By Tony Munroe, Muyu Xu and Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping opened a Beijing Winter Olympics on Friday that not only bear the mark of the global coronavirus pandemic but are also mixing sport and global politic…
NATO chief Stoltenberg named Norway central bank chief despite opposition
OSLO (Reuters) -NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will become Norway’s new central bank chief, the government said on Friday, despite opposition worries that the appointment of the former prime minister could weaken Norges Bank’s independence. Wh…
Wage rises not for government to comment on, UK PM’s spokesman says
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s government would not echo calls from the Bank of England for wage restraint as it is not their responsibility, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said on Friday. Asked about remarks by Bank of England Governor Andrew …
Lockmaker Assa Abloy’s profit jumps as price hikes help counter supply strains
By Anna Ringstrom STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Assa Abloy, the world’s biggest lockmaker, reported better than expected fourth-quarter profit growth on Friday, as price hikes and stronger demand helped mitigate continued pandemic-related supply chain challenge…
Shell makes ‘encouraging’ oil discovery offshore Namibia
LONDON (Reuters) – A closely-watched oil exploration well off the coast of Namibia has shown “encouraging” results, operator Shell said on Friday. Shell said the exploration results revealed “the presence of a working petroleum system with light oil” a…
Russia, China agree 30-year gas deal via new pipeline, to settle in euros
By Chen Aizhu (Reuters) – Russia has agreed a 30-year contract to supply gas to China via a new pipeline and will settle the new gas sales in euros, bolstering an energy alliance with Beijing amid Moscow’s strained ties with the West over Ukraine and o…
BoE would have to think about more action if wage costs don’t ease-Pill
LONDON (Reuters) – The Bank of England may have to take further action if higher wages and other domestically driven inflation pressures prove more persistent than the central bank is forecasting, BoE Chief Economist Huw Pill said on Friday. “A key ass…
Facebook-owner Meta says it will pay new $2 million UK fine
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s competition regulator said on Friday it had fined Facebook-owner Meta 1.5 million pounds ($2 million) over fresh issues regarding its purchase of Giphy, a sanction that the U.S. firm said it would accept. Britain’s Competiti…
Empty chair for Twitter, which skips EU hate speech meeting, citing COVID
LILLE, France (Reuters) – European justice ministers will on Friday discuss online hate crime with representatives from Meta and Google – and an empty chair with a Twitter tag because the company stayed away citing its COVID rules, France said. Social …
UK auto industry cuts 2022 sales forecast due to income squeeze
LONDON (Reuters) -British new car registrations are likely to grow less strongly in 2022 than previously thought due to the cost-of-living squeeze and ongoing supply problems, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said on Friday. Sales …