March, 2021

• 21 March

  Australia won’t swap values for China talks: Payne

  

  Bloomberg Australia won’t trade away important principles and values to restart talks with China, Foreign Minister Marise Payne told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. A senior aide to US President Joe Biden came out in support of Australia earlier in the week, telling the Chinese government relations between the two superpowers won’t improve until Beijing stops its economic coercion against ...

  Read More »
• 21 March

  EU sues UK over tax breaks as post-Brexit skirmishes mount

  

  Bloomberg The European Union (EU) sued the UK for failing to recover illegal tax breaks doled out to multinational firms, in the second legal move against the former member state this week. Authorities still haven’t clawed back all of the 100 million euros ($119 million) in tax breaks aimed at luring multinational firms to the UK territory of Gibraltar, more ...

  Read More »
• 20 March

  French economy set for firmer 2021 amid virus

  

  Bloomberg The French economy is weathering the Covid pandemic and government restrictions better than previously forecast, putting it on a path to stronger growth this year, the Bank of France said. Activity falls less than the central bank initially expected at the end of 2020 as household and business investment held up despite the lockdown in November. The central bank ...

  Read More »
• 20 March

  Portugal aims to protect jobs as economy reopens

  Bloomberg Portugal will continue implementing measures to protect jobs as it eases confinement measures and tries to recover from the deepest slump in decades, Labor Minister Ana Mendes Godinho said. “Our top priority has been the protection of employment,” Mendes Godinho said. “We plan to continue to monitor and reinforce the measures that are needed to protect the income of ...

  Read More »
• 20 March

  Greece tries first 30-year debt sale since 2008 financial crisis

  

  Bloomberg Greece is set to issue its longest-maturity bonds since 2008, completing the country’s full return to debt markets. The nation is selling 30-year bonds via banks, which could be an opportunity for investors to pick up yields that are likely to be the highest in the euro area. Greece is following others in the region in seizing on low ...

  Read More »
• 20 March

  Microsoft unveils new vaccine tools

  Bloomberg Microsoft Corp. unveiled new technology to boost government and health care organisations’ vaccine management systems, including scheduling shot appointments and monitoring results, to fix shortcomings weeks after the company’s initial custom-built programs ran aground in a few states. The Microsoft Vaccine Management product is made up of features and new apps that the software company said will improve upon ...

  Read More »
• 20 March

  Draghi vows more economic stimulus, faster vaccinations

  

  Bloomberg Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi vowed to free up more economic stimulus and increase vaccinations to offset a prolonged lockdown amid a coronavirus resurgence. The premier, at his first news conference since his governing coalition was sworn in on February 13, unveiled a 32 billion-euro ($38 billion) pandemic relief package he called “only a first step.” The package was ...

  Read More »
• 20 March

  Volkswagen eyes global electric car lead by 2025

  

  Bloomberg Volkswagen AG plans to widen cost-saving efforts and standardise key technologies as the German manufacturer seeks to rival Tesla Inc. on electric cars and keep traditional rivals at bay. VW targets 1 million electric-vehicle sales this year and aims to become the global EV market leader by 2025 at the latest, the company said. By 2030, the share of ...

  Read More »
• 20 March

  BMW’s mini brand to go all-electric by end of this decade

  

  Bloomberg BMW AG’s Mini brand will go all-electric from 2030 as the automaker intensifies its transition to battery-powered vehicles, according to people familiar with the matter. The iconic British brand will roll out its last combustion-engine variant in 2025, and around half of all Mini sales should be electric by 2027, one of the people said, declining to be named ...

  Read More »
• 20 March

  Amazon to offer telehealth service to other US firms

  

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. is expanding digital medical consultations to its employees across the US and says it will start offering the service to other companies. Together with the launch of an online pharmacy in December, the initiative marks Amazon’s entry into the gargantuan US health care industry. Medical services have long been seen as a target for Amazon, both to ...

  Read More »