scant savings and ungenerous welfare support. Adjusted for inflation, the disposable income of ...

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• 5 July

  Germany has first monthly trade deficit since 1991

  

    Bloomberg Germany reported its first monthly trade deficit in three decades, as companies faced surging costs for imports and softer demand for their products amid a darker economic outlook. The shortfall in May for Europe’s biggest economy was 1 billion euros ($1 billion), a gap not seen since 1991. Cross-border sales unexpectedly falls by 0.5%, while imports rise 2.7%, ...

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• 5 July

  Swiss inflation hits 29-year high

    Bloomberg Inflation in Switzerland accelerated to the fastest pace in nearly three decades, hitting 3.4% in June. The pace is up from 2.9% in May, and well above the Swiss National Bank’s 2% target. Based on the European Union-harmonised measure, it was at 3.2%, compared with 8.6% in the surrounding euro area. Russia’s war with Ukraine has been a ...

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