The European Commission (EC) wants to introduce a digital identity card that allows people to sign up to large online platforms, such as large web stores and sites such as Facebook and Google. The app should also become a digital alternative to an ID card, driver’s license or passport. This would allow someone throughout the European Union, for example, to open a bank account or rent a car...
Retail sales in the United Kingdom increased faster than expected in April. This was shown on Friday by figures from the British statistical office.
Sales increased by 9.2 percent on a monthly basis. On an annual basis, this was an increase of 43.4%.
An increase of 5.9 percent was expected on a monthly basis and an increase of 37.4 percent on an annual basis.
Chinese industrial production increased sharply again in April, but less than in the first months of this year. This was shown by government figures on Monday. Production increased by 9.8 percent, after a plus of more than 14 percent in March and more than 35 percent in the first two months of this year. On a monthly basis, April saw an increase of 0.52 per cent. Retail sales in China also...
Taiwan is taking more stringent measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The 24 million inhabitants of the island state managed to keep the virus largely out of the door last year, but now the number of infections is increasing rapidly. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Taiwan has registered fewer than 1,500 infections and has never faced a far-reaching lockdown. The authorities...
The income of the average American rose sharply in March, although spending also rose, but less so. This was shown on Friday by figures from the US government. Incomes rose by as much as 21.1 percent in March, after a fall of 7.0 percent in the previous month. Spending increased 4.2 percent in March, after a 1.0 percent drop in February. The PCE core price index increased in March on a monthly...
The euro area’s trade surplus decreased in February compared to a year earlier. This was reported by Eurostat statistics bureau on Friday.
In February, exports fell by 5.5 percent year-on-year to 178.6 billion euros. Imports fell by 2.7 percent to 161.0 billion euros.
This resulted in a trade surplus of EUR 17.7 billion, compared with a surplus of EUR 23.4 billion a year earlier.
The Central bank of Australia has again left monetary policy unchanged. This was demonstrated on Tuesday by the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest interest rate decision. The bank indicated on Tuesday that the implementation of the vaccination programmes supports the recovery of the world economy, although the policy body described the pace of implementation as unbalanced. The RBA stated on...
Japan’s services sector declined again in March. This was shown on Monday by figures from Markit Economics. The Purchasing Managers Index for the services sector increased from 46.3 to 48.3 this time. The index has been at its highest level since January 2020. It was announced last week that Japanese industry was growing at a faster pace in March. This Purchasing Managers Index rose from 51...
American president Joe Biden will present a comprehensive new economic support package for the United States on Wednesday. It is a package of investments of 2.25 trillion dollars, or 2250 billion dollars, over an eight-year period. The money goes, for example, to bridges, roads, railways, ports, airports and other infrastructure. Biden will explain his support plans for the world’s largest...
Bitcoin company Bitonic wants to know from the judge whether regulator De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) with its crypto rules is too strict for providers of digital coins. Bitonic believes that DNB’s requirements are contrary to the privacy rules. The case later on Tuesday goes to the Administrative Court in Rotterdam. According to the rules of the regulator, crypto providers of every buyer of...