BERLIN—The German government on Wednesday cut its growth forecast for this year, but said that Europe’s biggest economy remains “robust” and will return to its pre-pandemic size in 2022. The Economy Ministry predicted that gross domestic product will grow by 3.6 percent, down from the 4.1 percent Germany’s previous government forecast in late October. The…

U.S. stock index futures jumped on Wednesday following two days of turbulent trading, helped by stellar results from Microsoft, while investors looked to the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting. Microsoft Corp. gained 3.9 percent premarket after the Windows maker forecast revenue for the current quarter broadly ahead of Wall Street targets, driven in…

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. said on Monday that it expected to resume burning cash because of stricter crew quarantine measures after flagging a surprise profit in the second half of 2021 due to cost cuts and a strong cargo market. The airline forecast it would post an annual loss of HK$5.6 billion ($719…

CHICAGO—United Airlines Holdings on Wednesday trimmed its capacity forecast and warned of higher costs, after posting a smaller-than-expected fourth-quarter loss, citing turbulence from the Omicron coronavirus variant. The Chicago-based carrier said the latest wave of the health crisis has depressed near-term demand even as bookings for the spring and beyond remain strong. United said its…

TOKYO—The Bank of Japan on Tuesday raised its inflation forecast for the fiscal year beginning in April and said risks to the price outlook were evenly balanced, nodding to recent signs the commodity-driven rise in inflation was broadening. As widely expected, the central bank kept unchanged its -0.1 percent target for short-term interest rates and…

AMSTERDAM—Just Eat Takeaway.com, Europe’s largest meal delivery company, reported a 14 percent increase in orders in the fourth quarter on Wednesday in line with expectations and maintained its financial forecasts for 2022. In a trading update, the company said it had delivered 273.7 million orders in the fourth quarter of last year, up from 240.4…

WASHINGTON—The International Monetary Fund will release its World Economic Outlook on Jan. 25, a week later than planned, to factor in the latest COVID-19 developments, a spokesperson for the global lender said on Tuesday, amid signs another downgrade is coming. “The World Economic Outlook update will be launched on January 25 to allow our teams…

VICTORIA—A major section of the Trans-Canada Highway in British Columbia that was under floodwater since last week reopened Thursday, easing traffic congestion and helping connect the Lower Mainland to the province’s Interior. Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said the section of Highway 1 between Abbotsford and Chilliwack was cleared to reopen, which provides a vital artery…

VANCOUVER—A line of storms is forecast to sweep across British Columbia as the province works to rebuild from devastating flooding and deadly mudslides last week that destroyed parts of major highways, rail lines, and farmland. Wind and rainfall warnings blanketed most of the B.C. coast and come after about a dozen so-called atmospheric rivers have…

LONDON—JPMorgan cuts its fourth quarter growth forecast for China to 4.0 percent quarter-on-quarter from 5.0 percent on Friday, citing the impact of power shortages and the recurrence of COVID-19 clusters hitting consumer spending and services. “Looking back, we have downgraded China’s growth forecasts five times since August,” JPMorgan’s Haibin Zhu said in a note, adding…