BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The EU Commission said on Wednesday it was prepared to consider changes to a plan of reforms agreed with Italy, but any new proposals must be made as soon as possible for Rome to secure promised pandemic recovery funds. Rome is struggling to meet a package of policy pledges, including reforms to…
By Rachel Savage JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -Africa’s economic growth is set to edge upwards in 2023 and 2024 amid tighter global monetary policy and the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but South Africa’s will plummet, the African Development Bank (AfDB) said. The continent’s GDP growth is projected to rise to 4% this year and 4.3%…
By Chijioke Ohuocha ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria’s annual economic growth rate slowed to 2.3% in the first quarter, data showed on Wednesday, hurt by a government plan to swap old banknotes for newly designed ones that disrupted trade and payments. The gross domestic product (GDP) data came hours before a central bank interest rate announcement…
(Reuters) – Bank of Montreal and Bank of Nova Scotia on Wednesday reported smaller-than-expected profit for the second quarter, due to higher expenses and as the Canadian banks were forced to set aside more rainy day funds amid an uncertain banking environment. The results come as investor confidence deteriorates in markets amid high volatility triggered…
By Andrew Hayley BEIJING (Reuters) -Russia’s prime minister signed a set of agreements with China on Wednesday during a trip to Beijing, describing bilateral ties at an unprecedented high, despite criticism of their relationship in the West as the war in Ukraine drags on. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the highest-ranking Russian official to visit Beijing…
By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand’s central bank on Wednesday signalled it was done tightening after raising rates by 25 basis points to the highest in more than 14 years at 5.5%, ending its most aggressive hiking cycle since 1999. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ) indication the official cash rate (OCR) would…
By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured a two-year Israeli national budget on Wednesday and suggested this could clear the way for a resumption of his religious-nationalist coalition’s contested judicial overhaul. Opposition politicians, who have been in compromise talks with the government over the proposed reforms since they were suspended in…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department on Monday said Russia’s Wagner Group is trying to obscure its efforts to acquire military equipment for use in Ukraine, adding that Washington has been informed the mercenary force is seeking to move those acquisitions through Mali to aid Russia in its war. Wagner is willing to use…
TOKYO (Reuters) – China remains a high-priority market for Panasonic even as geopolitics have highlighted the need for robust supply chains elsewhere, the Japanese group’s chief executive said. Leaders at the recent Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima stressed the need for firms to “de-risk” but not “decouple” from the world’s second-largest economy. “We…
LONDON (Reuters) -The World Health Organization assembly passed a motion on Wednesday condemning Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, including attacks on healthcare facilities. The motion passed by 80 votes to 9, with 52 abstentions and 36 countries absent. The Western-led motion, put forward at the U.N. agency’s annual meeting, also called for an assessment of the…
