UNWATUNA/GALLE, Sri Lanka (Reuters) – Pearl Divers, a diving school on one of Sri Lanka’s most popular southern beaches, shut shop for two months after suicide bombers attacked churches and hotels on the island on Easter Sunday, killing about 250 people. It ha... 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 »
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 »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Croatia has submitted a formal bid to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM-2), an early stage on the path to membership of the euro currency, the head of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers said on Monday. The move could... More »
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s opposition conservatives returned to power with a landslide victory in snap elections on Sunday, and Prime Minister elect Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he had a clear mandate for change, pledging more investments and fewer taxes. The win... 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 »
DALIAN, China (Reuters) – China’s economy is likely to hit its growth target this year provided a bitter trade dispute with the United States does not worsen, and hence will not need “very big” stimulus measures to prop up growth, a central bank adviser said o... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A now record-setting run of U.S. economic growth enters its 121st month on Monday, sustained by a decade of low interest rates and massive Federal Reserve intervention that helped put 22 million people back to work. But the real economic... More »
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s battered tourism industry is trying to woo visitors back to beaches deserted after deadly Easter bombings, slashing hotel rates and pushing promotions in key markets like Russia. Tourism, which accounts for 5% of Sri Lanka’s gro... 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 »
LONDON (Reuters) – After almost three years of successfully predicting a global economic revival, world bond markets are furiously flagging the risk of yet another recession, as well as low inflation for a generation. Spooked by the escalating U.S.-China trade... More »
ROME (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will present an ultimatum to fractious ruling parties on Monday to speed up government action or face his resignation, Italian newspapers La Repubblica and Il Corriere della sera reported. Conte will make ... 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 »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The results of the European parliamentary election are likely to lead to less ambitious euro zone integration plans and set Italy up for more clashes with the European Commission over its fiscal policy, euro zone officials said on Monday. ... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. growth appears to be based “exclusively” on government, corporate and mortgage debt and the economy would have contracted if the United States had not added trillions in debt, Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive of DoubleLine Capital, said in an... 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) – Guangdong, China’s top province by economic output, maintained a growth rate of 6.6 percent in the first quarter thanks to improving industrial production and infrastructure spending, the 21st Century Business Herald reported, citing local ... More »
MANAMA (Reuters) – As the weekend kicks off in Bahrain, Saudi Arabian and Kuwaiti cars jam the capital’s roads and hotel lobbies fill with visitors looking for bars, restaurants and other night-time entertainment. A new sales tax introduced this year means gov... 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 »
LONDON (Reuters) – Two months after ending its massive stimulus scheme, the European Central Bank faces growing pressure to address how it will protect the euro zone economy from a protracted slowdown. Thursday’s policy meeting, news conference, and updated ec... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany’s car industry is to invest nearly 60 billion euros ($68 billion) over the next three years on electric cars and automated driving, the head of the VDA car industry association said ahead of the Geneva motor show. “We will invest ... 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 »
LONDON (Reuters) – High-grade euro zone debt remains scarce even though the European Central Bank has stopped its huge purchases of new bonds, intensifying concerns that banks will face future collateral shortages and highlighting the need for safe assets. The... More »
BENGALURU (Reuters) – Global funds recommended a bigger safety buffer in February, with cash holdings raised to their highest in more than three years and equity allocations cut to the lowest in nearly two, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday. Many top equity in... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Italy is facing excessive economic imbalances and the policies of its government are making matters worse, posing a threat to other euro zone countries, the European Commission said on Wednesday. However, the EU executive arm, whose job is... 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 »
GENOA, Italy, (Reuters) – Heavy machinery began winching down a huge slab of concrete in the northern Italian city of Genoa on Friday to clear the way for a new bridge to be built after the old one collapsed six months ago, killing 43 people. Italy’s populist ... 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 »
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Desperate for five more years in power, India’s Hindu nationalist government will woo rural and urban middle-class voters with farm relief measures and tax cuts, said officials privy to plans for the final budget before a general election... 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 »
LONDON (Reuters) – France’s response to “yellow vest” protests could be a turning point for euro zone bond markets if it kicks off an era of increased public borrowing in the bloc and loads additional debt on to a market already nervous over the removal of ECB... More »
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba’s economy grew 1.2 percent in 2018, below the government’s forecast, and is expected to expand 1.5 percent in 2019 despite falling export revenues and continued austerity measures, the communist-run country’s economy minister said on Fr... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and China might not reach a trade deal at the close of a 90-day negotiating window unless Beijing can agree to a profound overhaul of its economic policies, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said. In an interview ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Greg Jensen, co-chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund in the world, is forecasting “significantly weaker, near-recession-level growth” next year. In a telephone interview on Thursday, Jensen said Bridge... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union leaders took a step toward deeper euro zone integration on Friday to help prevent future crises, but deep disagreement left key issues like a euro zone budget and a deposit guarantee scheme unresolved. Leaders of all EU coun... