Allianz, a German insurer and financial services company, is in exclusive negotiations to buy Viridium, a provider of specialized insurance services, for €3 billion, equivalent to about $3.3 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Category: TRENDS ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC FRONT – Mar 11 2025
SPECIAL REPORT: TRUMP’S TARIFF GUESS
The Trump administration put a one-month pause on the blanket 25-percent import duties on goods entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico.
ANOTHER LUXURY HOUSE REPORTS A BAD YEAR
Salvatore Ferragamo, the Italian high-fashion house known for its shoes and handbags, booked a net loss of €68.1 million—equivalent to about $73 million—in 2024 after revenue dropped 11 percent.
IMF UPGRADES CHINA’S 2025 GROWTH FORECAST
Thanks to a new flurry of stimulus measures, China’s economy is likely to expand by 5.4 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said, upgrading its number from its 5.0-percent forecast last fall.
CANADA’S JOB GROWTH SLOWS IN FEBRUARY
Canada’s economy needed only 1,100 new workers in February, frustrating analysts’ expectations that the country would add 20,000 jobs for the month. The unemployment rate held steady at 6.6 percent.
ECB CUTS KEY RATE TO PROTECT AGAINST SHOCKS
On 6 March, the European Central Bank (ECB) shaved a quarter point off its key interest rate, dropping it to 2.5 percent.
SO FAR, TRUMP STRATEGY WEAKENS U.S., BOOSTS EUROPE
U.S. investors greeted Donald Trump’s re-election with joy, anticipating tax cuts, fewer regulations, and soaring profits. Stock prices climbed even further beyond the value of companies’ future earnings. The difference between stock prices and the price of government bonds widened to its greatest in 20 years.
AMID RECESSION, GERMANY SPENDS BIG ON MILITARY, INFRASTRUCTURE
As Germany enters what is likely to be a third year of recession, new chancellor-in-waiting Freidrich Merz has chucked the financial caution that ruled preceding administrations.
GOING OUT OF BUSINESS TRENDS
The economic landscape has presented an array of challenges that will profoundly affect the business community this year.
WHEN THE ECONOMY FALLS, JOBS GO WITH IT
The U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday. Employment was up in health care, financial activities, transportation and warehousing, and social assistance.