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US labels Switzerland, Vietnam as currency manipulators

The Trump administration has labeled Switzerland and Vietnam as currency manipulators. In a statement, the US Treasury Department said the two countries devalued their currencies to gain unfair advantage in international trade. The move could pave the way for punitive actions by Washington.

UK launches inquiry into airlines over lockdown refunds

The UK's competition watchdog has launched an investigation into airlines that have refused to give cash refunds to passengers. The Competition and Markets Authority said it would look at cases during the second coronavirus lockdown, when people were unable to travel lawfully for non-essential purposes. Flights were still operating during this period.

MacKenzie Scott donates $4B to emergency relief funds

MacKenzie Scott says she's donated more than four billion dollars to food banks and emergency relief funds in the past four months. She was formerly married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Scott signed the Giving Pledge in 2019, agreeing to donate the bulk of her wealth to charity. The philanthropist is the world's 18th richest person, with a net worth of more than 60 billion dollars.

Turkey's budget swings into $1.7B surplus in November

Turkey's budget swung to a surplus in November after being in deficit for two months. The central government posted a monthly budgetary surplus of 1-point-7 billion dollars, lowering the deficit for the year to 19-billion- dollars. Revenue rose 32-percent from a year earlier, while spending excluding interest payments rose an annualised 28-percent.

Inditex sales return to almost pre-crisis levels in Q3

Sales at the Spanish clothing company, Inditex, have recovered to close to pre-pandemic levels thanks to its cost-cutting efforts. That's despite revenue at the Zara owner falling 14-percent in the third quarter, following a drop of 31-percent in the previous three-month period. Meanwhile, Swedish rival H&M has reported a 10-percent fall in quarterly sales, as a second wave of lockdowns curbed spending.

Pinterest to pay $22.5M to settle gender discrimination suit

Pinterest has settled the gender discrimination lawsuit brought by its former chief operating officer, Francoise Brougher. As part of the deal, the photo-sharing company agreed to pay 22-and- a-half million dollars in compensation. In the lawsuit filed in August, Brougher accused Pinterest of excluding her from meetings after she pushed for equal pay.

Russia denies hacking US Treasury emails

Moscow has denied reports that Russian hackers have been monitoring internal e-mail traffic at the US Treasury Department. A Reuters report also says hackers gained access to an agency that decides internet and telecommunications policy. The breach triggered a National Security Council meeting at the White House on Saturday.

Turkey's industrial production, retail sales up in October

Turkey's industrial production rose 10-point-2 percent from a year ago in October, marking the fifth consecutive month of growth. That's as the economic recovery picked-up pace following coronavirus lockdowns. Meanwhile, retail sales also jumped 12-percent year-on-year, driven by a surge in online and mail-order sales, as people stayed at home during the pandemic.

Gaming firm EA to buy Codemasters for $1.2B

Video games maker, Electronic Arts, has agreed to buy UK racing game developer, Codemasters, for 1-point-2 billion dollars. The deal trumps a 970-million- dollar offer from US rival Take-Two Interactive Software that was accepted last month. The move comes amid increasing consolidation in the industry as the pandemic boosts demand for gaming.

EU leaders agree on budget, COVID-19 recovery package

EU leaders have approved an historic 2.2-trillion- dollar budget and stimulus package. The agreement paves the way for the European Union to implement its seven-year budget, which includes a pandemic relief package worth almost 1-trillion- dollars. Hungary and Poland had threatened to veto the budget over a mechanism that ties funding to upholding democratic standards.

German audit watchdog chief faces probe over Wirecard

German Economy Minister, Peter Altmaier, will open a probe into the head of the country's audit watchdog, Ralf Bose. Bose has admitted to buying and selling Wirecard shares while his organisation was investigating the auditor of the payments firm. Wirecard collapsed into insolvency in June after it disclosed a 2-point-2 billion dollar hole in its accounts.

Disney forecasts streaming subscribers will triple by 2024

Walt Disney Company has increased subscriber forecasts for its video streaming business. The media giant now expects Disney Plus to attract as many as 260-million subscribers by 2024, more than triple its previous forecast. Disney will also raise the price of the service by one dollar in the US, and by 2-dollars and 40 cents in Europe.

UK and Singapore sign post-Brexit free trade agreement

The UK and Singapore have signed a free trade agreement worth around 23-billion- dollars. Under the deal, companies from both countries will continue to enjoy the same benefits they're receiving under an existing EU-Singapore trade pact. The new agreement will come into effect in January, when Britain becomes an independent trading nation.

Turkey's unemployment rate falls to lowest level since 2018

Turkey's unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level since 2018, as the economy gained steam between the first and second waves of the pandemic. The jobless rate fell to 12-point-7 percent in September, compared to 13-point-8 percent in the same month a year ago. Last week, the government extended a wage-support system for another three months after imposing new lockdown measures.

Hunter Biden says he is under investigation over taxes

US president-elect Joe Biden's son, Hunter, says he's under investigation over his tax affairs. Federal prosecutors have reportedly been examining whether Hunter Biden and his associates violated tax and money laundering laws in their business dealings with foreign countries. He was targeted by President Trump throughout the election campaign for using his father's political connections.

