Japan's industrial output extended gains in April as manufacturers benefited from a recovery in appetite for capital goods, especially in key overseas markets.
Retail & ConsumerSpain retail sales rise 14.9% y/y in March
Reuters
1 minute read
Spanish retail sales rose 14.9% in March from a year earlier on a calendar-adjusted basis, compared with a 6.1% contraction in February, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said on Friday.
The February figure was revised from a preliminary 5.9% contraction, INE said.
Retail & ConsumerUK retail sales surge before lockdown easing, borrowing leaps, too
ReutersWilliam SchombergAndy Bruce
4 minutes read
A woman shops in the Selfridges department store on Oxford street, as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions ease, in London, Britain April 12, 2021. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
British retail sales jumped last month before a partial lifting of coronavirus restrictions, suggesting an economic rebound is under way, but official data also showed record peacetime government borrowing.
Sales volumes leapt by 5.4% in March from February with clothing retailers able to sell online benefiting especially as consumers got ready to venture out after being locked down for much of the past year.
AfricaLabour unions declare wage dispute at S.Africa s Transnet
Reuters
1 minute read
Two unions declared a dispute with South Africa s Transnet on Thursday after wage talks broke down, and warned of possible strike action if the state-owned freight logistics firm failed to present a better offer.
The United National Transport Union (UNTU) and the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) baulked at Transnet s offer of a 3% wage hike - a figure they described in a joint statement as so bad that organised labour canât even present it to their constituents to obtain a revised mandate.
Transnet, which operates major ports and a huge railway network that transports minerals and other commodities for export, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
U.S. retail sales rose by the most in 10 months in March as Americans received additional pandemic relief checks from the government and increased COVID-19 vaccinations allowed broader economic re-engagement, cementing expectations for robust growth in the first quarter.