February, 2022

• 21 February

  Korea exports stay resilient against Omicron headwinds

  

    Bloomberg South Korea’s early trade figures offered signs that global demand remains robust in February even as the value of shipments rose by the smallest amount in almost a year. Exports advanced 13.1% in the first 20 days of the month from the previous year, led by semiconductors and oil products, the customs office reported. Overall imports rose 12.9%, ...

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• 21 February

  India to see normal monsoon

    Bloomberg India’s monsoon, which irrigates more than half of the country’s farmland and is critical for economic growth, is likely to be normal this year, according to private forecaster Skymet Weather Services Pvt. This could mark a fourth straight year of normal monsoon, and is important because the June-September rainy season delivers as much as 90% of India’s annual ...

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• 21 February

  Soaring gasoline bad timing for Asian governments facing voters

  

    Bloomberg Soaring gasoline prices are fanning inflation and causing a headache for governments and central banks worldwide. In countries with elections coming up, they’re an extra headwind for the incumbents. While the US mid-terms in November are the prime example of fuel prices feeding into the political sphere, upcoming votes in Asia may also be affected. Voting is already ...

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• 21 February

  Crisis in China’s property industry deepens

    Bloomberg Almost a year after China’s property-market debt squeeze sparked the first in a wave of defaults by developers, the industry is fighting for survival. Home sales continue to plunge and elevated borrowing costs mean offshore refinancing is off the table for many developers. Global agencies are pulling their ratings on property bonds, while a string of auditor resignations ...

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• 21 February

  China’s provinces brace for weak revenues in hit to economy

  

    Bloomberg China’s provincial governments are bracing for a tough year, predicting income growth from taxes will slow and land sale revenue will fall, putting them under severe fiscal pressure as they try to spend more to support a faltering economy. Some local authorities are predicting their general revenue this year will be significantly weaker than an expected national economic ...

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• 21 February

  Kremlin cautious on prospect of Biden-Putin meet amid row

  

  Bloomberg The Kremlin said there are “no concrete plans” for a summit between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, throwing into question the fate of a French proposal that seemed to offer fresh hope for averting an alleged Russian plan to attack Ukraine. US officials said the meeting, proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron, would occur only ...

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• 21 February

  Pompeo to visit Taiwan in rare trip by ex-top US diplomat

  

  Bloomberg Former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo is scheduled to travel to Taiwan next month, one of the most senior US dignitaries to visit the democratically ruled island in recent years. Pompeo has accepted an invitation from the Taipei-based Prospect Foundation, the group’s president, Lai I-chung, said. The former top US diplomat and potential Republican presidential contender will visit Taiwan ...

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• 21 February

  Slovenia moves to block hotel deal linked to Orban ally

  

    Bloomberg Slovenia’s premier moved to block a controversial deal that would hand a large chunk of the country’s biggest tourism group to a buyer with ties to the family of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Prime Minister Janez Jansa’s cabinet approved a 41.6 million-euro ($47.2 million) boost to the capital of the country’s Sovereign Holding, allowing it to exercise ...

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• 21 February

  UK unions challenge Johnson’s move to end Covid rules

  

    Bloomberg UK trade unions are challenging plans by Boris Johnson to end Covid-19 regulations in England, saying the prime minister should put public health first. The Trades Union Congress (TUC), an umbrella group for British unions representing more than 5.5 million people, said that the government should first commit to improving sick pay and supporting people with weakened immune ...

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• 21 February

  Germany spent $48 billion to protect jobs from Covid fallout

  

  Bloomberg Germany spent about 42 billion euros ($48 billion) on a program to secure jobs threatened by the coronavirus pandemic. A government program to pay most of an employee’s wages when they can’t work because of operational issues like lockdowns was worth the cost, Germany’s Labor Minister Hubertus Heil said in an interview with Tagespiegel. “The alternative — namely allowing ...

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