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Tokyo, Japan (AFP) by Kyoko HASEGAWA / Sara HUSSEIN Japan’s central bank left its ultra-easy monetary policy unchanged Wednesday, bucking heavy speculation that it could again tweak a key lever, and sending the yen plunging. The announcement after a two-day Bank of Japan meeting saw the yen sink over two percent against the dollar, with the greenback buying more than 131 yen after the decision, from around 128.50 earlier in the day. Bank officials shocked […]
London, United Kingdom (AFP) – Nurses in England began two days of strikes over pay Wednesday, as officials warned of disruption for thousands of patients in the UK’s state-run health service. It comes after nurses held an unprecedented strike last month, joining a wave of industrial action by public sector workers hit by the cost-of-living crisis. The main nursing union accuses the government of failing to negotiate seriously on improving their pay deal for the […]
San Francisco, United States (AFP) – Microsoft is readying to cut more positions from its global workforce as tech giants continue paring headcount to ride out rough economic conditions, according to media reports on Tuesday. The computer industry stalwart could announce layoffs in its engineering divisions as early as Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported. A Microsoft spokesperson told AFP that the company would not comment on what it referred to as “rumor.” The Washington state-based company, […]
Hong Kong, China (AFP) — Asian stocks mostly fell Tuesday but pared early losses after data showed China’s economy grew more than expected last year, while traders remain hopeful about the country’s outlook as it emerges from years of debilitating zero-Covid measures. The three percent expansion was the slowest in four decades — excluding pandemic-hit 2020 — and sharply down from the previous year, as widespread lockdowns and other containment policies hammered business activity. However, […]
London, United Kingdom (AFP) The cost-of-living crisis will be the biggest global risk over the next two years, a survey by the World Economic Forum warned Wednesday ahead of its Davos meeting next week. Global inflation remains at sky-high levels after energy and food costs rocketed last year following the invasion of agricultural powerhouse Ukraine by major oil and gas producer Russia. Supply constraints caused by the Covid pandemic have also contributed to decades-high consumer […]
Berlin, Germany (AFP) The eurozone will experience “very strong” growth in wages in the next months as salaries catch up with galloping inflation, the European Central Bank predicted on Monday. “Wage growth over the next few quarters is expected to be very strong compared with historical patterns”, the ECB wrote in its monthly bulletin. The authors forecasted “some catch-up between wages and high rates of inflation” experienced since 2021, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. […]
Zurich, Switzerland (AFP) The Swiss central bank said Monday it expects to have logged a record loss totalling 132 billion Swiss francs ($143 billion) last year, preventing it from providing funds to the government. The Swiss National Bank fell into the red after posting a profit of 26.9 billion Swiss francs in 2021. Most of last year’s losses — 131 billion Swiss francs — were linked to a drop in the value of its holdings […]
London, United Kingdom (AFP) Shares in UK clothing retailer Next soared to the top of the London market Thursday after it said colder weather boosted purchases despite a cost-of-living crisis caused by sky-high inflation. Next’s share price jumped seven percent to £65.26 ($78.53) on the benchmark FTSE 100 index, which was up modestly overall. Sales of full-price items rose around five percent in the nine weeks to December 30 from a year earlier, the company […]
by Adam PLOWRIGHT — Recently described as “250 grams of magic and perfection” by President Emmanuel Macron, the French baguette is at risk from surging energy prices, with some bakers warning they can no longer afford to fire up their ovens. Already struggling with sharp hikes in the price of butter, flour and sugar over the last year and a half, the prized industry is now alarmed by astronomical electricity bills looming in 2023. “It […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Two World Bank entities provided a record $75 billion in financing last year, said a letter by its president, as developing countries faced crises like climate change and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The aid comes as countries emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic were hit by fallout from war in Ukraine and surging inflation, while climate change brought further devastation, said World Bank President David Malpass in a letter seen by AFP. […]
Essaouira, Morocco (AFP) by Kaouther Larbi Morocco’s argan oil is highly prized by the cosmetics industry, yet it is now mostly produced by elderly workers, raising questions about how long the artisanal practice can continue. A dozen women, sitting on the floor of a workshop inland from Essaouira, a port town on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, work to deftly shell argan nuts, crush them and extract the oil. It is a time-honoured and labour-intensive craft, […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore’s economy grew more than expected last year but much slower than in 2021, official data showed Tuesday, as analysts warned of weaker growth ahead owing to an expected recession in key markets. While the 3.8 percent on-year expansion was welcome, it was weighed by a 3.0 percent contraction in the key manufacturing sector in the final three months. Growth in the fourth quarter came in at 2.2 percent, sharply down […]
