Tag: Businesses in COVID-19

Euro Zone Industry Output Stronger Than Expected in September

BRUSSELS—Euro zone industrial production dipped by less than expected in September, data showed on Friday, leaving it higher than anticipated year-on-year due to a surge in output of non-durable consumer goods. The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said industrial production in the 19 countries sharing the euro fell 0.2 percent month-on-month in September for a…


Inflation Worries Send US Consumer Confidence Plunging to 10-Year Low

U.S. consumer sentiment plunged to a decade low in November, according to a University of Michigan survey, which blamed surging inflation and a growing conviction among American consumers that no effective policies have been put in place to tame runaway prices. The university’s consumer sentiment index fell to a reading of 66.8 in November, down…


ECB Asks for Governments’ Help to Hit Inflation Goal

FRANKFURT—European governments should be allowed to spend more when inflation is below the European Central Bank’s 2 percent inflation goal and vice versa, the ECB’s chief economist Philip Lane said on Friday. European Union governments are debating how to reform the EU’s fiscal rules to deal with a pandemic-induced surge in public debt and with…


Asian Bonds Receive Lowest Foreign Flows This Year in October

Asian bonds received lowest foreign inflow this year in October, hit by concerns over higher inflation levels and a slowdown in China’s economy. Overseas investors purchased a combined net total of $2.25 billion in Indonesian, Malaysian, South Korean, Thai, and Indian bonds last month, the smallest buying since December 2020, data from regulatory authorities and…


Johnson & Johnson to Split Into Two Companies, Shares Rally

Johnson & Johnson has announced plans to split into two companies, spinning off its consumer health division—which sells products like Band-Aids, Baby Powder, and Listerine—into a separate publicly traded company. The consumer health business has been provisionally dubbed the New Consumer Health Company, according to a Nov. 12 statement, while the new Johnson & Johnson…


Apple Supplier Foxconn Cautious on 2022 Revenue Outlook

TAIPEI—Apple supplier Foxconn forecast on Friday that a global chip shortage would run into the second half of 2022 and its fourth-quarter revenue for electronics, including smartphones, would fall more than 15 percent. Chairman Liu Young-way said during a conference call that Foxconn was cautious about its 2022 revenue outlook, citing uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus…


Futures Edge Higher on Boost From J&J, Tech Stocks

U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday as Johnson & Johnson and technology stocks led gains at the end of a week scarred by deepening concerns over prolonged inflation. All the major U.S. indexes were set for a more than 1 percent weekly drop, their first since the week ended Oct. 1, as hot…


Wall Street Powers Higher on J&J, Big Tech Boost

U.S. stock indexes rose on Friday, as Johnson & Johnson and big technology and communication stocks led gains at the end of a week scarred by deepening concerns over prolonged inflation. Johnson & Johnson rose 1.4 percent after saying it planned to break up into two companies focused on its consumer health business and the…


Tesla’s Musk Sells More Shares Worth $687 Million

Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk disclosed an additional share sale worth about $687 million in the electric-car maker, regulatory filings showed on Friday, after offloading about $5 billion in stock earlier in the week. Musk sold 587,638 and 52,099 shares held by his trust on Nov. 11 in multiple transactions, according to two…


US, EU Must Avoid Subsidy Race Amid Chip Shortage: EU’s Vestager

The United States and the European Union must avoid a subsidy race as they rush to support semiconductor production amid a global chip shortage, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said on Friday. “We really need to avoid a subsidy race, a race that leaves everyone poorer off,” Vestager said in a speech at the University…