Economy

UK jobless rate rises for first time since COVID-19 lockdown

Britain's unemployment rate rose for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown began in March but official data published on Tuesday also showed a less severe fall in employment than…

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Eurozone sees double-digit drop in GDP in Q2

Gross domestic product (GDP) in the eurozone shrank by 11.8 percent while the employment rate decreased by 2.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the previous quarter, Eurostat said…

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Multinationals expected to help Ireland’s economy to bounce back

Irish economic data and surveys released since the second quarter suggest the economy bounced back sharply as activity resumed in many sectors but moderated last month after repeatedly stalled moves…

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McLaren announces plan to end manufacturing of petrol engines by 2030

World-renowned supercar manufacturer McLaren has announced a long-term plan to stop developing petrol engines within the end of the decade as it gradually shifts towards electric vehicles. The company said…

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CEOs speed up digital push and downsize offices, KPMG survey shows

Companies around the world have moved more of their operations online, plan to reduce office space and have made recruiting and retaining staff their top priority since the coronavirus pandemic…

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Oil stable as production cuts in US weigh against rising coronavirus cases

Crude oil prices were mixed on Tuesday as traders weighed massive production cuts in the U.S. Gulf Coast from Tropical Storms Marco and Laura against rising coronavirus cases in Asia and Europe.…

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Rebuilding Europe after pandemic akin to post-war reconstruction: Draghi

Rebuilding Europe after the coronavirus pandemic will be akin to the post-World War II reconstruction effort and the bloc must reaffirm its core values despite challenges from global powers, former…

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EU Governments rolling back wage support despite cloudy outlook

Government around Europe have generally continued to push for a re-opening of the economy, insisting that they can no longer afford to pay the same levels of wage support as…

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Slight gains for oil price as Asian demand rebounds

Crude oil gained more ground on Tuesday, with prices underpinned by expectations of U.S. stimulus and a rebound in Asian demand as economies reopen. Brent crude added 22 cents, or 0.5%, to…

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Malta’s GDP expected to contract 6% in 2020 – EU Economic Forecast

After several years of high growth fuelled mainly by domestic demand, Malta’s economy was beginning to slow down even before the COVID-19 pandemic. The disease and the containment measures it…

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Retail trade in Malta and euro area shows signs of recovery in May

In May 2020, when Member States began easing the COVID-19 containment measures, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade increased by 17.8% in the euro area and by 16.4% in…

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Argentina gets tentative backing for debt haircut

Argentina's new offer to bondholders got a tentative thumbs up from investors as they digested the details on Monday, though there was no sign yet of whether it would gain…

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Panama announces plans to re-open economy after pandemic slows down

Panama announced plans on Monday to begin a phased reopening this week of its economy, including e-commerce, mechanical workshops and fishing, after slowing the spread of coronavirus infections. The reopening…

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The world will see the worst recession since the Great Depression – IMF

Partial recovery in 2021 only if pandemic fades this year A chilling analysis of economic prospects was made public by the International Monetary Fund on Thursday afternoon, suggesting that the…

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Bank of England to temporarily finance UK government spending

The Bank of England has agreed temporarily to finance government borrowing in response to COVID-19 if funds cannot immediately be raised from debt markets, reviving a measure last used to…

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Sub-Saharan Africa to fall into recession in 2020, says World Bank

The rapidly-spreading coronavirus outbreak is expected to push sub-Saharan Africa into recession in 2020 for the first time in 25 years, the World Bank said in a new forecast on Thursday.…

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French economy officially in recession, worst performance since 1945

In its worst performance since 1945, the French economy shrank around six percent in the first quarter of this year as the coronavirus pandemic decimated business activity, the Bank of…

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Millions more job losses loom – ILO

More than a billion workers are vulnerable to job losses or sharp wage cuts because of measures to lockdown economies and fight the spread of the coronavirus, according to…

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Coronavirus will be devastating for poorest nations – World Bank

