By Julie Gordon OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada’s exports fell for the second straight month in August, largely driven by lower crude oil prices, with imports also declining, resulting in the smallest trade surplus of the year, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday. The country’s trade surplus with the world narrowed to C$1.52 billion ($1.12 billion) in August,…
ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss National Bank is prepared to raise interest rates further to tackle inflation after its recent 75-basis-point hike, SNB Governing Board member Andrea Maechler said on Wednesday. “It could be quite possible that we have to make further interest rate increases,” Maechler told an event in Zurich. “We will have to…
By Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s private-sector economy last month suffered the sharpest contraction in activity since a COVID lockdown early last year, underlining the challenge facing Prime Minister Liz Truss who on Wednesday emphasised her push for economic growth. The final version of the S&P Global UK Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 49.1…
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union countries agreed Wednesday to impose a price cap on Russian oil and other new sanctions after Moscow illegally annexed four regions in Ukraine amid its monthslong war, EU officials said. Diplomats struck the deal in Brussels that also includes curbs on EU exports of aircraft components to Russia and limits…
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An independent expert appointed to mediate in the bitter dispute between the Dutch government and the nation’s farmers over plans to drastically slash emissions of nitrogen and ammonia presented a report Wednesday that included a suggestion that the government buy out hundreds of the heaviest polluters. The report could reignite…
By Dhara Ranasinghe and Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON (Reuters) – World stocks clung to two-week highs on Wednesday, although another aggressive rate increase from New Zealand tempered the idea that central banks may be close to slowing down the pace of rapid monetary tightening. Oil prices inched higher before a meeting of OPEC+ producers to discuss…
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed laws formally absorbing four Ukrainian regions into Russia, even as its military struggles to control the territory that was illegally annexed. The documents finalizing the annexation, carried out in defiance of international laws, were published on a Russian government website on Wednesday morning. Earlier this…
GENEVA (AP) — The World Trade Organization is predicting global trade volumes will grow a lackluster 1% next year as crises and challenges weigh on markets, including high energy prices, rising interest rates and uncertainties about Chinese manufacturing output amid the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. The Geneva-based trade body said Wednesday that the amount of goods…
GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Trade Organization forecast a sharp slowdown of global goods trade growth next year as spiralling energy prices, rising interest rates and higher bills for food and fertiliser curb import demand. The Geneva-based trade body said on Wednesday that merchandise trade would increase by 3.5% this year, up from its April…
(Reuters) -Demand for electric vehicles helped drive a 4.6% rise in Britain’s new car registrations in September, according to industry data released on Wednesday. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said registrations during the month rose to 225,269 units from 215,312 units a year earlier, but still remained 34.4% below pre-pandemic levels. The…
