News

September 17, 2021 VILLACH, Austria (Reuters) – Infineon CEO Reinhard Ploss said on Friday that he expected silicon chip prices to rise significantly, adding that semiconductor makers needed to cover the cost of investments to meet booming demand. “We expect significant price increases,” Ploss told a news conference at an opening ceremony for Infineon’s new […]

September 17, 2021 SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Tencent Holdings said its popular WeChat messaging app will start allowing users to access external links from Friday, days after regulators told the company and its rivals to end a long-standing practice of blocking each other’s links. The company said it had revised WeChat’s content management rules in a […]

September 17, 2021 DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates could invest at least a further 1 billion pounds ($1.4 billion) in the United Kingdom this year after pledging 10 billion pounds this week to its investment partnership with the British government. The UK’s Trade Commissioner to the Middle East, Simon Penney, told Reuters on […]

September 17, 2021 NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenyan telecoms operator Safaricom,, said on Friday it had submitted a proposal to Kenya Power for the installation of a $300 million smart meter system at the utility, confirming documents seen by Reuters. The telecoms firm said in a statement it was now waiting for feedback from the state […]

September 17, 2021 LONDON (Reuters) – Capitalism has not served the U.S. economy as well as it could have, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday, saying that the system needed to be improved. “In America, capitalism is our system, it is our economic system, but it has not served our economy […]

September 17, 2021 By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) -Candidates vying to become Japan’s next prime minister launched their campaigns on Friday, promising to restore popular trust in the ruling party by tackling issues such as income disparity, the coronavirus pandemic and climate change. A scheduled leadership race for the ruling Liberal Democratic […]

September 17, 2021 BEIJING (Reuters) -Japan said it would have to determine if China meets the “extremely high standards” of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) after the world’s second-biggest economy formally applied to join. Commerce Minister Wang Wentao submitted China’s application to join the free trade agreement in a letter to […]

September 17, 2021 LONDON (Reuters) – British clothing retailer Next has struck a deal with Gap Inc, to run the Gap brand’s business in the UK and Ireland as a franchise partner. The deal will allow the U.S. firm to retain a presence in the UK and Ireland having closed its shops in those markets […]

September 17, 2021 LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi cautioned Britain on Friday that if the Northern Irish peace deal was destroyed then there would be no post-Brexit trade deal with the United States. The United States has expressed grave concern that a row between London and Brussels over the implementation […]

September 17, 2021 By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden convenes world leaders on Friday for a discussion about intensifying efforts to tackle climate change, seeking to build momentum ahead of an international summit on global warming later this year. Biden will hold a virtual meeting of the Major Economies Forum (MEF) from […]

September 17, 2021 By Mike Dolan LONDON (Reuters) – Although markets have become increasingly aggressive in pricing a UK interest rate rise as soon as next May – several months at least before the United States or euro zone – sterling seems reluctant to follow. Bank of England policymakers meet next week and, according to […]

September 17, 2021 LONDON (Reuters) – The British public’s expectations for consumer prices over the coming year rose last month but remained at levels similar to early this year and late last year, a Bank of England survey showed on Friday. Inflation expectations for the year ahead rose to 2.7% in August from 2.4% in […]

September 17, 2021 LONDON (Reuters) -JPMorgan is set to launch its big assault on British high street banks and online lenders from next week, with the launch of its long-planned digital retail bank Chase. The venture – JPMorgan’s first overseas retail bank – is set to launch its smartphone app initially offering current accounts on […]

September 17, 2021 By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia finds itself as the common link in a new mesh of global alliances centred on the Indo-Pacific that are all but in name aimed at countering China’s rising military power and economic clout. Canberra’s 70-year-old defence alliance with Washington already commits Australia to act in […]

September 17, 2021 MOSCOW (Reuters) – Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev urged other nations on Friday to unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets kept in foreign banks to facilitate dialogue with the Taliban government in Kabul. Following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has said any central bank assets the Afghan government has in the […]

September 17, 2021 SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore announced on Friday new standards for migrant worker dormitories, with the aim of reducing the risk of transmission of infectious diseases and improving living conditions after the facilities suffered a major COVID-19 outbreak last year. The outbreak threw a spotlight on the often-cramped and unsanitary conditions in the […]

September 17, 2021 FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Commerzbank said on Friday that its credit and investment portfolio would be “net zero” for carbon emissions by 2050. It also said it would triple its sustainable financing business to around 300 million euros by the end of 2025 compared with the end of last year. (Reporting by Tom […]

September 17, 2021 BENGALURU (Reuters) – Shares of Indian airlines InterGlobe Aviation and SpiceJet surged on Friday after regulatory data showed that passenger growth jumped 136.6% last month as the government started to ease COVID-related travel restrictions. India had halted air travel in March 2020 as the country went into a lockdown to curb the […]

September 17, 2021 By David Milliken and Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) -British retail sales unexpectedly fell again last month in what is now a record streak of monthly declines, official data showed on Friday, adding to concerns about economic recovery although sales volumes remain well above pre-pandemic levels. Sales have fallen steadily since a peak […]

September 17, 2021 TOKYO (Reuters) – Former Japanese foreign minister Fumio Kishida, a contender to become next premier, said on Friday it was necessary to watch carefully if China, which seeks to join a Pacific free trade pact, is able to meet stringent requirements for its members. China has filed an application to join the […]