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday he favored calling on big companies to contribute to efforts to keep France’s budget deficit as close as possible to the EU limit next year. Facing a popular revolt that started out against fu... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil fell on Monday, in line with further declines in global stock markets, erasing the gains made last week when producer group OPEC and other key exporters agreed to cut their crude output from January. Brent crude oil futures fell $1.02 on... 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 »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A temporary ceasefire in the U.S.-China trade war boosted global stocks to their highest in about three weeks on Monday, while sending the dollar lower and the Chinese yuan and several trade-dependent currencies higher. The rally in equiti... 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 »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will adopt a more vigorous fiscal policy to help tackle external uncertainties without resorting to strong policy stimulus, state radio said on Monday, citing the cabinet. Slowing economic growth has sparked a heated debate among gove... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The U.S. and euro zone economies remain a world apart and growth data due in the coming days will only highlight the widening gap, suggesting that monetary policy will continue to move in opposing directions on the two sides of the Atlant... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar strengthened broadly on Monday and neared a six-month high against the Japanese yen as investors bought riskier assets, encouraged by signs that trade tensions have yet to hurt economic momentum. As the second-quarter corporate ea... 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 »
TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s dollar will climb over the coming year, a Reuters poll showed, but forecasters are less bullish than they were a month ago as escalating trade uncertainty competes with expected Bank of Canada interest rate hikes. The poll of more ... More »
SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Six months of wrangling over trade tariffs with the United States has wiped out about a fifth of China’s stock market value and driven its currency down sharply. But those moves may have just been a downpayment on what is yet to ... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union has warned the United States that imposing import tariffs on cars and car parts would harm its own automotive industry and likely lead to counter-measures by its trading partners on $294 billion of U.S. exports. In a 10-... More »
SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria aims to join the EU’s banking union on the same day it enters the “waiting room” for euro zone membership, where it must spend at least two years before joining the single currency, its prime minister said on Friday. Boyko Borissov s... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s finance minister on Wednesday defended a euro zone reform blueprint agreed with France against criticism by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives that it could undermine monetary stability. Members of Merkel’s conservative bloc ... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – The leaders of Germany and France agreed on Tuesday to create a budget for the euro zone and hailed a “new chapter” for the currency union, but they left the details to be worked out later with other members of the 19-country bloc. Their mee... 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 »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday she would work with any coalition government formed in Italy, but she also warned that any discussions on economic policy would have to be within the rules governing the euro zone. Anti-establis... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Italy’s emerging ruling coalition is likely to put deeper euro zone integration on hold and could set the stage for the bloc’s next crisis if it delivers on its tax-cutting and high-spending policies, European policymakers and economists f... More »
JAKARTA (Reuters) – In a warehouse on the outskirts of Indonesia’s capital, supervisors at e-commerce company Lazada use bikes or electric scooters to zip around a floor the size of four soccer fields, where up to 3,000 staff pack and dispatch goods around the... 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 »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Kuwait will not implement value-added tax before 2021 but will push ahead with introducing excise tax, parliament’s budget committee said in a statement posted on the assembly’s website on Tuesday. “The committee said implementation of value-... More »
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina likely stopped a run on the peso with a massive rate hike and lower fiscal deficit target on Friday, though high inflation and large amounts of debt are lingering risks, economists said. Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne told... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Following are five big themes likely to dominate the thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them. WHAT’S THE PRICE 1/The Federal Reserve has acknowledged U.S. inflation has perked up, adding t... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The French finance minister on Sunday raised the pressure on Air France managers and unions to resolve a stand-off over wages, saying the government would not ride to the carrier’s rescue as it grapples with worker strikes and a leadership va... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – World stocks are set to notch up a positive month for the first time since January, as a slew of positive earnings from U.S. technology firms and marquee M&A deals help soothe memories of February tremors. A seemingly successful Korean summi... More »
SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asia’s most externally vulnerable economies – India, Indonesia and the Philippines – have just taken a one-two punch. U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yields US10YT=RR hit 3 percent this week, a level long touted as one to watch for p... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – French economic growth slowed slightly more than expected in the first quarter as business investment and exports eased, a first estimate from the INSEE statistics agency said on Friday. The euro zone’s second-biggest economy grew 0.3 percent... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. economy likely slowed in the first quarter as growth in consumer spending braked sharply, but the setback is expected to be temporary against the backdrop of a tightening labor market and large fiscal stimulus. Gross domestic pr... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – World stocks slipped on Monday ahead of a blizzard of earnings from the world’s biggest firms and as wary investors watched U.S. bond yields approach peaks that have triggered market spasms in the past. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries U... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s efforts to reduce its reliance on debt and find a more sustainable route to grow its economy may be derailed by the simmering trade dispute with the United States, economists warn. This was the year that Beijing was expected to step... