MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday he was moderately optimistic about the country’s economic recovery from its worst downturn on record caused by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Sanchez reiterated that gross domesti... More »
BENGALURU (Reuters) – Funds recommended equity holdings be trimmed to the lowest in over four years in August, despite record-breaking gains by world stocks, as the pandemic drags on and new data suggest the nascent economic rebound is stalling, Reuters polls ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan was hit by its biggest economic slump on record in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic emptied shopping malls and crushed demand for cars and other exports, bolstering the case for bolder policy action to prevent a deeper rec... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares crept back toward recent peaks on Monday as Chinese markets swung higher, while investors waited to see if the recent sell-off in longer-dated U.S. Treasuries would extend and maybe take some pressure off the beleaguered dollar.... More »
1/WALL STREET WATCHES WASHINGTON U.S. lawmakers negotiating a fresh dose of stimulus have reached an impasse. Trillions of dollars injected by the Federal Reserve and huge government spending increases have stemmed coronavirus-linked economic damage, fuelling ... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s economy saw its biggest annual contraction in 22 years and a record quarterly fall in the April-June period, as the coronavirus pandemic and restriction measures hit tourism, exports and domestic activity, prompting an outlook do... More »
LONDON/TOKYO (Reuters) – Euro zone manufacturing activity expanded modestly last month, its first growth since early 2019, and Asia’s pain eased as the contraction slowed in export-reliant nations, adding to hopes the sector is emerging from the hit of the cor... More »
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s economy likely posted the biggest contraction in more than two decades in the second quarter, as measures taken to combat the coronavirus pandemic hit most sectors, a Reuters poll showed on Monday. The median forecast of 20 anal... More »
CAIRO/LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) – The threat of conflict in Libya, water security worries and a flatlining tourist sector risk upending a nascent rally in Egyptian bonds, bankers and economists say. The North African country has attracted a wave of foreign invest... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – The danger to the euro zone economy from the coronavirus pandemic is not yet over, European Central Bank board member Fabio Panetta told La Repubblica, adding that he saw no need to make any tweaks to the bank’s massive asset purchase progra... More »
GDANSK/WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s industrial output PLIPY=ECI rose by 0.5% in June, better than the 6.9% decline forecast by analysts, who said the statistic office data suggest the economy may overcome the coronavirus crisis faster than initially expected. T... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A growth spurt in the balance sheets of the world’s biggest central banks has crested in recent weeks, drawing warnings from investors that any signs of backpedaling on stimulus will jolt financial markets and strangle economic recovery. The... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank will use its stimulus firepower fully even as the euro zone economy shows some signs of rebounding from its pandemic-induced recession, ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday. Tackling the biggest econo... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone industrial production rose in May, official estimates showed on Tuesday, but the recovery from lockdown-induced record declines March and April was lower than expected and far from offsetting past drops. Manufacturing output in t... More »
TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia has asked four countries to delay debt repayments, it said on Monday as it announced more pessimistic economic and budget forecasts for 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. It is negotiating with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France and I... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The euro zone economy will drop deeper into recession this year and rebound less steeply in 2021 than previously thought, the European Commission forecast on Tuesday, with France, Italy and Spain struggling the most due to the COVID-19 pan... More »
ROME (Reuters) – The Italian government approved a package of measures on Tuesday aimed at cutting the complicated red tape that has long been blamed for crimping growth in the euro zone’s third-largest economy. The “simplification decree,” approved after week... More »
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s real GDP is likely to grow 3% in May, bouncing back from a record decline in April, Statistics Canada said in a flash estimate on Friday, as businesses across the country began to reopen following coronavirus-linked shutdowns. Growt... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s central bank governor said it was encouraging commercial banks to lend more to sustain businesses during the coronavirus crisis. Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) Governor Ahmed al-Kholifey was speaking at a virtual econo... More »
MUMBAI (Reuters) – The Indian government will extend a free foodgrain distribution scheme for 800 million people amid the ongoing pandemic until the end of November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a national address on Tuesday. Modi said thousands of liv... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – A string of positive economic indicators in the euro zone confirm that a recovery is on its way but the bloc may still need years to reach pre-crisis levels of activity, European Central Bank policymaker Klaas Knot said on Thursday. “I wo... More »
WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Monday he expects the country’s economy to recover quickly from the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “We have a chance for a V-shaped recovery,” Morawiecki told a conference. Poles... More »
(Reuters) – No denying May’s $73 billion rebound in U.S. retail sales was an eye-popper and is the latest fodder to fuel the red-hot “V” vs “U” debate about what kind of recovery to expect from the COVID-19 recession. Even Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The Australian dollar fell nearly 2% on Tuesday after China’s education ministry warned students to carefully consider studying there amid tension between the trading partners. The dollar found some footing, rising against tearaway commodity... More »