The managing director of the World Bank has told Sky News that the coronavirus could wreak devastation on populations in the developing world. Axel van Trotsenberg says poorer countries urgently…

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EU Governments in unprecedented bold moves to help businesses

Following the European Commission’s green light to EU Member States allowing for fiscal rules to be flexed to accommodate additional spending in light of the economic disruption caused by the…

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UN warns COVID-19 likely to cost economy $1 trillion during 2020

Apart from the tragic human consequences of the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic, the economic uncertainty it has sparked will likely cost the global economy $1 trillion in 2020, the UN’s trade…

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Fears COVID-19 coronavirus could trigger a European recession

Fears over the impact of coronavirus on the European economy are mounting as cases of the disease in Italy increased dramatically in the past week. It's already influenced stock markets,…

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Italy’s 2020 economic growth may be cut if coronavirus effect is significant

Italy’s 2020 growth forecast may be revised down if there is a significant impact from the coronavirus outbreak, Italy’s Economy Minister said on Wednesday. “The 0.6% (GDP growth for 2020)…

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Japan’s economy shrinks at fastest rate since 2014

Japan's economy shrank at the fastest rate in five years at the end of 2019 as it was hit by a sales tax rise, a major typhoon and weak global…

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German economy records zero growth in last quarter

The German economy posted zero growth in the final quarter of 2019, the federal statistics authority (Destasis) reported in preliminary statistics on Friday. The Gross domestic product (GDP) was the same…

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European economy predicted to continue on a path of steady, moderate growth

The Winter 2020 Economic Forecast published by the European Commission projects that the European economy is set to continue on a path of steady, moderate growth. The euro area has…

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Italian industrial output down 1.3% in 2019, worst in 6 years

Italian industrial output fell 1.3% in 2019, the worst result in six years, ISTAT said Monday. It was the first fall since 2014 and the sharpest since 2013, the stats…

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Innovative new Freeports across the UK as Government lays out plans to boost economy

Up to ten new innovative Freeports will be opened across the UK as the Government seeks to level up the country and seize on the opportunities leaving the EU has…

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Companies feel impact of coronavirus outbreak in China

Companies around the world have warned that a coronavirus outbreak in China could disrupt supply chains or hurt bottom lines as factories and shops shut and airlines suspend flights. Apple…

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Oxfam reveals world’s richest 2,000 people hold more than poorest 4.6 billion combined

The world’s 2,153 billionaires have more wealth than the 4.6 billion people who make up 60 percent of the planet’s population, reveals a new report from Oxfam today ahead of…

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IMF boss says global economy risks return of Great Depression

The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned that the global economy risks a return of the Great Depression, driven by inequality and financial sector instability. Speaking at the…

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China’s economic growth hits 30-year low

China's economy grew last year at the slowest pace in almost three decades. Official figures show that the world's second largest economy expanded by 6.1% in 2019 from the year…

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German economy grew 0,6 % in 2019

The German Federal Statistics Office on 15 January 2020 released German economic growth figures for 2019, saying the economy grew 0,6 per cent, less than the growth in 2018 of…

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Concern increases as Lebanese economy collapses

Jan Kubis, U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon, lamented on the sorry state of the Lebanese economy with Lebanese politicians watching as it collapses. Lebanon has been adrift since the…

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The Cost of Brexit for the UK: $170 Billion and Counting

Research by Bloomberg Economics estimates that the economic cost of Brexit has already hit 130 billion pounds ($170 billion), with a further 70 billion pounds set to be added by…

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British food leaves a worldwide impact this Christmas

More diners across the world will be tucking into British produce than ever before this Christmas, with global sales of British turkey, Brussel sprouts and other festive favourites hitting record…

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German car industry to slash more jobs in 2020

Germany’s main automobile industry body, the VDA, said it expects global car sales to fall by 5% this year, the steepest drop since the financial crisis, and warned of more…

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Germany plans rapid state intervention to protect key industries

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier wants to set up a new government body with powers to decide quickly whether to take stakes in key domestic companies to prevent foreign takeovers.…

