Browsing: Business

Global trade will hit $33 trillion in 2024, driven by services sector growth, while goods trade lags behind, UNCTAD reports. Opportunities exist for diversification despite challenges.

The EU spent €381.4 billion on R&D in 2023, up 6.7% from 2022, maintaining an R&D intensity of 2.2%, with the business sector leading investment at 66% of total funding.

Political instability in France and Germany challenges EU economic stability, with trade tensions, industry disruptions, and leadership voids deepening the strain.

MENA Newswire News Desk: Olivier Andriès, CEO of French aerospace giant Safran, has expressed significant concerns regarding the potential impact of ongoing political instability in France on the nation’s defense budget and investor confidence. Speaking at a recent industry forum, Andriès highlighted the risks posed to companies like Safran, which rely heavily on stable government policies to support their operations and strategic development. Safran, a leading player in aerospace and defense, holds a critical position within the French industrial ecosystem. The company, which is partially state-owned, produces advanced propulsion systems, aircraft engines, and defense technologies. It is a key supplier to both civil…

UK services sector slowed in November as rising employment costs weighed on growth, with PMI data showing lower confidence, weak orders, and growing inflationary pressures.

MENA Newswire News Desk: Christian Sewing, CEO of Deutsche Bank, has called for immediate structural reforms in Germany to enhance the nation’s economic competitiveness in the face of global challenges. Speaking at the Financial Times Global Banking Summit in London, Sewing urged policymakers to reduce regulatory burdens and lower corporate taxes to reinvigorate the German economy. Sewing emphasized that Germany’s economic model must adapt to growing global competition, declining domestic demand, and a slowing industrial sector. His remarks come as the country faces significant economic pressures, highlighted by the OECD’s recent downgrade of Germany’s 2025 growth forecast. He argued that streamlining bureaucracy and reforming corporate tax…

The EU Commission commits €4.6 billion for cleantech projects, focusing on renewable hydrogen and EV batteries through the Innovation Fund, using revenues from its Emissions Trading System.

Wage inequality has declined in two-thirds of nations since 2000, with significant progress in low-income countries, but high disparities and uneven regional wage growth persist, according to the ILO report.

German consumer confidence for December plummets to -23.3 amid fears of widespread job cuts by major companies like Volkswagen, Bayer, and Thyssenkrupp, increasing economic and political uncertainty.

The City of London Corporation will permanently close Smithfield and Billingsgate Markets by 2028, citing escalating costs and the cancellation of plans to relocate to Dagenham Dock.