SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s economy likely escaped a technical recession in the third quarter even as growth stayed subdued, weighed down by the prolonged trade dispute between the United States and China, a Reuters poll showed. Gross domestic product (G... More »
OSLO (Reuters) – Norway plans to spend less money next year from its $1.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, as economic growth remains strong and unemployment declines, the center-right majority government said on Monday. “The Norwegian econ... More »
DENVER (Reuters) – Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George on Sunday rejected the notion that the U.S. central bank should cut interest rates to try to boost low inflation, which she said is largely a result of global forces that U.S. monetary... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s industrial output shrank more than expected in August in the latest warning that the economy and its manufacturers are facing intensifying pressure from a bitter Sino-U.S. trade war. Retail sales, however, expanded at a faster-than-ex... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Factory activity surveys in China pointed to slight improvement in September as domestic demand picked up, but analysts believe the gains will be short-lived as the property market cools and Sino-U.S. trade tensions remain elevated. Persist... More »
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong private home prices fell for the third straight month in August, according to government data released on Monday, as increasingly violent street protests take a toll on the economy. Prices dropped 1.37%, steeper than July’s revi... More »
BEIJING(Reuters) – China’s factory activity unexpectedly expanded at the fastest pace in 19 months in September as plants ramped up production and new orders rose, a private business survey showed on Monday, suggesting a modest recovery in the manufacturing se... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Growth in China’s services sector activity slowed slightly in September, official data showed on Monday. The official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 53.7 from 53.8 in August, but stayed well above the 50-point ma... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Thursday that the euro zone economy was in a period of “protracted” economic weakness, with inflation staying low and the balance of risks tilted toward the downside. “Incoming informat... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – The German economy will slide into a recession in the current quarter, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) said on Wednesday as it slashed its growth forecasts for Europe’s biggest economy due to trade disputes and Brexit uncertai... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The number of Chinese visitors to Australia ticked up in July though the annual pace of growth slowed to the equal weakest in nine years, in a sign the Sino-U.S. trade war and sluggish economic growth were hurting mainland tourists’ travel p... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The bitter trade war between China and the United States kept Asian factory activity mostly in decline in August, business surveys showed, strengthening the case for policymakers to unleash fresh stimulus to fend off recession risks. In a sur... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese companies raised spending on plant and equipment in April-June for the 11th straight quarter, underscoring the resilience of capital expenditure despite the Sino-U.S. trade war and slowing global growth. Firms raised capital spending... More »
SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A decline in economic activity in the U.S. Midwest, apparent in a little-noticed report on Friday from the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, adds to evidence of slowing growth in factory-heavy corners of the country key to next... More »
Women account for only a little over one third of appointments at a major hospital in India’s capital, New Delhi, highlighting extensive gender discrimination in access to healthcare services, researchers say. Looking at outpatient visits to a large hospital i... More »
Higher levels of education promote health by helping people avoid many environmental health risks, but this benefit may not extend equally to all races and ethnicities when it comes to secondhand smoke, a U.S. study suggests Overall, higher educational attainm... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s economy contracted on weaker exports in the second quarter, detailed data showed on Tuesday, highlighting the Achilles heel of Europe’s largest economy due to escalating trade disputes and waning foreign demand. The Federal Statist... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – French consumer confidence levels in August held at their highest levels in a year and a half, official data showed on Tuesday, while a measure of confidence within French industry rose slightly. The INSEE national statistics office said cons... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – French manufacturing companies have lowered their investment plans from only a few months ago, according to a quarterly survey from the INSEE statistics agency on Tuesday. Manufacturers plan on increasing investments in 2019 by 6%, down from ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British working-age households are growing more cautious about making major purchases amid concerns about Brexit and a possible recession, a monthly consumer survey showed on Monday. The IHS Markit Household Finance Index dropped to a three-... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s exports slipped for an eighth month in July, while manufacturers’ confidence turned negative for the first time in over six years as China-bound sales slumped again in a fresh sign the Sino-U.S. trade war could tip the economy into re... More »
