Category: Business

Norway’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate on Thursday and said it expects to hike again in December, as it joins a short but growing list of nations moving away from emergency-level borrowing costs. Norges Bank’s monetary policy committee raised the sight deposit rate to 0.25% from a record low of zero, as forecast unanimously in a Reuters poll of analysts and in line with the central bank’s own plan. “There is a strong recovery in the Norwegian economy,” Norges Bank Governor Oeystein Olsen told a news conference. “It’s…

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week for a fourth straight time to a pandemic low, the latest sign that America’s job market is rebounding from the pandemic recession as employers boost hiring to meet a surge in consumer demand. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims fell by 29,000 to 348,000. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, also fell — by 19,000, to just below 378,000, also a pandemic low. The weekly pace of applications for unemployment aid has fallen more…

International Business Machines Corp. is temporarily closing its offices in New York City amid rising Covid-19 cases in the Big Apple, but the company stopped short of delaying plans to reopen other U.S. locations by September. Employees were notified on Wednesday that New York City offices will be open for essential staff only, an IBM spokeswoman said in a statement, citing “current clinical conditions” that “do not meet IBM’s health and safety protocols.” IBM’s decision comes as the delta variant spurs companies to re-evaluate return-to-work plans as infections spike across…

Denmark, the Scandinavian country squished between Germany and Sweden, is ranked the easiest place to do business in the world, according to the recently published Global Business Complexity Index 2021. The report explains: “In Denmark, you can incorporate a company within a day,due to the fact that there is one single entry point for all registrations, and all necessary bodies and organisations are automatically notified.”France came second to worst of the 77 countries ranked. “France’s place as the second most complex jurisdiction is driven by complexities in accounting and tax…

STOCKHOLM, July 23 – Volvo Cars reported a return to profit in the first half as demand for electric cars pushed earnings above pre-pandemic levels, putting the carmaker on a firmer footing as it considers a possible IPO this year. Sweden-based Volvo, owned by China’s Geely Holding (GEELY.UL), said on Friday it made a first-half profit of 13.24 billion Swedish crowns ($1.52 billion), more than double its profit of 5.52 billion crowns in the corresponding period of 2019, before the coronavirus struck. Like several other automakers Volvo has been forced…