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German steel industry girds for uncertain future
German steel industry girds for uncertain future
Economy
by  AFP

Hammered by surging energy costs and a flood of cut-price Chinese imports, Germany's steel industry has been mired in deep crisis for several years. Problems worsened for the power-hungry sector when Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine sent energy costs surging.

Budget impasse threatens Belgium's ruling coalition
Budget impasse threatens Belgium's ruling coalition
Economy
by  AFP

Belgium's fragile governing coalition could be staring at collapse as Prime Minister Bart De Wever threatens to resign unless it approves a cost-cutting budget Thursday. He is calling for a series of "historic" reforms to liberalise Belgium's labour market, curb high unemployment benefits and cut back on pension costs.

BoE set for finely balanced pre-budget rate call
BoE set for finely balanced pre-budget rate call
Economy
by  AFP

The Bank of England is expected to hold its key interest rate unchanged on Thursday but some analysts are not ruling out a surprise cut ahead of the UK government's annual budget. "As I take my decisions on both tax and spend, I will do what is necessary to protect families from high inflation and interest rates," Reeves told the nation in a surprise pre-budget speech in Downing Street.

Asian markets bounce from selloff as US jobs beat forecasts
Asian markets bounce from selloff as US jobs beat forecasts
Economy
by  AFP

Asian markets rose Thursday to claw back some of the previous day's hefty losses as investors tracked a bounce on Wall Street sparked by jobs data that soothed worries about the US economy. The rush for cover -- which tracked big losses on Wall Street -- hammered some regional giants including Japanese tech investor SoftBank and South Korean chipmakers Samsung and SK hynix.