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden’s economy looks like it has started to pick up after the impact of the novel coronavirus and measures to halt its spread, Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Tuesday. “If you summarize, there are a number of indicators tha... More »
(Reuters) – S&P Global Ratings said it has revised Japan’s outlook to stable on increased uncertainty around debt stabilization. The ratings agency said stable outlook reflects its view that until fiscal 2023, relatively large fiscal deficits will continue in ... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A plunge in household spending and investment pulled down euro zone gross domestic product in the first quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic struck, but the fall was slightly smaller than first estimated, the European Union’s statistics office... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Stock market bulls were forced to a halt on Tuesday and high-flying currencies like the euro and Australian dollar lost altitude, as a weeks-long risk rally ran into some turbulence. It all seemed so sudden. Asian equities had scored their n... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The European Central Bank beefed up its bond-buying programme on Thursday in its latest effort to support a euro zone economy pummelled by more than two months of shutdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic. HIGHLIGHTS: ** ECB increases size o... More »
(Reuters) – The European Central Bank beefed up its bond-buying programme on Thursday in its latest effort to support a euro zone economy pummelled by more than two months of shutdowns to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. Following are highlights of ECB Pres... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s DIHK chambers of industry and commerce expect Europe’s largest economy to shrink at least 10% this year due to the coronavirus crisis, its president said on Tuesday, a much more pessimistic view than the government’s forecast. “Thi... More »
MILAN (Reuters) – The auto industry represents a significant share of Italy’s economy and it is right to support those who create jobs, Deputy Economy Minister Laura Castelli said when asked about Fiat Chrysler’s (FCHA.MI) request for state-backed loans. The I... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – After a 78-day delay, China’s parliament begins its annual session this week and is expected to unveil stimulus measures to spur an economy battered by the coronavirus as leaders grapple with problems from surging unemployment to worsening ... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China is expected to stand pat on its benchmark lending rate on Wednesday, after the central bank kept medium-term funding cost for financial institutions steady last week, a Reuters survey of traders and analysts found. Thirty-four respon... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government’s handling of its massive economic response to the coronavirus pandemic will come under scrutiny on Tuesday as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testify before the Senate Bankin... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s economy shrank by a record 5.8% in March as the coronavirus crisis escalated and the government shut down much of the country, according to official data that point towards an even bigger hit to come. The monthly drop in gross dome... More »
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday that the annual budget will invest to create more jobs and get the economy going, but warned the country was about to enter a “very tough winter”. The government is seen unlea... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia will ease social distancing restrictions in a three-step process, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, as Canberra aims to remove most curbs by July and get nearly 1 million people back to work amid a decline in coronaviru... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New orders for U.S.-made goods suffered a record decline in March and could sink further as disruptions from the novel coronavirus fracture supply chains and depress exports. The report from the Commerce Department on Monday was the late... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Like the myriad approaches governments are taking to tackle the coronavirus crisis, the way the world’s top banks are calculating their potential losses also differs widely, with puzzling outcomes for investors. These discrepancies are roote... More »
ROME (Reuters) – Grandparents hugged their grandchildren, toddlers rushed excitedly through parks and factories revived their long-stalled production lines as Italy started the slow process of unwinding Europe’s longest coronavirus lockdown. Nearly two months ... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) (8306.T) expects countries in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to be in deep recession this year with overall real GDP contracting 3.7% from a previous growth forecast of 2.9%. Th... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The European Central Bank meets on Thursday, the ink barely dry on its emergency bond-buying scheme, and markets are already asking what more it will do to help the euro zone economy through the coronavirus crisis. Its emergency stimulus, wh... More »
BENGALURU (Reuters) – The euro zone economy is already in its deepest recession on record, according to a Reuters poll of economists, who have stuck to a bleak outlook and worry the downturn might be even worse as coronavirus lockdowns across the bloc take the... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China is handing out billions of yuan in shopping coupons to support retailers crushed by the COVID-19 outbreak, but the subsidies are doing little to support the kind of discretionary spending needed to revive the economy. Instead, a big c... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union leaders meeting are on Thursday expected to defer a final decision on how to finance the bloc’s economic recovery in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, diplomats and officials said. The 27 national leaders have alrea... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia will suffer its biggest economic contraction since the 1930s in the first half of this year due to containment measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, its central bank governor said on Tuesday. Describing the contraction as... More »
