Economy

• Thursday, March 7th 2019 - 05:08 UTC

  Bugatti unveils the world's most expensive car, al least US$ 11 million

  

  French supercar maker Bugatti has unveiled the world's most expensive new car, sold to an unnamed buyer for at least US$ 11m (£9.5m) before tax. The exact price is not being revealed but is thought to have overtaken the previous new car record - about £8-9m for a Rolls-Royce Sweptail.

• Wednesday, March 6th 2019 - 09:20 UTC

  Theresa May's “Stronger Towns Fund” described by Labour as “Brexit bribery”

  

  British Prime Minister Theresa May will on Monday, March 11 set out plans for a £1.6 billion (US$2.11 billion) fund to help to boost economic growth in Brexit-supporting communities with ministers denying it was a bribe to win support for her EU exit deal.

• Wednesday, March 6th 2019 - 09:00 UTC

  Northern Ireland warns of “grave” consequences of a no-deal Brexit

  

  Northern Ireland's chief civil servant has warned a no-deal Brexit could have “grave” consequences for the region. In a letter to Stormont's political parties, David Sterling comes close to suggesting there may have to be some hardening of the Irish border.

• Wednesday, March 6th 2019 - 08:44 UTC

  S&P slashes credit rating of several leading Mexican companies including national oil Pemex

  

  Rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) slashed the credit rating for Mexico’s national oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, piling more pressure on the government to tighten up the debt-laden oil firm’s finances.

• Wednesday, March 6th 2019 - 08:26 UTC

  Brazil posts a fiscal surplus in January, but public finances remain fragile

  

  The Brazilian government posted a fiscal surplus of 46.9 billion reais (US$ 12.5 billion) in January, the central bank said, above forecasts but unchanged from a year earlier. In Brazil, January is traditionally marked by higher tax revenues and lighter spending, so these figures do not change the fragile outlook for public finances, analysts said.

• Wednesday, March 6th 2019 - 08:20 UTC

  China's National Congress told the economy faces a “tough struggle ahead”

  

  China's number two leader Li Keqiang has warned the country faces “a tough struggle,” as he laid out plans to prop up the world's second-largest economy. Opening the annual session of China's parliament, he forecast a slower growth of 6% - 6.5% this year, down from a target of around 6.5% in 2018.

• Wednesday, March 6th 2019 - 08:06 UTC

  UK considering massive tariffs cut in the event of a no-deal Brexit

  

  The UK government may cut trade tariffs on between 80% and 90% of goods in the event of a no-deal Brexit, reports say. Some tariffs would be scrapped completely, including those on car parts, and some agricultural produce. However, 10-20% of key products would continue to be protected by the current level of tariffs, including some textiles, cars, beef, lamb and dairy.

• Tuesday, March 5th 2019 - 09:55 UTC

  World markets fall as China cuts its economic growth target

  

  Asian shares stepped back on Tuesday after China cut its economic growth target and pledged measures to support the economy amid growing challenges from rising debt and a dispute over trade and technology with the United States. Australian shares dropped 0.6% while South Korea's Kospi lost 0.5%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.2% and Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.3%.

• Tuesday, March 5th 2019 - 09:55 UTC

  Trump tightens trade embargo on Cuba; retaliation for Havana's support for Maduro

  

  The Trump administration announced Monday that it is tightening the six-decade trade embargo on Cuba by allowing lawsuits against Cuban companies using properties confiscated after its 1959 revolution.

• Tuesday, March 5th 2019 - 04:30 UTC

  World gigabyte costs: India the cheapest and Falklands among the most expensive

  

  A study into the amount people pay for mobile data has found that the UK has some of the most expensive prices in Europe. Likewise the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena figure among the five worst cases in the site Cable.co.uk. The research found that one gigabyte (GB) of data cost $0.26 (£0.20) in India but $6.66 in the UK, and US$ 47.39 in the Falklands.