UK to ditch tariffs on US goods in Airbus-Boeing dispute

The UK is dropping EU tariffs against the US over aircraft subsidies, as it looks to seal a post-Brexit trade deal with Washington. Last month, the European Union imposed tariffs on US imports worth 4-billion- dollars after the World Trade Organization ruled the US had given illegal state aid to Boeing. The UK's decision will come into effect in January, when Britain becomes an independent trading nation.

UAE says China's COVID-19 vaccine has 86% efficacy rate

The United Arab Emirates' health ministry says China's state-backed coronavirus vaccine has an 86-percent efficacy rate. The Gulf nation started Phase 3 clinical trials of the Sinopharm vaccine in July, involving 31-thousand volunteers across 125 nationalities. The ministry also says the results show no serious safety concerns.

Uber sells its air taxi business Elevate to Joby Aviation

Uber Technologies has agreed to sell its air taxi business, Uber Elevate, to aerospace firm, Joby Aviation. The transaction is part of a complex deal that includes Uber investing 75-million- dollars into Joby and an expanded partnership between the two companies. The sale comes a day after the ride-hailing firm offloaded its self-driving unit to Aurora.

Japan announces another $708B stimulus package

Japan is boosting its stimulus measures with another 708-billion- dollar package to help businesses affected by the pandemic. This brings the total amount set aside to combat the virus fallout to nearly 3-trillion- dollars. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says the fresh stimulus will boost Japan's gross domestic product by around 3-point-6 percent.

South Africa exits longest recession in almost three decades

South Africa has exited its longest recession in almost 30 years as the economy rebounded more than expected in the third quarter. GDP expanded an annualised 66-point-1 percent from the previous quarter when lockdowns stalled activity. All sectors grew in the July to September period, with mining surging more than 280-percent and manufacturing jumping 210-percent.

JD Health shares surge 56% on Hong Kong debut

Shares in JD Health have leapt 56-percent on their market debut, valuing the company at 44-billion- dollars. The health-care arm of the Chinese e-commerce giant JD-dot-com has sold 340-million- shares at 9-dollars and 10-cents each.. raising nearly 3-and- a-half billion dollars ahead of trading. The IPO is the largest on the Hong Kong stock exchange so far this year.

China's trade surplus hits record as exports surge 21%

China's exports surged at the fastest pace in almost three years in November, as importers stocked-up for the new year holiday. Shipments abroad rose 21-percent from a year ago, while imports were also up around 4-and- a-half percent. As a result, the trade surplus of the world's second-largest economy has grown to a record high of 75-billion- dollars.

Lufthansa to reportedly cut nearly 30,000 jobs by year end

Lufthansa will reportedly cut nearly 30-thousand jobs this month as it struggles to survive the coronavirus crisis. According to Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper, the carrier will shed 7-and- a-half thousand jobs by selling its catering unit, LSG.. with the remaining cuts affecting roles outside of the country. The report also says a further 10-thousand jobs would be cut in Germany next year.

Mike Ashley's Frasers Group in talks to rescue Debenhams

British billionaire Mike Ashley's Frasers Group is in talks with Debenhams about a possible last-minute rescue deal. The 200-year-old UK department store chain is set to shut all 124 outlets next year after it failed to find a buyer for the business. Ashley has previously bought other struggling High Street retailers, including House of Fraser and Evans Cycles.

Shares in Turkey's Kervan Gida jump 10% on market debut

Shares in Turkish confectionery producer, Kervan Gida, jumped 10-percent on the first day of trading, valuing the company at 237-million dollars. The IPO is the largest on the Borsa Istanbul in more than two years. Norway's 1-trillion dollar sovereign wealth fund was the biggest single buyer of stock, purchasing 7-point-7 percent of shares worth 510-thousand dollars.

Organisers say delay of 2020 Games to cost around $2.8B

The organising committee of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games say the total cost of delaying the event will be around 2-point-8 billion dollars. That's on top of the previous budget of about 13-billion dollars. The Tokyo Games were set to take place in July but were postponed due to the pandemic. They're now scheduled to begin on the 23rd of July next year.

Warner Bros to release 2021 movies on HBO Max and in cinemas

Warner Brothers says it will debut all of its 2021 movies in theatres and on the HBO Max streaming service simultaneously. The decision is a fresh blow to cinema operators as they struggle with the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Shares in the world's largest theater operator, AMC, fell around 15-percent on the news, while rival Cinemark dropped more than 20-percent.

Ryanair orders 75 additional Boeing 737 MAX planes

Europe's biggest low-cost carrier, Ryanair, has agreed to buy 75 additional Boeing 737 MAX jets with a catalogue value of 9 billion dollars. The deal marks the first major order for the embattled plane-maker, whose MAX series has been grounded since last March following two deadly crashes. Last month, US and European regulators lifted the ban after changes to the jets' cockpit software and training procedures.

US passes bill that could delist Chinese firms from markets

Chinese companies will be banned from US stock exchanges if they don't comply with auditing rules. The 'Holding Foreign Companies Accountable' Act has been approved by the US House of Representatives after the Senate passed it in May. The new law will force companies to reveal their audited accounts to US authorities, something that's currently banned by Beijing.

Turkey's annual inflation rises to 14.03% in November

Turkey's annual inflation rose to 14-percent in November, maintaining pressure for tighter monetary policy following a sharp rate hike last month. The cost of miscellaneous goods and services jumped the most, with prices rising 29-percent.. followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages, which rose 21-percent. In October, annual inflation stood at 11-point-9 percent.