October, 2021

• 11 October

  Levi’s global factory footprint pays off

  Bloomberg Levi Strauss & Co’s strong quarter is sending a clear message to the rest of the apparel industry: There’s value in spreading out manufacturing. Chief Executive Officer Chip Bergh said the denim maker sources less than 4% of its goods from Vietnam — which has faced factory shutdowns recent due to Covid-19 outbreaks — and tries not to have ...

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• 11 October

  Taiwan pushes back as China’s president calls for unification

  

  Bloomberg Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen said the island is facing “unprecedented challenges” and will defend its sovereignty, pushing back after Chinese leader Xi Jinping declared a day earlier that unification will be achieved. Taipei hopes for an easing in cross-strait ties, and resolving differences requires dialogue on the basis of parity, Tsai said in a televised National Day address on ...

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• 11 October

  Ethiopia to carve out 11th state after autonomy vote

  

  Bloomberg Ethiopians in the south of the country have voted almost unanimously to have their own state, part of a push for increased autonomy that’s intensified since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018. South West will become Ethiopia’s 11th state after 1.26 million Ethiopians in six zones and one locality took part in a September 30 referendum. About ...

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• 11 October

  Quarantine-free entry for UK, US travellers, says Singapore

  Bloomberg Singapore is pressing ahead with plans to reopen its borders despite battling a record Covid-19 outbreak, saying it will allow vaccinated travellers from nine more countries including the US and UK to enter without having to quarantine. The other places to qualify are Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain with travel to Singapore to start from October ...

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• 10 October

  New leader steps in as corruption probe claims Austria’s Kurz

  

  Bloomberg Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz resigned in the face of corruption allegations, a stunning blow for a rising star of European conservative politics. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, whom Kurz recommended as his successor, now begins the work of salvaging the ruling People’s Party/Green Party coalition. He’s due to meet Green officials and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on Sunday. ...

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• 10 October

  Czech turmoil as president in ICU after vote

  

  Bloomberg Czech President Milos Zeman was rushed to the hospital over complications related to his chronic health problems, a development that may snarl government negotiations after his ally suffered a shock election defeat. Zeman, 77, has spent the past years in a wheelchair suffering from diabetes and neuropathy. A staunch supporter of Russia and advocate of deepening ties with China, ...

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• 10 October

  German Greens, Liberals spar over budget matters

  

  Bloomberg Talks to form a three-way coalition government in Germany risk getting bogged down over finance and budget matters, based on divergent policy objectives outlined by leaders of the two junior parties over the weekend. Volker Wissing, secretary-general of the business-friendly FDP, said his party won’t accept tax increases or a loosening of the so-called debt brake, according to a ...

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• 10 October

  Canada’s surprise jobs surge recoups all pandemic losses

  

  Bloomberg Canada has recovered all of the roughly three million jobs lost to Covid-19. The country’s economy added 157,100 jobs in September, returning the labour market to pre-pandemic levels, Statistics Canada said in Ottawa. That compares with economists’ expectation of 60,000 new jobs, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. The unemployment rate fell to 6.9% from 7.1% ...

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• 10 October

  Brazil’s inflation slows after topping 10% in September

  

  Bloomberg Brazil’s consumer prices rise less than expected in September, supporting the central bank’s view that inflation peaked just above 10% and will start to slow as rising borrowing costs cool down the economy. Inflation accelerated to 10.25% from a year ago, its fastest pace since February 2016, and to 1.16% from the month prior, the national statistics institute reported. ...

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• 10 October

  European factories sound alarm over supply squeeze

  Bloomberg European manufacturers are increasingly strained by global supply-chain problems that are pushing up prices and may last well into next year. A gauge by IHS Markit measuring business activity in manufacturing falls last month by the biggest margin since April 2020 — the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Growth in new orders, output and employment slowed considerably. “Supply issues ...

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