Economic news

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG (NVS) has agreed to pay more than $729 Million to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of paying illegal kickbacks to doctors and patients to increase drug sales, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday. The Swiss drugmaker would pay $678 Million to resolve accusations of hosting thousands […]

On Wednesday, McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) said that it plans to pause the reopening of all dine-in services in its U.S. restaurants for the next 21 days as the coronavirus outbreak flares up in areas across the country. The fast-food chain had a 30% dip in global sales in the first two months of the current […]

The U.S. economy likely boosted employment at record levels in June as more bars and restaurants resumed operations. Though this would indicate that the virus-driven recession was probably over, an upsurge in new coronavirus cases threatens any economic pick-up. Despite recording two consecutive months of gains, the country’s employment would still be about 16.6 million […]

Asian shares tracked Wall Street higher on Thursday. This followed even though sentiment was dull ahead of U.S. employment data.  Meanwhile, copper prices recorded six-month highs on a bright global outlook and supply concerns in top producer Chile. All major indexes were seen upbeat on vaccine hopes, driving MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares up […]

On Wednesday, Ryanair’s (RYA.I) Chief Executive Officer Michael Kevin O’Leary announced that around 3,500 jobs would be slashed at the airline unless it could agree on a series of pay cuts with staff. The warning came after the company resumed flights on almost 90% of its route network with just 40% of its usual July […]

On Wednesday, European stocks rose at the start of a new quarter as investors monitored the economic data which could signal the extent of a potential economic recovery as countries emerge from lockdown measures. However, the surging coronavirus infections in the United States are likely to delay the global recovery. The pan-European STOXX 600 index […]

Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday, while safe-haven assets such as gold and the Japanese Yen remained steady as the surge in COVID-19 cases in the United States dampened recovery hopes from stronger-than-expected factory activity in China. The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.2% with Chinese blue chips leading with a […]

Japan’s factory activity for June contracted for its 14th straight month amid sharp reductions in supply and demand, according to data from a business survey released on Wednesday. Japan is one of many export-reliant nations that have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic where lockdown measures disrupted supply chains and urged consumers to remain […]

Japanese manufacturers’ confidence dropped in the second quarter to levels not monitored since the global financial crisis of 2009. This highlighted the damage that the novel coronavirus crisis inflicted on the export-dependent economy. The headline index for big manufacturers’ sentiment was seen at -34 in June. This came to be the sharpest level the index […]

Asia’s manufacturing pain stopped pressing in June. This followed after China’s factory sector recovered, boosting optimism that the region has survived the worst of the novel coronavirus crisis. China’s Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was monitored at 51.2 in June, placing higher than May’s record of 50.7. More so, Vietnam and Malaysia’s PMIs also […]