MUMBAI (Reuters) – The impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak on the Indian economy would depend on the depth, duration and diffusion of the crisis, the Reserve Bank of India said in the minutes of its emergency monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting in Mar... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union countries on Thursday evening agreed the emergency credit lines from the euro zone’s bailout fund “will be available until COVID-19 crisis is over”, a draft of their deal read. Afterwards, euro countries should remain commit... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – 1/LOOKING TO CHINA The world’s biggest economy won’t be open for business by Easter, as U.S. President Donald Trump had hoped, but the second biggest economy may come close. How China fares offers a guide to other countries when their corona... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – With the euro zone economy in need of help from the coronavirus pandemic, officials have until April 9 to design a package that satisfies members with completely opposing views: those calling for joint debt issuance and those fiercely agai... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund said on Monday the relaxation of the euro zone’s fiscal rules and support from the European Central Bank and the European Stability Mechanism is critical to a strong regional response to the coronavirus pa... More »
SYDNEY/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian shares slid on Monday as fears mounted that the global coronavirus shutdown could last for months although markets regained some lost ground late in the session with Australia posting a standout jump. U.S. and European future... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain has ordered more than 10,000 ventilators from a consortium of leading aerospace, engineering and Formula One racing teams which have met an urgent government plea for help with production due to start this week. The group, including ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain has asked 65,000 former nurses and doctors to return to work and will deploy final-year medical students to fight the coronavirus health crisis, the health ministry said. As the coronavirus outbreak sweeps across the world, governmen... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank launched 750 billion euro emergency bond purchase scheme in a bid to stop a pandemic-induced financial rout from shredding the euro zone’s economy and raising fresh concerns about the currency bloc’s viability. W... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank slashed its forecast for Germany’s economy on the coronavirus fallout, saying it now expected the euro zone’s largest economy to contract between 4-5% in 2020 while industrial production could shrink by 10%. “Within days lockdo... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Borrowing costs in the United States, euro zone, Britain and Japan surged on Wednesday after two days in which governments across the globe announced trillions of dollars of spending to support locked-down economies frozen by the coronavirus... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – The German economy ministry said it no longer expected an economic upswing in the first quarter because of the impact of the coronavirus on growth, with the economy unlikely to stabilize before the third quarter at the earliest. The economy ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – G7 countries will take “concerted action” to limit the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on economic growth and their finance ministers will discuss by phone this week how best to act, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday. “... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Italy and other euro zone countries hit by the coronavirus outbreak are expected to benefit from waivers under EU fiscal rules that will allow them to spend more to tackle the emergency, the bloc’s economics commissioner said on Wednesday.... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone finance ministers discussed ways to pursue a more growth-friendly fiscal policy mix on Monday, in a potential nudge to Germany and the Netherlands to spend more as fears of a downturn grow in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic.... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The euro struggled near 3-year lows on Monday as investors worried about weakening growth in the region, while Chinese efforts to limit the damage from a coronavirus outbreak appeared to calm markets, with the yuan and Australian dollar gain... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone finance ministers are set to discuss on Monday a document that calls for a more growth-friendly fiscal policy, a move that could lead to Germany’s spending more amid fears of a downturn. The 19-country euro zone has for years stu... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s telecoms regulator raised 100.52 billion baht ($3.2 billion) in 5G spectrum auctions on Sunday, with operators snapping up 48 licenses ahead of an expected commercial rollout later this year. Thailand’s top mobile operator, Advan... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone economic growth slowed as expected in the last three months of 2019 as gross domestic product shrank in France and Italy against the previous quarter, but employment growth picked up more than expected, official estimates showed ... More »
OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s consumer prices rose sharply in January from a year earlier, official data showed on Monday, strengthening the crown currency ahead of a major policy speech by the central bank governor on Thursday. Core inflation, a key measure for m... More »
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s economic growth in the fourth quarter is expected to have slowed to its weakest since mid-2016 on weaker private consumption and external demand, a Reuters poll showed. The median forecast from the poll of 13 economists was ... More »
