EU passenger car sales up 28.8% to over 1 million units in March, ACEA says

(Reuters) – Passenger car registrations in the European Union rose 28.8% in March to more than one million units, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) reported on Wednesday. Battery-electric cars made up 13.9% of new registrations in the EU, up 2.5% from the same month last year. Plug-in hybrids are losing ground in the region,…

Read More

Analysis: China’s ‘atypical’ deflation cycle gives central bank a headache

By Kevin Yao BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s central bank has plenty of reasons to loosen policy as deflationary pressures in the economy deepen, but record credit growth is likely to limit the extent of any monetary support it’s able to provide. While the recovery from last year’s pandemic slump in the world’s second-largest economy gathered…

Read More

Analysis-Once booming Indian startups set for more pain as funding crunch worsens

By M. Sriram MUMBAI (Reuters) – A funding squeeze at Indian startups that has already led to layoffs and delayed stock listings is set to worsen as investors reckon with stretched valuations and faltering consumption growth, likely laying the ground for industry consolidation. Startups in India raised just $2 billion in the first quarter of…

Read More

Analysis-ECB market rate bets: still some unfinished business for the hawks

By Stefano Rebaudo (Reuters) – European Central Bank officials are still banging the inflation drum and suggesting interest rates must keep rising, but there’s enough nervousness about banks or a possible policy misstep to mean they face an uphill battle convincing markets. Having firmly scaled-back rate expectations amid last month’s market turmoil, investors no longer…

Read More

Analysis-Europe’s strikes could spell more flights havoc into summer

By Joanna Plucinska LONDON (Reuters) – Strikes across Europe have led to a spike in flight cancellations, delays and driven down bookings to cities like Paris, data from travel firms show, despite efforts by airlines to avoid a repeat of last year’s disruptions. Flight cancellations and delays of over three hours in Europe were up…

Read More

Khartoum’s fearful residents hunker down amid fierce street fighting

By Khalid Abdelaziz and Nafisa Eltahir KHARTOUM/CAIRO (Reuters) -Residents in an affluent district of Khartoum feared there would be trouble when they found their new neighbour was a commander from a paramilitary force that protesters blamed for cracking down on them in the past. Those concerns proved well-founded this week when people were forced to…

Read More