Author: Steven Sahiounie

Chinese factory activity hit a decade high in February, according to data released Wednesday. China’s economy continues to outperform even the most bullish of analyst expectations, though U.S. businesses with operations in the Asian economic powerhouse remain as pessimistic as ever, according to new reports. China’s manufacturing and services activity are soaring, as the country continues to heal from the stranglehold the government put on businesses in its rigid effort to tame COVID-19 outbreaks. On Wednesday, a leading gauge of manufacturing hit an 11-year high. The official purchasing managers’ index, or PMI, climbed to 52.6 last month, the National Bureau of Statistics, known as…

Financial losses arising from the catastrophe have exceeded $34 billion, the World Bank says The devastating earthquakes that hit Türkiye earlier this month have caused some $34.2 billion worth of physical damage, according to a preliminary assessment revealed by the World Bank on Monday. The Washington-based institution noted that the total cost of reconstruction and recovery facing the nation could be “twice as large.” “Our experience is that reconstruction needs can run as high as two to three times the estimated direct physical damage,” according to Anna Bjerde, World Bank Group vice president for Europe and Central Asia. The amount is the…

Soaring food and energy prices have dealt a blow to Eurozone’s second and fourth-largest economies Consumer prices in France and Spain resumed their upward trend in February, driven by higher food and energy costs, official statistics showed on Tuesday. In France, the consumer price index increased by 6.2%, up from 6.0% in January, according to preliminary data from the statistics bureau Insee. The report noted that food inflation edged higher to 14.5% from 13.3%, services prices were up to 2.9% from 2.6%, while prices of manufactured goods rose slightly to 4.6% from 4.5%, with the end of winter sales. Energy…

Grocery prices in the UK have surged to a new record of 17.1% in the four weeks of February, according to the latest figures released by market researcher Kantar on Tuesday. Milk, eggs and margarine are showing the fastest price growth, data shows. The report says food inflation in the country is at its highest since the firm started tracking the figures in 2008, adding £811 ($980) to the typical annual shopping bill and forcing UK households to change their consumption habits. “This February marks a full year since monthly grocery inflation climbed above 4%. This is having a big…

European gas prices may surge this year as competition for the fuel intensifies, a report warns China’s economic recovery would trigger a fierce competition on global energy markets and could see prices for natural gas return to “unsustainable” levels in the EU, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned in a report released on Tuesday. Last year, gas consumption in China decreased due to lower industrial activity and sluggish economic growth amid Covid-related restrictions and surging energy prices, the IEA research said. At the same time, mild winter weather in Europe along with energy-saving measures taken by the EU authorities, an unprecedented inflow…

The German company has been accused of failing to meet its contractual obligations The Arbitration Court of Moscow ruled on Tuesday that Siemens Mobility’s refusal to honor a contract signed with Russian Railways is illegal, and ordered the German firm to deliver high-speed trains. Under the deal signed by the two companies in June 2019, a branch of the German multinational conglomerate focused on rail technology and intelligent traffic systems was to deliver 13 high-speed Sapsan trains from September 2022 to July 2023. The total value of the supply contract amounted to €513.5 million ($546.2 million), according to Russian Railways.…

Biden administration’s announcement comes after reports of underage refugees and migrants working in dangerous industries. The United States government has announced plans to clamp down on child labour in the country following a surge in violations and news reports detailing the illegal employment of underage refugees and migrants in dangerous industries. US officials said on Monday that the Department of Labor had seen a nearly 70 percent increase in child labour violations since 2018, with 835 companies found to have violated child labour laws in the last fiscal year alone. Officials told reporters during a conference call that US President…

North Korean leader calls on officials to meet production targets after South Korea warns of “grave” food situation. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for a “radical change” in agricultural production amid concerns over reported food shortages in the isolated country. Kim emphasised the importance of meeting grain production targets and transforming production to lay the “foundation for the stable and sustained development of agriculture” during the second day of a key party meeting, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday. “He expressed the fixed determination and will of the Party Central Committee to bring about…

Ron DeSantis removes special status from Florida’s largest private employer that had allowed it a wide berth to manage its own affairs. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that takes control of a special tax district surrounding Walt Disney World that for half a century allowed Walt Disney Co to operate with a high degree of autonomy. “The corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” DeSantis said on Monday during a press event at Lake Buena Vista near Orlando, Florida in the US. State Republicans last year targeted Disney after it publicly clashed with DeSantis, who is widely considered…

TD Bank denies any wrongdoing. The scheme involving disgraced Texas financier Allen Stanford collapsed in 2009 during a federal investigation. TD Bank Group announced Monday that it had agreed to a $1.21 billion settlement relating to its alleged role in a $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme involving disgraced Texas financier Allen Stanford. Under the terms of the agreement, TD’s settlement will release it from all legal claims involving the scheme, which saw Stanford skim customers’ investments in supposedly high-yielding certificates of deposit held in an offshore account in Antigua to fund a lavish lifestyle. Stanford’s scheme collapsed in 2009 during a federal investigation; in…