February, 2021

• 15 February

  Ethiopia politicians in hunger strike urge end to impasse

  Bloomberg Time is “running out” to resolve an impasse with imprisoned Ethiopian opposition leaders who’ve spent almost three weeks without food, according to a lawyer for one of the key figures behind the protest. Media mogul Jawar Mohammed’s representative said the hunger strike was endangering the inmates’ lives and urged the government to seek a quick resolution. “We are running ...

  Read More »
• 15 February

  Ex-Kosovo PM’s comeback may hurt Serbia ties more

  

  Bloomberg Ex-Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti won snap elections in a comeback that could worsen already tense relations with neighbouring Serbia. Kurti’s party, whose last government lasted just four months, got 48% in the ballot, according to preliminary results with 97% of votes counted. Four other parties are also on track to enter parliament, as well as minority lawmakers who ...

  Read More »
• 15 February

  Catalan separatists keep control and Sanchez gets a boost

  

  Bloomberg Catalan separatist parties won a majority in the regional parliament in the election, but Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was one of the night’s big winners. Sanchez’s Socialist party won the most votes and saw its main national rival, the conservative People’s Party, suffer a humiliating defeat. All the same, the next regional leader is set to come from ...

  Read More »
• 15 February

  UK economic scars emerge with jobless excluded from benefits

  

  Bloomberg More than 10% of the UK workforce is out of a job and struggling to tap government benefits, exposing economic scars set to remain long after the coronavirus fades. About 3.8 million people including actors and musicians in London’s famous theaters don’t qualify for the most lucrative welfare payments, according to the Standard Life Foundation, which campaigns for those ...

  Read More »
• 15 February

  Google, Facebook nearing deals to pay for news in Australia

  

  Bloomberg Google and Facebook Inc. are nearing agreements to pay domestic media companies for news, in a sign a regulatory standoff may be softening, Australia’s government said Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg held talks with Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg and Google counterpart Sundar Pichai over the weekend. “We’re very close to some very significant commercial deals,” Frydenberg told the ...

  Read More »
• 15 February

  Norway’s economic growth surprise fans rate-hike bets

  

  Bloomberg Norway’s economy grew much faster than expected at the end of last year, underpinning bets that its central bank will be the first in the rich world to raise interest rates this year. Mainland gross domestic product, which adjusts for Norway’s offshore industry, expanded 1.9% in the fourth quarter, the statistics office said. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected ...

  Read More »
• 15 February

  US consumer sentiment falls to 6-month low

  Bloomberg US consumer sentiment unexpectedly declined to a six-month low in early February as outlook for personal income deteriorated and more Americans anticipated faster inflation in the year ahead. The University of Michigan’s preliminary sentiment index falls to 76.2 from 79 last month, data showed. The median forecast in Bloomberg’s survey of economists called for a modest improvement to 80.9 ...

  Read More »
• 15 February

  Free-spending private equity firms set a record pace in Europe

  

  Bloomberg A year of pandemic prudence is giving way to jumbo dealmaking in Europe for deep-pocketed private equity houses. Buyout firms have announced $29 billion of takeovers involving European companies this year, up 60% year-on-year and the most for this period on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s after months in which many large buyers, including Blackstone Group ...

  Read More »
• 15 February

  Stocks advance to another record; oil up on cold snap

  

  Bloomberg Stocks rise as the vaccine rollout and slowing virus outbreaks spurred bets on a global recovery. West Texas Intermediate crude topped $60 a barrel amid an arctic freeze in parts of the US. Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index climbed, led by banks and commodity shares. South Korean and Japanese shares led Asia higher. US markets are shut for Presidents’ Day, ...

  Read More »
• 15 February

  Japan’s Nikkei 225 tops 30,000 for first time since 1990

  

  Bloomberg Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average topped 30,000 yen for the first time since August 1990, as it continued its charge back up through levels not seen since the collapse of the bubble economy. The gauge rises 1.9% to close at 30,084.15 on Monday, amid signs an economic recovery is intact at home and hopes of progress in US stimulus ...

  Read More »