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Import duty on cars, clothes and other products in Switzerland may be scrapped

Import duties on various products including cars, clothes, and household appliances are set to be removed in Switzerland. If parliament approves the plan, the measure will enter into force in…

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Italian consumer confidence lowest since 2017

Italian consumer confidence registered a "decisive drop" in November, with ISTAT's index falling to 108.5 points, the lowest level since July 2017, down from 111.5 in October, the national statistics…

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Euro zone business growth grinds to a halt as services struggle

Euro zone business growth almost ground to a halt this month as activity in the bloc’s dominant services industry increased at a much weaker pace than expected and among manufacturers…

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Jobs at risk as China’s services sector feels heat of trade war

Annual profits at China’s Ningbo S-Power International Logistics Co are down a sharp 40% year-on-year. The firm’s woes highlight a bigger problem for the world’s second-largest economy and its…

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Germany narrowly avoids recession

The German economy has defied expectations of recession by growing 0.1 per cent in the third quarter as higher household and government spending offset a sharp downturn in the country’s…

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Plan to increase Portugal’s minimum wage

The new Portuguese government plans to raise minimum wages in Portugal, as new data reveals the country has one of the lowest minimum wages in Europe. Portugal continues to be…

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China’s consumer prices rise at fastest clip in nearly 8 years

China’s producer prices fell the most in more than three years in October, as the manufacturing sector weakened on declining demand and a knock from the Sino-U.S. tariff war, reinforcing…

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France’s privatisation push with sale of national lottery stake

The French government has launched its biggest wave of privatisations in more than a decade, kicking off the process with the sale of the majority of its stake in the…

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EU cuts growth forecast, Italy worst performer in EU

The European Commission said Thursday that it has cut its growth forecast for Italy for 2020 from 0.7% to 0.4%. In its autumn economic forecasts, the Commission said: "Italy's economy…

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China seeks to attract more foreign investment

China’s cabinet issued guidelines on Thursday aimed at attracting more foreign investors, including plans to encourage investment in its hi-tech industries. China will step up opening-up in areas including financial…

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NOK 245 billion in net revenue from the Norwegian petroleum industry in 2020

The Norwegian State’s net cash flow from the petroleum industry in 2020 is estimated to about NOK 245 billion. The fields on the Norwegian continental shelf cover around two per…

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France and China agree €13.5 billion trade contracts

French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced major trade contracts in Beijing in Wednesday worth €13.5 billion. Deals were agreed in aeronautics, energy and agriculture. Twenty French companies…

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France to set up regional quotas for foreign worker permits

France will establish a quota system, by region and profession, for issuing work permits to non-EU citizens, the country's Labour Minister Muriel Penicaud announced. It comes during President Emmanuel Macron's renewed…

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World’s biggest trade deal to be delayed to 2020: draft ASEAN statement

The signing of the world's largest trade pact will likely be kicked back to 2020, according to a draft statement by Southeast Asian leaders, delaying a deal craved by China…

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World’s most profitable company, Aramco, to go public

Saudi Arabia’s market regulator approved on Sunday Saudi Aramco’s application to list on the domestic stock market as the kingdom seeks to diversify and create the world’s most valuable listed…

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Unemployment in Italy up to 9.9% in September

Italy’s ISTAT said that the country’s unemployment rose was 9.9% in September, up from 9.6% in August. The national statistics agency reported that the number of people looking for work…

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German jobless total rises more than expected in October

German unemployment rose more than expected in October, data showed on Wednesday, suggesting that a manufacturing crisis in Europe’s largest economy is spilling over to the labour market. Data from…

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The 35th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits, in Bangkok

ASEAN Economic Ministers hold hands for a group photo after the 18th ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Council Meeting of the 35th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit at…

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Brent price seen within $60 to $65 next year – IEEJ

Brent crude prices are expected to be around $60 to $65 a barrel next year as any possible price hikes from geopolitical risks would be countered by ongoing trade war,…

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