DUBLIN (Reuters) – Nine years after a devastating crash in property prices catapulted the party of Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar to power, a housing market recovery too rapid for many threatens to dump it into opposition at this week’s general election. Th... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund estimates that Kuwait’s financing needs will amount to some $180 billion over the next six years given the Gulf state’s “modest” fiscal measures and expectations of lower oil prices. Kuwait said earlier this mo... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore said on Monday that the coronavirus outbreak will hurt its economy this year, as it announced new measures to tackle the disease which originated in China and has spread to the city-state and several other countries. The Southea... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – China’s yuan led a rally in trade-sensitive currencies on Monday and the Australian dollar recovered some recent losses as the imminent signing of a preliminary U.S.-China trade deal boosted sentiment. The U.S.-China Phase 1 agreement, due t... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union leaders are meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for talk on climate, the EU’s long-term budget, Brexit, the euro zone and Russia sanctions, among others. Here are comments made by them on Thursday ahead of the summit.... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s Olaf Scholz will carry on for now as finance minister despite losing a bid to lead his Social Democratic Party because he sees it as his duty not to sink the ruling coalition, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. Scholz ... More »
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone inflation accelerated faster than expected in November on a rise in food and services prices, likely comforting European Central Bank policymakers even if some factors pushing up prices may be only temporary. The ECB ha... More »
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India will offer incentives to private hospitals to take part in the government’s health insurance program, potentially the biggest of its kind in the world, a senior government official told Reuters. Launched last year, the scheme is cri... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – New bank loans in China fell more than expected to the lowest in 22 months in October, but the drop was likely due to seasonal factors and policymakers are still expected to ramp up support for the cooling economy in coming months. Chinese ... More »
KINSHASA (Reuters) – The Congolese central bank expects the economy to grow 4.6% in 2019, after revising down an earlier estimate of 5.1% during a policy meeting on Friday. The new figure is more in line with a forecast from the International Monetary Fund, wh... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British street artist Banksy is selling a Union Jack stab vest, riot helmet ‘disco balls’ and a ‘designer handbag’ made from a brick to randomly selected buyers who can answer the question: “Why does art matter?”. The works are offered in th... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s acting government trimmed its growth forecasts on Tuesday as part of draft budgetary plans submitted to the European Commission and raised a deficit estimate, at a time when political gridlock prevents Madrid from having much margin ... More »
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 »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union commissioners-designate said the bloc should agree on a digital tax if no deal on the matter was reached at a global level by the end of next year, ramping up pressure on multinationals accused of paying too little. In writt... 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 Solomon Islands, one of Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies, has formed a team of ministers to talk to Beijing ahead of a possible switch in ties that could be unveiled as early as this week, the chief of a parliamentary panel said.... More »
MILAN (Reuters) – Italy’s prime minister said on Sunday he expected to finalize talks over a new government by Wednesday, as the 5-Star Movement and Democratic Party were in intense discussions during the weekend to hammer out a deal on a common agenda and Cab... 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 »
ALGIERS (Reuters) – On the face of it, Algeria’s state-dominated economy has weathered six months of turmoil well, with flightloads of public sector workers heading abroad for holidays even as protesters who ousted the veteran president in April now target his... More »
BIARRITZ, France (Reuters) – Iran has an opportunity to come back into compliance with the nuclear deal and resume dialogue about its nuclear activities, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier he would mee... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s cartel office said on Monday it would appeal a regional court decision to suspend restrictions it had placed on Facebook’s data collection practices to the country’s highest court. A court in Duesseldorf had earlier suspended a Feb... More »
LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Crude oil prices rose on Monday following a weekend attack on a Saudi oil facility by Yemeni separatists and as traders looked for signs that Sino-U.S. trade tensions could ease. Price gains were, however, capped to some degree by ... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia will spend A$500 million ($340 million) to improve the capability of its special forces troops, the first stage of a $3 billion, 20-year plan that the government said on Monday will enable a better response to security threats at h... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The dollar remained on the defensive against the safe-haven yen on Monday as the Sino-U.S. trade dispute looked set to drag on with no settlement in sight, while holidays in Japan and Singapore made for very thin trading. Confusion still lin... 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) – 1/ READY FOR A SCARY EURO ZONE GDP SHOW? Fears of a major downturn in euro zone powerhouse Germany grew this week following “scary” industrial output figures for June and reports due over the coming week that will hold those concerns up to t... More »
(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) said on Sunday that fears of the U.S.-China trade war leading to a recession are increasing and that Goldman no longer expects a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies before the 2020 U.S. presidential e... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Global shares eased on Monday and the dollar hit a two-month high against a basket of currencies as markets counted down to a likely cut in U.S. interest rates this week, with much riding on whether the Federal Reserve signals yet more are t... More »
JOHANNESBURG/VRYHEID, South Africa (Reuters) – Cattle have long been considered a measure of wealth across Africa – but it is not just farmers cashing in. A pioneering app in South Africa lets investors, eager to benefit from rising global beef demand, buy sha... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices rose slightly on Monday as Chinese industrial output and retail data topped expectations but gains were capped by overall figures showing the country’s slowest quarterly economic growth in decades. The positive Chinese data may in... 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 »
