UK factory price inflation eases to slowest pace in almost a year

  Bloomberg UK factories’ fuel and raw material costs are rising at their slowest pace in almost a year, further evidence that pipeline inflationary pressures are easing. Input prices rose 16.5% in December from a year ago, down from a peak of 24.6% in June, Office for National Statistics figures published Wednesday show. That was the slowest pace since February ...

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US sues Google to break up ad unit in heated antitrust fight

Bloomberg The US Justice Department and eight states sued Alphabet Inc.’s Google, calling for the break up of the search giant’s ad-technology business over alleged illegal monopolization of the digital advertising market. “The lawsuit we have filed today seeks to hold Google to account for what we allege are its longstanding monopolies in digital advertising technologies that content creators use ...

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Murdoch ditches Fox, News Corp merger after investor objections

  Bloomberg Rupert Murdoch said he was abandoning plans to explore a merger of Fox Corp. and News Corp., two media companies he controls, after investors pushed back on the deal. Fox said Tuesday that it had received a letter from Murdoch saying that he and his son Lachlan, the chief executive officer of Fox, had determined a combination was ...

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Italy braces for disruption as gas stations strike

  Bloomberg Italy is bracing for two days of disruptions after gas station operators across the country started a strike late Tuesday to protest against a new policy introduced by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government. A last-ditch attempt by the government to convince unions to call off the strike failed. But some of the groups organizing the protest decided to ...

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Microsoft erases gains after saying Azure growth to decelerate

Bloomberg Microsoft Corp. shares declined after the company warned that revenue growth in its cloud-computing business will decelerate in the coming months and corporate software sales will slow, fueling concern about demand for the products that have driven its momentum in recent years. Shares fell as much as 2.7% to $235.51 in pre-market trading. Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said ...

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Germany to boost Ukraine firepower with battle tanks

Bloomberg Germany pledged to supply Ukraine with more than 100 Leopard 2 battle tanks in a joint effort with allies, providing Kyiv’s forces with a significant upgrade in firepower and earning effusive praise from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. In a first step, Germany will make a company of 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks available from stocks held by its armed forces, ...

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Japan PM Kishida faces pressure to visit Ukraine ahead of G-7

Bloomberg Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he would consider an invitation extended by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to visit Ukraine, as Japan’s ruling party No. 2 publicly urged the premier to go ahead with the trip. Kishida told lawmakers Wednesday a decision would be based on the circumstances. Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi told parliament it would be desirable ...

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Imran Khan confident of election win, backs IMF role in Pakistan

Bloomberg Pakistan’s ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan said he’s confident of returning to power this year, and would back a continued role for the International Monetary Fund to prop up the economy and stave off a growing risk of a debt default. The former cricket star, who was removed from office in a confidence vote last year, said in an ...

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Hungarian generals ousted as Orban rejigs top army leadership

  Bloomberg Hungary’s defense minister said an overhaul of senior-level military brass was underway in the NATO member state, which he called necessary to open the way for a new generation of leadership. The timing of the changes — with war raging on in neighboring Ukraine — has sparked criticism from opposition ranks that see it as an attempt to ...

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BOE heads off strike risk with 3.5% pay deal for 4,200 staff

  Bloomberg The Bank of England (BOE) has agreed a 3.5% pay rise for its 4,200 staff and a one-off 1% salary top-up this year under a sub-inflation deal that has been accepted by the union. The increase in the overall pay pot will be targeted at lower paid staff to protect them against the worst of the living standards ...

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