In-store sales in Italy went up in February, just before the entire country went into lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Italian statistics office reported this. Italians started hoarding groceries ahead of quarantine measures. According to the statistics agency, retail sales increased by 0.8 percent compared to a month earlier. Both sales of food and non-food products increased...
Activity in Italian industry shrank sharply in March due to the outbreak of the country’s corona virus and government quarantine measures to contain the disease. British market researcher Markit announced this based on his purchasing managers index. That index for the Italian industry plummeted last month to a 40.3 level from 48.7 in February. A level of 50 or more indicates growth, below...
Activity in the Chinese industry recovered sharply in March, after the strongest contraction for China’s industry was seen in February, due to the corona crisis. With this, the world’s second economy appears to be cautiously recovering from the severe blow to the virus outbreak. According to the Chinese statistics agency, the purchasing managers index, which measures industrial...
The Japanese government will soon release an “unprecedented” large support package to protect the economy from the consequences of the corona pandemic. That was promised by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, after the number of infections in Tokyo rose by a record sixty on Saturday. He did not go as far as to declare a national emergency, but emphasized that the moment is near. The...
The confidence of French entrepreneurs has been hit hard by the corona crisis. The index measuring confidence shows the strongest decline ever before March, the French statistics agency reported. The indicator dropped to a reading of 95 out of 105 in February. This is the sharpest decrease since the measurements started in 1980. French entrepreneurs are particularly pessimistic about future...
The French government is launching a support program of € 4 billion for start-ups to get through the corona crisis. This was announced by the French secretary of state for digital affairs Cédric O on French radio. This money should prevent starting internet companies from getting into financial difficulties due to the crisis. “We come up with a specific plan to support the liquidity of...
The economy of Great Britain remained unchanged in January compared to a month earlier. The British National Statistical Office reported this. Economists generally expected the economy to grow by 0.2 percent on a monthly basis, after a plus by 0.3 percent in December. The British central bank came earlier in the day with an interest rate cut and other measures to stimulate growth. The economy of...
The District Court of New York ordered Mukhtar Ablyazov to pay an additional $140,115 to cover the expenses of the Almaty city and the BTA Bank. It will reimburse the attorneys and other fees, Ministry of Justice of Kazakhstan reported. Plaintiffs are seeking to to impose additional fines and sanction on the fugitive ex-banker Mukhtar Ablyazov. The proceedings started in July 2019. Sanctions are...
The German economy remained as large in the last quarter of last year as a quarter earlier. Final figures from the German Federal Statistical Office confirm this, after preliminary figures already pointed in the same direction. In general, therefore, economists were already counting on an outcome of 0 percent. In the third quarter, the gross domestic product of the largest economy in the eurozone...
Business activity in the United States grew slightly less in February than in the previous month. The British market researcher Markit reported this on the basis of provisional figures. The purchasing managers’ index for the American industry recorded a score of 50.8 for February compared to 51.9 a month earlier. Economists generally counted on a score of 51.5. A position above 50 indicates...