(Reuters) – U.S. companies borrowed 2% more in January to finance their investments in equipment compared to a year earlier, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) said on Wednesday, as firms ramp-up production to meet demand. Companies signed up for $8.3 billion in new loans, leases and lines of credit last month, compared with…
By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks were sharply lower on Wednesday afternoon as Ukraine declared a state of emergency and the West unveiled more sanctions against Russia over its move into eastern Ukraine. The U.S. State Department said a Russian invasion of Ukraine remains potentially imminent, adding that Washington has not seen…
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s coalition parties agreed on Wednesday a roughly 13 billion euro package of measures to help households cope with surging energy prices, including scrapping a surcharge levied on electricity bills to support green power. Energy prices in Germany have soared in the last year, and fears of an escalation of the crisis…
LISBON (Reuters) – Rough waters forced authorities on Wednesday to postpone a salvage operation for a ship packed with luxury cars that have been on fire for a week in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a port official said. With teams unable to board the Felicity Ace, heavy tug boats sprayed water to cool…
By Pamela Barbaglia LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s largest drugstore chain Boots has set a Feb. 24 deadline to receive indicative bids from a series of deep-pocketed investors that could value the 173-year-old firm at up to 8 billion pounds ($10.88 billion), two sources told Reuters. The sale will see U.S. drugstore giant Walgreens, which has…
GENEVA (Reuters) – Trade ministers are now due to convene for the first time in more than four years in June, the World Trade Organization said on Wednesday, announcing the latest dates for a meeting that aims to break deadlocks on issues from fishing subsidies to intellectual property rights for vaccines. In late November, the…
By Sinéad Carew NEW YORK (Reuters) -Investors around the world lost their appetite for risk shortly after the U.S. market open on Wednesday with stocks turning lower and oil prices rallying as Ukraine declared a state of emergency and investors worried about a bigger Russian invasion. Market’s have been volatile since President Vladimir Putin’s dispatch…
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union agreed to slap sanctions Wednesday on Russia’s defense minister, a top adviser to President Vladimir Putin and hundreds of Russian lawmakers who voted in favor of recognizing the independence of separatist areas in southeast Ukraine. The sanctions, mostly a freeze on the assets of those listed and a ban…
By Tommy Wilkes LONDON (Reuters) – Emerging market borrowing led by China inflated the global debt mountain to a record $303 trillion in 2021, although the global debt-to-GDP ratio improved as developed economies rebounded, the Institute of International Finance said on Wednesday. The $10 trillion rise in the global debt pile was down from the…
NEW YORK (AP) — Lowe’s Cos., the nation’s second-largest home improvement chain behind Home Depot, offered an upbeat annual outlook after reporting strong fiscal fourth-quarter results that showed a still sizzling housing market. The report, released Wednesday, follows a robust quarterly report from Home Depot. Home improvement stores have been busy during the pandemic as…