Court-ordered anti-smoking ads sponsored by the tobacco industry reached only around 40% of adults and about half of all smokers in the U.S., a recent study suggests. Past research has shown that anti-smoking mass media campaigns are an effective public health... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China fell 4.7% in July from a year earlier, the first drop in more two years, data from the country’s biggest auto industry association showed. That compared with growth of 80% in NEV sales in June. O... More »
OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s central bank is expected to keep interest rates on hold on Aug. 15 while signaling that a hike will likely follow later this year amid solid growth, above-target inflation and currency weakness, a Reuters poll of economists showed. De... More »
LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain’s housing market picked up modestly in June with a stronger-than-expected rise in mortgage approvals, but consumer lending growth slowed to a fresh five-year low, Bank of England figures showed on Monday. Brexit worries have weighed... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s economic growth slowed to 6.2% in the second quarter, its weakest pace in at least 27 years, as demand at home and abroad faltered in the face of mounting U.S. trade pressure. While more upbeat June factory output and retail sales o... More »
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s annual inflation almost doubled to a new 10-year high of 175.66% in June, data showed on Monday, stirring memories of years of economic chaos. Prices of basic goods from sugar to cooking oil to building material soared durin... More »
(Reuters) – India’s slowing economic growth, water shortage and regulatory hurdles have taken its business sentiment in June to the lowest level since 2016, a survey by market research firm IHS Markit showed on Monday. The aggregate of private-sector companies... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s pork output fell by less than expected in the first half as the country tackles a devastating disease outbreak, although official data showed conflicting figures on the size of the decline in the hog herd. China produced 24.7 millio... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission lowered its estimates on Wednesday for euro zone growth and inflation, saying uncertainty over U.S. trade policy posed a major risk to the bloc. In its quarterly economic forecasts, the European Union’s executive ar... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German exports rebounded more strongly than expected in May but failed to fully recover from a slump a month earlier, data showed on Monday, as trade conflicts cool Europe’s largest economy in the second quarter. Exports grew by 1.1% on the ... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone lending growth held steady in May while a broader money supply indicator, which often foreshadows future activity, grew faster than expected, data showed on Monday, easing pressure on the European Central Bank to provide more st... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Factory activity in the euro zone shrank faster last month than previously thought in a broad-based downturn, according to a survey on Monday that suggested there would be no quick turnaround. The downbeat data will likely add to calls for t... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Factory activity shrank in most Asian countries in June as the simmering U.S.-China trade conflict put further strains on the region’s manufacturing sector, keeping policymakers under pressure to deploy stronger steps to avert a global recess... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – New home prices in China rose at their fastest pace in five months in May, complicating government efforts to keep frothy housing markets under control as it rolls out more stimulus for the slowing economy. Average new home prices in China’... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s central bank believes it will likely have to cut interest rates further from the current record low of 1.25% in order to push down unemployment and revive growth in wages and inflation. Minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s ... More »
BENGALURU (Reuters) – India’s retail inflation likely accelerated to a seven-month high in May on rising food prices, but it is expected to remain well below the Reserve Bank of India’s target, giving it room to ease policy further, a Reuters poll found. The R... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s exports unexpectedly returned to growth in May despite higher U.S. tariffs, but imports fell the most in nearly three years in a further sign of weak domestic demand that could prompt Beijing to step up stimulus measures. Some analy... More »
SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s crude oil imports slipped 8% in May from an all-time peak hit the month before, customs data showed, as the world’s top importer of the commodity curbed shipments from Iran amid tightening U.S. sanctions on that country. C... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s soybean imports fell 24% in May from the same month last year, customs data showed on Monday, as the ongoing Sino-U.S. trade war and deadly African swine fever checked demand. China brought in 7.36 million tonnes of soybeans in May,... More »
