Canada home sales, average price decline in April from MarchOTTAWA (Reuters) -Canadian home sales, prices and starts all fell in April compared with the previous month, as some of the frenzy of recent months began to unwind, though activity remains strong, data showed on Monday.

Canadian home sales fell 12.5% in April from March, while the…[Read more]

Japan’s economy slumps back into decline as COVID-19 hits spendingTOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s economy shrank more than expected in the first quarter as a slow vaccine rollout and new COVID-19 infections hit spending on items such as dining out and clothes, raising concerns the country will lag others emerging from the pandemic.

Capital expenditure…[Read more]

UK jobless rate falls again, hiring up as lockdown easesLONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s unemployment rate fell again to 4.8% between January and March, when the country was under a tight lockdown, and hiring rose further in April, according to data that showed employers gearing up for the easing of curbs.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected the…[Read more]

RBA Says Economy, Markets Key to July Call on Bond Programs(Bloomberg) — The Reserve Bank of Australia said it would pay “close attention” to economic data and conditions in financial markets when deciding whether to roll over its yield-target maturity and undertake further quantitative easing.

The RBA is due to make a call at its July 6 mee…[Read more]

EU eyes another go at more unified European business taxationBRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission wants to propose in 2023 a more unified way of taxing companies in the European Union, hoping that such rules, which have failed to win support in the past, will stand a better chance if they follow global OECD solutions expected this…[Read more]

Hitting it out of the park: Baseball card legacy could smash recordsLOS ANGELES (Reuters) – When Florida physician Thomas Newman died of COVID-19, he left his family a huge legacy – a collection of sports cards worth some $20 million, including a Babe Ruth card that could set a new world record.

It was love, not money, that drove Newman when he…[Read more]

HK property tycoon Wu says land reclamation will solve social, housing woesHONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong real estate magnate Gordon Wu said an ambitious land reclamation project can help solve housing and social problems, while welcoming the enforcement of a national security law in the city as bringing stability to boost investment.

The…[Read more]

HK suspends operations at representative office in Taiwan as tensions riseHONG KONG/TAIPEI (Reuters) -Hong Kong government’s suspended on Tuesday operations at its representative office in Taiwan in a sign of escalating diplomatic tension between the global financial hub and the democratically ruled island that Beijing claims.

Tension between…[Read more]

ECB’s Villeroy plays down inflation risks, says ECB policy should stay very accommodativePARIS (Reuters) – European Central Bank policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Tuesday that he did not think there was “any risk of a durable return of inflation” in the euro zone, and that the ECB’s monetary policy should remain very…[Read more]

Foreigners remain net buyers of Asian bonds for eleventh straight month in April(Reuters) – Foreign investors remained net buyers of Asian bonds for eleventh consecutive month in April, as a rebound in regional economic activity and a drop in U.S. yields boosted sentiment.

Overseas investors bought a net $6.37 billion worth of Asian bonds last…[Read more]

Investors buy UK stocks, cut tech as inflation fears rise – BofA surveyLONDON (Reuters) – Fund managers loaded-up on UK stocks and cut exposure to technology stocks as rising inflation and “taper tantrum” fears leave growth stocks vulnerable to pullbacks, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)’s May fund manager survey released on Tuesday found.

Allocation…[Read more]

Germany’s top court rejects complaint against ECB bond buysBERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s constitutional court rejected on Tuesday a complaint against the European Central Bank’s 2.4 trillion euro Public Sector Purchase Programme, saying the ECB had shown the scheme was appropriate.

The court had ruled last May that lawmakers failed to exercise s…[Read more]

Euro zone inadvertently supported zombie firms, ECB findsFRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone policies aimed at keeping the economy afloat during the pandemic inadvertently supported unviable or “zombie” firms and more targeted support is needed, especially as subsidies are phased out, a European Central Bank study concluded on Tuesday.

Zombie firms,…[Read more]

Spanish telcos welcome 40-year 5G licence windfallMADRID (Reuters) – Spanish telecoms firms welcomed the government’s decision to double radio frequency licences to 40 years at future auctions, including for 5G networks, calling it an important step for the struggling sector.

The change will give mobile operators and investors better visibility…[Read more]

Facebook to help creators earn money from ecommerce sales (Reuters) – Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday the company will build features for content creators to earn money from recommending products on the app and getting a cut of product sales.

While speaking with Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri on an Instagram Live…[Read more]

Russia, China sow disinformation to undermine trust in Western vaccines, EU report saysBRUSSELS (Reuters) -Russian and Chinese media are systematically seeking to sow mistrust in Western COVID-19 vaccines in their latest disinformation campaigns aimed at dividing the West, a European report said on Wednesday.

From December to April, the two…[Read more]

WarnerMedia plans to price HBO Max with ads at $9.99 a month – CNBC(Reuters) – WarnerMedia is planning to price an advertising-supported version of its HBO Max video streaming service, set to launch in June, at $9.99 per month, CNBC reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

HBO Max, home to titles like “Wonder Woman 1984” and…[Read more]

French watchdog warns of big tech’s sway over payment servicesPARIS (Reuters) – Digital payment services developed by U.S. tech giants such as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s Google risk reinforcing their market power by giving them greater sway over consumers’ data, France’s antitrust authority said on Thursday.

The remarks,…[Read more]

Online terrorist content law wins EU lawmakers’ backing amid rights concernsBRUSSELS (Reuters) – A proposed EU law that forces Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter to remove terrorist content within an hour of publication cleared its final hurdle after EU lawmakers gave their backing despite concerns from civil rights…[Read more]

Chinese regulators summon internet finance firmsBEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese financial regulators on Thursday summoned 13 internet platforms engaged in financial business, including heavyweights Tencent and ByteDance, to order them to strengthen their regulatory compliance, the central bank said.

The move by the four regulators is part of efforts…[Read more]