After months of labor strife and fruitless discussions between the company and Germany’s biggest labor union, Volkswagen’s factory workers walked off the job on 2 December.
Tag: Economy
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LUXURY INDUSTRY SHRUGS OFF LOSS OF MIDDLE-TIER CUSTOMERS
The luxury industry, purveyor of $12,000 wristwatches and thousand-dollar bottles of cognac, can expect 2024 sales to finish flat after losing an estimated 50 million customers—more than 10 percent of its market—since 2022, research firm Bain & Co. reported.
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SOUTH KOREA’S CENTRAL BANK CUTS INTEREST RATE
On 28 November, the Bank of Korea shaved a quarter point from its key lending rate, dropping it to 3 percent, partly over concerns that looming U.S. tariffs could damage South Korea’s export-dependent economy, the Financial Times reported.
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CANADA’S PER-PERSON GDP CONTINUED TO SHRINK IN THIRD QUARTER
Canada’s economy squeezed out 1-percent growth in this year’s third quarter, a sharp reduction from the 2.2 percent booked in the second, Statistics Canada reported.
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OPEC+ TRIES TO REIN IN OVERPRODUCERS AHEAD OF KEY MEETING
On 27 November, the Russian and Saudi oil ministers held talks with their counterpart in Kazakhstan, which has consistently produced more oil than its agreed-upon amounts and thereby angered the group’s other members.
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INDIA’S ECONOMY SLOWS UNEXPECTEDLY IN FISCAL SECOND QUARTER
In July through September, India’s economy expanded at an annual rate of 5.4 percent, its smallest growth rate in seven quarters.
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EUROZONE INFLATION TICKS UP AS PRESSURES REMAIN
Inflation across the 20-country Eurozone rose from 2.0 percent in October to 2.3 percent in November, a change that economists had expected as winter weather and the holiday shopping season boosted demand and prices for related goods.
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GERMANS CUT SPENDING AS ECONOMY WEAKENS, SURVEY FINDS
Germans are continuing to lose confidence in their economic future, a new survey found.
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SPOTLIGHT: BIGS GETTING BIGGER
The Blackstone private equity firm has gobbled down a majority interest in the Jersey Mike’s sub sandwich chain.
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SPOTLIGHT: HARD TIMES FOR CONSUMER-FACING COMPANIES
Nestlé has pared back its medium-term profit outlook and launched a cost-cutting campaign as part of new CEO Laurent Freixe’s turnaround program for the world’s biggest processed foods maker.