By Julie Gordon OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian retail sales bounced back in January, beating expectations, as shoppers ventured out to car dealerships and home improvement shops, official data showed Friday, though February retail sales likely fell. Retail sales increased 3.2% to C$58.94 billion ($46.7 billion) in January, led by higher sales of motor vehicles and…
By Shreyashi Sanyal and Sabahatjahan Contractor (Reuters) -Wall Street’s main indexes were set to open lower on Friday at the end of a choppy week marked by little progress in peace talks to end the war in Ukraine and the first U.S. interest rate hike since 2018. The broad declines could snap a three-day rally…
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Holding up vegetables and black flags, hundreds of protesting farmers blocked traffic in central Athens on Friday to demand that the government grant them additional concessions to cope with high energy costs. The protesters, some in tractors, gathered outside the Agriculture Ministry in Athens and were planning to head to parliament…
(Reuters) – Russia is considering allowing retailers to import products from abroad without the trademark owner’s permission, the competition regulator said on Friday, after global brands halted sales or stopped exports over its invasion of Ukraine. Allowing “parallel imports” reflects how Russia’s retail sector has been upended by Western economic sanctions and decisions by international…
BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers voted Friday to abolish most of the country’s coronavirus pandemic restrictions despite a surge in infections, with almost 300,000 new daily cases reported. The Bundestag passed an amendment to the pandemic rules in a 364-277 vote with two abstentions. The upper house of parliament, made up of Germany’s 16 states,…
By Iain Withers and Carolyn Cohn LONDON (Reuters) – While the West’s big investors have ditched Russia in recent weeks, one small group of armchair investors sees a bargain and is shrugging off any ethical qualms. At a time when many in Britain are pouring cash into charities to support relief efforts in Ukraine after…
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgarian ex-Prime Minister Boyko Borissov remained in custody on Friday following corruption investigations by European Union prosecutors as his supporters took to the streets to protest his detention. The Interior Ministry said late Thursday that Borissov was being detained for 24 hours in a nationwide police operation that also targeted other…
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Managers at sportscar maker Porsche late last year travelled to the United States to discuss possible joint projects with iPhone maker Apple as well as with some other tech companies, Porsche’s CEO said on Friday. “We already have Apple CarPlay, we will expand on that,” Chief Executive Oliver Blume said during a video…
By Makiko Yamazaki TOKYO (Reuters) – A U.S.-based fund has called for Japan’s Shimizu Corp to halt a $190 million bid to take control of road builder Nippon Road Co Ltd, saying the deal would be unfair to minority shareholders and go against governance reform. In a letter to Nippon Road’s board this week that…
By Bharat Gautam (Reuters) – Gold dipped on Friday as the dollar strengthened, with prices on course for their worst week in nearly four months as some of the safe-haven demand spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cooled. Spot gold slipped 0.5% to $1,932.20 per ounce, as of 1002 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.5%…
