By Victoria Waldersee and Joseph White MUNICH (Reuters) -Volkswagen Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said on Wednesday rising battery material costs mean it will be 2025 before the automaker can build some electric vehicles at the same profit margins as combustion models. “A lot of the margin parity depends on raw materials,” Antlitz told the…
(Reuters) – Britain’s Frasers Group raised its stake in online fashion retailer ASOS, a filing showed on Wednesday, as the Mike Ashley-owned sportswear retailer continues its drive into a more premium market. Frasers, formerly called Sports Direct, increased its stake in ASOS to 7.4% from a prior stake of more than 5%, as of May…
By Tom Sims FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Deutsche Bank investors on Wednesday questioned the sustainability of the lender’s growth plans and called for a shift of resources from the investment bank, even as they praised CEO Christian Sewing for stabilising the bank. The statements, made at Deutsche Bank’s annual general meeting, come after the bank booked 11…
By Horacio Soria BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – In Juan Capano’s shoemakers’ workshop on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, 109% inflation makes a painful daily impact: constantly changing input costs for the leather, laces and rubber that workers assemble into boots at whirring machines. Argentina is battling one of the highest inflation rates in the world,…
LONDON (Reuters) -Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Wednesday there were some signs of a cooling of inflation pressure in Britain’s labour market but it was too soon to say the risks posed by the shortage of workers was over. “There are signs that the labour market is loosening a little,” Bailey said…
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank on Wednesday told banks to step up how they manage struggling borrowers and their own currency trading in an environment of higher interest rates and jittery financial markets. Andrea Enria, head of the ECB’s Supervisory Board, has long worried about the economic fallout of rising borrowing costs and…
By Gergely Szakacs BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Poland’s government must ensure its fiscal policies support the fight to bring inflation down, the International Monetary Fund’s regional head told Reuters, days after fresh pre-election pledges of welfare hikes by Poland’s ruling nationalists. Law and Justice (PiS) party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski announced on Sunday that an existing so-called…
BEIJING (Reuters) – Nomura has cut its forecast for China’s 2023 gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 5.5% from 5.9% previously, after April data showed a post-COVID recovery in the world’s second-largest economy is losing steam. Data on Tuesday showed China’s April factory output and retail sales growth undershot forecasts, adding pressure on policymakers to…
By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission proposed on Wednesday a reform of customs rules for the surge of incoming packages ordered online and to cope with increased environmental and labour standards and sanctions on imported goods. Under the proposal, the European Union will have a new customs authority and a single online…
By Tomasz Janowski, Oliver Hirt and Selena Li ZURICH (Reuters) -UBS has flagged tens of billions of dollars of potential costs – and benefits – from its takeover of Credit Suisse, underscoring the high stakes involved as it prepares to complete the rescue of its struggling Swiss rival. In a regulatory presentation, UBS estimated a…
