An informal partnership that kept Germany’s economy tethered to China’s for decades is unraveling, threatening Berlin’s—and Europe’s—post-pandemic recovery as the Asian giant stages a powerful comeback. The relationship that saw Germany provide China with the machines to power its economy helped the German economy recover rapidly after the financial crisis. But German business leaders say … Read more
The Trump administration threatened Wednesday to impose an array of fresh sanctions to deter China and Russia from selling weapons to Iran after an arms embargo on Washington’s Middle East foe expires next month. Elliott Abrams, the administration’s special envoy for Iran and Venezuela, told reporters that the sanctions “will have a very significant impact” … Read more
The World Trade Organization ruled Tuesday that some U.S. tariffs against China broke international trading rules, a conclusion that exacerbates U.S.-WTO tensions but likely will have no consequence for American tariff policy because the organization’s appellate system currently doesn’t function. The WTO sided with a complaint filed by China in 2018, which said the Trump … Read more
TOKYO—Yoshiyuki Kasai, longtime boss of Japan’s biggest bullet-train line, says he thinks Tokyo’s alliance with the U.S. comes first and China needs to hear that message. If Beijing doesn’t like it, he says, tough luck. Hiroaki Nakanishi, head of Japan’s most powerful business federation, says he thinks that attitude is self-defeating. After all its work … Read more
A high-level meeting between officials from the U.S. and Qatar this week offers a chance for the Middle Eastern country to work toward healing a rift with its neighbors, as well as helping Washington solidify a key relationship in the volatile region. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary … Read more
ROME—When European Union nations agreed this summer to set up a 750 billion euro economic recovery fund in response to the coronavirus pandemic, a major motivation was to avoid a lasting depression in Italy that could tear apart the euro. For Europe, much now hinges on whether Italy can find a useful way to spend … Read more
RIO DE JANEIRO—Covid-19 has killed more than 130,000 in Brazil, second only to the U.S., and hammered the economy. Still, the administration of President Jair Bolsonaro, who has lashed out at governors who ordered businesses to close and clashed with health experts over social-distancing measures, is more popular than ever. With millions… Source link
LONDON—The global economy is bouncing back strongly from the dramatic collapse it suffered in the spring, but fresh data suggest the early gains from the lifting of coronavirus lockdowns are already exhausted, adding to evidence that the world economy could take many months, if not years, to heal. Fresh figures from the U.K. provide valuable … Read more
Whoever wins the presidential election, one thing is clear: The U.S. has turned a corner in its relations with China and is likely to maintain a harder line. In the past four years, President Trump, a longtime trade hawk, broke with decades of policy that broadly fostered closer ties between the two giants. Seeing China … Read more
FRANKFURT—The European Central Bank left its large monetary stimulus unchanged Thursday, as policy makers wait to see how a resurgence in Covid-19 cases across the continent and a jump in the value of the euro might affect the region’s economy. ECB President Christine Lagarde said the bank is paying close attention to the currency, highlighting … Read more