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Business activity across the euro zone was still growing as the second quarter began, but at a more modest rate than around the turn of the year, a survey showed on Monday. The euro zone unexpectedly was one of the best-performing major econ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The massive tax cuts signed into law in December, which Republicans said would pay for themselves, will balloon the U.S. deficit in years ahead, the Congressional Budget Office said on Monday, possibly hobbling President Donald Trump’s f... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – European investors have raised their bond allocations in March while keeping their equity exposure at six-month lows, in a month marked by a sharp tech sector selloff and brewing trade tensions that threatened to dent world economic growth. ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s current account deficit was much smaller than expected last year, its statistics office said on Thursday, potentially easing concerns about the country’s reliance on foreign investors to fund itself as Brexit nears. The Office for ... More »
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang claps hands as he delivers his speech during the opening session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 5, 2018. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj BEIJING (Reuters) – China aims to expand i... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Investors dumped Italy’s government bonds on Monday and rushed to buy high-grade equivalents such as German Bunds after the weekend Italian election saw a surge in support for anti-establishment parties, led by the 5-Star Movement. Italy fac... More »
A man stands on the Bund in front of Shanghai’s financial district of Pudong in Shanghai, China February 26, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s government is fully confident of achieving its 2018 growth target of around 6.5 percent, the head of... More »
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s fraud-hit Punjab National Bank (PNBK.NS) is considering monetizing its real estate assets, including a giant office space in New Delhi worth an estimated 50 billion rupees ($778.63 million), a bank source with direct knowledge of ... More »
Employees work on an electrical tower in Qingdao, China January 26, 2018. Picture taken January 26, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s economic growth will likely slow to 6.5-6.8 percent this year, a senior official at the country’s top economi... More »
FILE PHOTO: A man is silhouetted as he walks past the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, December 12, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne LONDON (Reuters) – British economic growth unexpectedly picked up speed in the last three months of 2017, accordin... More »
Buildings are seen as vehicles pass through the financial district of Makati city, metro Manila, Philippines November 22, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ economy was expected to have ended 2017 on a solid footing with growth in t... More »
People walk past a store with signboards offering 70% off on store products in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil January 9, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker BRASILIA (Reuters) – Economic activity in Brazil expanded for a third straight month in November, the longest stre... More »
FILE PHOTO: Workers lay bricks to build a wall around a construction site in Beijing, China, December 15, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s economic growth is expected to have slowed slightly in the fourth quarter from the previ... More »
TBILISI (Reuters) – Georgia expects state revenues and spending to rise next year and forecasts 4.5 percent economic growth in the budget passed by the parliament on Friday. The former Soviet republic, through which pipelines carry Caspian oil and gas to Europ... More »
A security guard walks on the bund in front of the financial district of Pudong in Shanghai, China July 27, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song/Files BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s economic growth target for 2018 will reflect new changes in the economy as the government put m... More »
Japanese wages will rise by 2.0 percent to 2.5 percent at next spring's annual negotiations, falling short of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's goal of 3 percent, economists polled by Reuters predicted. More »
British industry had its strongest month so far this year in September, but more signs of strain on consumers and a plunge in construction were reminders that the economy looks set for a difficult 2018 as Brexit approaches. More »
U.S. economic growth probably slowed in the third quarter as hurricanes Harvey and Irma restrained consumer spending and undercut construction activity, but underlying momentum likely remained strong amid robust business investment on equipment. More »
Accelerating inflation bodes well for the German economy and makes it more probable that the European Central Bank will alter its ultra-loose monetary policy, the ZEW research institute said on Tuesday. More »
Greece's economy contracted by 0.2 percent last year, the head of statistics service ELSTAT said on Tuesday, releasing its second estimate of full-year 2016 gross domestic product. More »
France's economic recovery is strong enough for the government to be able to cut spending and the deficit without growth being affected, the budget and finance ministers said on Monday. More »
Britain's manufacturing output expanded at the strongest pace this year in July, but there was little sign of improvement in the trade deficit despite sterling's sharp fall since last year's Brexit vote. More »
Nigeria's economy grew out of recession in the second quarter of 2017, expanding 0.55 percent year-on-year, the statistics office said on Tuesday. More »
Australian construction spending boasted its biggest rise on record last quarter as miners splashed out on major engineering projects, a surprise that could lift economic growth well above initial expectations. More »
India's economic growth likely accelerated to 6.6 percent in the quarter just ended, but analysts polled by Reuters are sounding increasingly worried that confusion over a new goods and services tax will dampen activity in coming months. More »
Strong household and state spending consolidated Germany's role as the euro zone's growth engine in the second quarter, helping Chancellor Angela Merkel to burnish her economic credentials less than six weeks before an election. More »
Japan's economy grew in the second quarter at the fastest pace in more than two years as consumer spending and capital expenditure both rose at the fastest in more than three years, highlighting stronger domestic demand. More »
FILE PHOTO – Shoppers look at meat on offer on a market stall in Moscow February 8, 2013. By Zlata GarasyutaMOSCOW – Russia faces the prospect of slightly higher inflation this year and a weaker rouble than previously expected, a Reuters p More »
FILE PHOTO: Customers push shopping trolleys on an escalator at the Bercy shopping centre in Charenton Le Pont, near Paris, August 29, 2013. Data in the coming week should confirm the euro zone economy is running hot, after the IMF upgraded growth forecasts an... More »
