China’s service sector, which has lagged manufacturing’s economic recovery, posted its best results this year in April, according to the private Caixin China services purchasing managers index. The index rose to 56.3 in April, up 2 points from March, to post its best reading since December, Caixin Media Co. reported. Levels above 50 signal growth; the higher the number, the...

Commerzbank, Germany’s third-largest bank, and its employees have agreed on a plan to cut 10,000 jobs. The plan includes early retirement and reduced hours for older workers, retraining for workers whose jobs are eliminated, and severance packages for those who are fired, the Verdi labor union announced on 8 May. The affected workers will not transition suddenly all at once,...

Britain’s central bank has raised its growth forecast for the U.K.’s economy this year by almost 50 percent, from 5 percent predicted in February to 7.25 percent now. If realized, it would be the U.K.’s greatest one-year economic expansion in the 72 years the bank has kept records. The brighter outlook has moved the bank to plan to reduce the...

Supply chains and shipping will be undependable for the rest of this year, Soren Skou, CEO of AP Moeller-Maersk, the world’s largest shipping line, said last week in comments announcing the company’s highest quarterly profit in its 117-year history. The cost of shipping – and profits for Maersk and its competitors – will remain high through 2021 because of surging...