The UK’s trade deficit narrowed in January, official figures show, but its goods trade gap with the EU widened to a record level. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the total trade deficit – covering goods and services – shrank to £3.5bn from £3.7bn in December. The deficit in goods alone narrowed to £10.29bn – down from £10.45bn the Read More

China’s industrial output has slowed to its weakest growth since the financial crisis, prompting concerns over the global recovery. Production rose by 5.4% in January and February – the worst since 2008. China is trying to refocus its economy from investment and export-led growth to consumer spending. UK finance minister George Osborne said China’s slowdown is one of a “dangerous Read More

India’s retail inflation is expected to have eased in February helped by falls in prices of some food items, after edging up for six straight months, raising expectations of a central bank rate cut next month. Analysts say Raghuram Rajan, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, could soften monetary stance after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stuck to a fiscal Read More

US carmakers General Motors and Ford have both announced strategies geared at taking on the tech world’s growing influence in the car industry. GM will buy Cruise Automation, a firm that creates self-driving technology. Ford will set up a Silicon Valley-based subsidiary to invest in car-sharing and ride-hailing services. Both have been making investments in technology to boost their role Read More

European shares rose on Monday as funding plans from the European Central Bank for the region’s lenders buoyed markets, while Italian banking stocks surged on the prospect of a possible rescue deal. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which had climbed 2.7 percent on Friday, was up 1 percent while the euro zone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index also advanced 1.2 Read More

The UK’s trade deficit narrowed in January, official figures show, but its goods trade gap with the EU widened to a record level. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the total trade deficit – covering goods and services – shrank to £3.5bn from £3.7bn in December. The deficit in goods alone narrowed to £10.29bn – down from £10.45bn the Read More

Stocks in Japan and China led gains on Monday, extending a rally on Wall Street which closed at its highest level so far this year on Friday. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 finished the session up 1.75% to 17,233.75 points. Investor sentiment in Japan was given a boost as official machinery orders data showed a 15% jump in January from December, beating Read More

European shares rose on Monday as funding plans from the European Central Bank for the region’s lenders buoyed markets, while Italian banking stocks surged on the prospect of a possible rescue deal. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which had climbed 2.7 percent on Friday, was up 1 percent while the euro zone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index also advanced 1.2 Read More

Lower oil output in the US will help to stabilise oil prices this year, the IEA said There is evidence that oil prices are stabilising and could even begin to rise again, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said. It said lower oil output in the US and other countries was helping to curb the glut in the supply of Read More

India will delay opening commercial coal mining to private companies due to lower-than-expected demand for the fuel, a government official said, which could make it difficult for the country to meet ambitious output targets. The world’s third-largest coal importer wants private companies to contribute about a third of an annual production target of 1.5 billion tonnes by 2020, but the Read More