MOSCOW, (Reuters) – Russian manufacturing activity contracted in May for the first time in nine months, the Markit purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed on Monday, driven by a faster-than-expected decline in employment. The index’s headline reading fell to 4... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian businesses reported a decent increase in profits for the first three months of the year, supported by surging iron ore prices while higher wages and inventories may have also helped prop up momentum in the slowing economy. Data fr... More »
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Factory activity contracted in most Asian countries last month as an escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing raised fears of a global economic downturn and heaped pressure on policymakers in the region and beyond to roll out m... More »
BENGALURU, (Reuters) – India’s manufacturing sector expanded at its quickest pace in three months in May on improved output and new orders, according to a private business survey which also showed a pick up in hiring. The survey found increased optimism about ... More »
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s exports likely contracted 4.5% in May from a year earlier, logging a seventh straight month of decline, according to a median forecast of 11 analysts polled by Reuters. Taiwan’s April exports had dropped 3.3% from a year earlier, in... More »
ANAHEIM, Calif. (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger told Reuters on Wednesday it would be “very difficult” for the media company to keep filming in Georgia if a new abortion law takes effect because many people will not want to work in the U.S.... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Profits for China’s industrial firms shrank in April as slowing manufacturing activity halted the previous month’s surge, putting more pressure on policymakers to step up support for an economy hit by a bitter trade war with the United Stat... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s export earnings are booming as resource prices surge but a statistical quirk means tens of billions of dollars go missing from main measures of growth, making the economy seem weaker than it actually is. The cash is still coursin... More »
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s economy expanded more slowly than expected in the first quarter of this year, as investment dropped ahead of elections and campaign spending failed to sustain growth momentum. Southeast Asia’s largest economy grew 5.07 percent i... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China is expected to report much slower export growth for April after a strong rebound in March, while imports likely shrank for a fifth straight month but at a milder pace, a Reuters poll showed. If Wednesday’s readings are in line with fo... More »
(Reuters Health) – Suicide rates grow more slowly in states that increase their minimum wage, according to a U.S. study that suggests this might be one strategy for curbing deaths by suicide. Although a small proportion of the population works for minimum wage... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s annual manufacturing output in February is expected to have risen at a slightly faster pace than in the previous month, a Reuters poll showed. The median forecast of eight economists was for the manufacturing production index (MP... More »
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said on Monday it was understandable for markets to be nervous when the yield curve flattened, though he was still confident about the U.S. economic growth outlook. In what many see as ... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s core inflation rate eased to a nine-month low in February, reinforcing expectations that the central bank will keep monetary policy unchanged when it meets next month. The core inflation rate was 1.5 percent on a year-on-year ... More »
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s central bank is likely to maintain interest rates at its meeting on Thursday, a Reuters poll showed on Monday, although some analysts predicted a cut ahead of expected fuel price increases this summer. Eight out of 12 economists polle... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s exports fell for a third month in February in a sign of growing strain on the trade-reliant economy, suggesting the central bank might be forced to offer more stimulus eventually to temper the effects of slowing external demand and tr... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s machinery orders fell in January at the fastest pace in four months as the U.S.-China tariff war hit global trade, knocking demand from the country’s auto and telecommunications equipment manufacturing sectors lower. The 5.4 percent d... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – A plunge in car production drove an unexpected drop in German industrial output in January as the engine room of Europe’s largest economy, which narrowly avoided recession last year, stuttered amid trade friction and unease about Brexit. Ind... More »
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The Turkish economy contracted a sharper than expected 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, its worse performance in nearly a decade, in the clearest sign yet that last year’s currency crisis is tipping it into recession. Turkey, a m... More »
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The worst is now behind Turkey’s economy, Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said on Monday, following the release of official data showing the economy contracted at a sharper than expected 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018. O... More »
