BERLIN (Reuters) – With China and the U.S. fixated on each other, Europe is at risk of being paralysed in between and needs to steer its own agenda, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Wednesday. “If we had to choose between the U.S. and China, we would have extreme problems,” Habeck said as he…
PARIS (Reuters) – The French economy is set to grow slightly in the second quarter when compared to the previous one, the country’s central bank said on Wednesday, as activity across sectors picked up steam. The Bank of France said companies polled in its monthly business sentiment survey reported activity in April was stronger than…
By Sergio Goncalves LISBON (Reuters) -The European Central Bank’s key interest rate is approaching its peak but further adjustments are still necessary, ECB Governing Council member Mario Centeno said on Wednesday, adding he expected rates to start easing at some point during next year. “We must be approaching the terminal rate,” he told a press…
(Reuters) – Russia’s federal budget recorded a 3.4 trillion rouble ($43.8 billion) deficit in the first four months of the year, the finance ministry said on Wednesday, as Moscow continued to spend heavily and energy revenue fell sharply. In the same period of 2022 Russia posted a surplus of 1.2 trillion roubles, but since then…
By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic and Republican U.S. senators introduced legislation on Wednesday to overhaul the vast security clearance system for protecting national secrets, spurred by damaging document leaks allegedly by a 21-year-old airman and the discovery of classified materials at top officials’ homes. Led by Democratic Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the…
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s anti-terrorism prosecution office on Wednesday announced it had opened an investigation for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity after an AFP video journalist was killed on Tuesday by Grad rocket fire near Chasiv Yar, in eastern Ukraine. (Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Chris Reese)
KYIV (Reuters) -A Ukrainian military unit said on Wednesday it had routed a Russian infantry brigade from frontline territory near Bakhmut, claiming to confirm an account by the head of Russia’s Wagner private army that the Russian forces had fled. Later in the day, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who heads Ukraine’s ground forces, said Russian…
By Alun John and Ankur Banerjee LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Investors are getting more bang for their buck this year by buying European companies with a focus on China than buying Chinese companies themselves, a sign of the unevenness of China’s pandemic recovery and geopolitical concerns. Late last year, China dismantled its strict zero-COVID policy, helping…
By Victoria Waldersee and Jan Schwartz BERLIN (Reuters) -Volkswagen defended its record in China and its decision to jointly own a plant in the Xinjiang region after activists and investors lashed out at the carmaker at a volatile annual general shareholder meeting on Wednesday. About ten activists, including one topless woman with ‘Dirty Money’ painted…
By Orhan Coskun ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s economy is bracing for a “lost year” no matter who wins landmark elections on Sunday, political insiders say, even if the opposition pledges to tear down President Tayyip Erdogan’s unorthodox policies. The main opposition alliance, which is leading in some opinion polls, promises to free up the economy…