LAUNCESTON, Australia – If the sharp plunge in China’s exports in February shows anything, it’s that a gap is opening between what the country is shipping out and its still resilient imports of major commodities. Exports dropped 20.7 percent in February from t... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. personal income fell for the first time in more than three years in January and consumer spending dropped by the most since 2009 in December, putting the economy on a weak growth path early in the first quarter. The economic outlook... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – If Britain quits the European Union without a deal, that could shave at least 0.5 percent off Germany’s gross domestic product (GDP), the head of Germany’s BDI industry association said on Tuesday. BDI Managing Director Joachim Lang said tha... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – French consumer confidence jumped in February to its highest level since “yellow vest” protesters started their weekly demonstrations, as households took heart in an improvement in their finances and unemployment fears receded. The reading of... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone headline consumer inflation slowed slightly in January because of a sharp deceleration of energy price growth, but core inflation watched closely by the European Central Bank in policy decisions edged slightly higher, data showed... More »
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s economic growth probably slowed in the fourth quarter as the island’s technology exports were hit by softening global demand and fallout from the U.S.-China trade war. The median forecast in a Reuters poll of 14 economists was for f... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Earnings at China’s industrial firms shrank for a second straight month in December, putting pressure on policymakers to support industries hurt by slowing prices and weak factory activity amid a protracted U.S.-Sino trade war. The downbeat... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s cabinet approved on Sunday a law to allow exports of medical cannabis in a move expected to boost state revenues and the agriculture sector, and which frustrates critics who fear it could lead to more recreational use of the drug... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Barclays economists said on Wednesday they reduced their outlook on U.S. economic growth in the first quarter to an annualized rate of 2.5 percent from an earlier projection of 3.0 percent as a result of the historically long partial feder... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Unemployment in the euro zone unexpectedly fell in November to its lowest rate in more than ten years, official estimates released on Wednesday showed. The EU statistics office Eurostat said unemployment in the 19-country currency bloc dro... More »
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Uncertainties about the global economy mean Sweden’s central bank needs to move cautiously in tightening policy after its first hike in more than seven years, minutes of its December meeting published on Wednesday showed. Last month, the ... More »
(Reuters) – A shutdown of about a quarter of the U.S. government reached its 18th day on Tuesday, with lawmakers and the White House divided over Republican President Donald Trump’s demand for money for a border wall ahead of his prime-time address to push the... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has opened the door to imports of rice from the United States for the first time ever in what analysts took to signal a warming of relations between the world’s two biggest economies after a frosty year marked by tensions and tit-for-... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Inflation in Germany’s most populous regions slowed in December, just as the European Central Bank ended a crisis-fighting bond purchase scheme after four years and as global markets slumped. The annual inflation rate in Germany’s most popul... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The anti-government protests convulsing France will slow growth to close to a standstill in the final quarter, the central bank said on Monday, complicating President Emmanuel Macron’s task of finding concessions to placate the “yellow vest” ... More »
(Reuters Health) – Parents who receive supplemental food vouchers for grocery shopping need a better retail experience to make the most of the benefits, U.S. researchers say. When shoppers have a difficult time identifying allowable items under the Special Sup... More »
(Reuters) – The Bank of Canada will next raise interest rates early next year, and twice again by the end of 2019, according to economists polled by Reuters who say the central bank needs to be careful with the pace of tightening. As recently as late October t... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Americans’ demand for credit declined over the previous year as expected, as mortgage interest rates rose, while the percentage of approved applications also ticked lower compared to a year ago, a survey from the New York Federal Reserve s... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. job growth increased more than expected in June as manufacturers stepped up hiring, but steady wage gains pointed to moderate inflation pressures that should keep the Federal Reserve on a path of gradual interest rate increases. Non... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. job growth increased more than expected in June as manufacturers stepped up hiring, but steady wage gains pointed to moderate inflation pressures that should keep the Federal Reserve on a path of gradual interest rate increases. Nonfarm payrol... More »
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. trade deficit fell to a 1-1/2-year low in May as exports rose to a record high, boosted by an increase in shipments of soybeans and commercial aircraft. The Commerce Department said on Friday the trade gap narrowed 6.6 percent ... More »
Euro zone factory growth slowed to an 18-month low in June, slipping for the sixth month in a row amid widespread concerns about trade barriers and their impact on overall economic activity, a survey showed on Monday. IHS Markit’s June final manufacturing Purc... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German manufacturing export sales and new orders grew at their slowest pace in more than two years in June, a survey showed on Monday, adding to signs the sector is cooling as fears of a full-blown global trade war cloud the economic outlook... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Business confidence among Japan’s big manufacturers worsened for a second straight quarter in the three months to June, a Bank of Japan survey showed, with the outlook clouded by U.S. trade protectionism and rising input costs. It was the fir... More »
AMMAN (Reuters) – Jordan’s Prime Minister Hani Mulki submitted his resignation to King Abdullah on Monday, an official source said, to soothe widespread anger over economic policies that have sparked the largest protests in several years and dozens of arrests.... More »
AMMAN (Reuters) – Hani Mulki resigned from his post as Jordan’s prime minister in a meeting with King Abdullah on Monday, an official source said, a move aimed at defusing anger over economic policies that have sparked the largest protests in years. Source: ht... More »
AMMAN (Reuters) – Jordan’s police chief said security forces had detained 60 people for breaking the law during major protests over tax hikes in recent days. Major General Fadel al-Hamoud said at a press conference that 42 members of the security forces were i... More »
AMMAN (Reuters) – Hundreds of Jordanians took to the streets of the capital Amman on Sunday in a fourth day of nightly protests against IMF-backed price increases that have shaken the kingdom, witnesses said. They said demonstrators who converged near the cabi... More »
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s economy grew for a fifth straight quarter in January-to-March and at a faster pace than in the previous three months, helped by stronger exports, the statistics service (ELSTAT) said on Monday. Seasonally adjusted data showed gross ... More »
LONDON/BEIJING (Reuters) – Factory growth in major manufacturing hubs showed signs of cooling last month as companies braced for potential damage from rising global trade tensions while also grappling with accelerating inflation and a strong dollar. U.S. Presi... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s jobless rate held steady in April and the availability of jobs also remained unchanged, government data showed on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 2.5 percent, the Internal Affairs ministry said. The result ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s exports accelerated in April on increased shipments of cars and machines used to make semiconductors, with rising volumes suggesting healthy overseas demand could help the economy recover quickly from a dip in the first quarter. Expor... More »
(Reuters Health) – Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provision allowing adult children to stay on their parents’ health insurance policy until age 26, young women with gynecological cancers were diagnosed and treated sooner, researchers say. Before the law, ... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German economic growth slowed slightly more than expected in the first quarter of the year due to weak trade, data showed on Tuesday, but analysts called it a blip and predicted Europe’s biggest economy would shift into a higher gear again. ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China reported weaker-than-expected investment and retail sales in April and a drop in home sales, clouding its economic outlook even as policymakers try to navigate debt risks and defuse a heated trade row with the United States. Fixed ass... More »
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan said he plans to take greater control of the economy after presidential elections next month and the central bank will have to take note of what the president says and act accordingly. His comments helped pushed the... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s property investment growth slowed in April while sales marked their biggest fall in six months as higher borrowing costs and increased curbs on buyers weighed on demand, backing views that a key driver of the economy is losing some ... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German industrial orders unexpectedly dropped for the third month running in March due to weak foreign demand, data showed on Monday, suggesting factories in Europe’s largest economy are shifting into a lower gear. Contracts for German goods... More »
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday named Interior Minister Sandor Pinter and Economy Minister Mihaly Varga as deputy prime ministers in his new government. Orban, re-elected in an April landslide that gave his ruling Fidesz pa... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. job growth likely accelerated in April after a weather-related slowdown in the previous month, with the unemployment rate expected to drop to near a 17-1/2-year low of 4.0 percent. The Labor Department’s closely watched employment r... More »
