U.S. retail sales fell for a third straight month in December as renewed measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 triggered job losses, further evidence that the wounded economy lost considerable speed at the end of 2020.
* Retail sales fall 0.7% in December. * Core retail sales drop 1.9%; November revised down. * Manufacturing production increases 0.9% By Lucia Mutikani. U.S. retail sales fell for a third straight month in December as renewed measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 triggered job losses, further evidence that the wounded economy lost considerable speed at the end of 2020.
SÃO PAULO--Brazil retail sales fell slightly in November as shoppers spent less at supermarkets and hypermarkets and cut back on purchases of new furniture and home appliances. Sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in the month, the first decline in seven months, and rose 3.4% from a year earlier, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE said Thursday. In October, sales climbed a revised 0.8% in the month and rose a revised 8.4% from a year earlier.
Brazilian retail sales surprisingly fell in November, official figures showed on Friday, the first decline in seven months mainly driven by a sizeable fall in sales of food products. Retail activity had rebounded to record levels in October from the depths of the COVID-19 crisis earlier last year, which Economy Ministry officials said reflected the wider economic rebound.
Retail sales volumes excluding cars and building materials in Brazil fell 0.1% in November from October, government statistics agency IBGE said on Friday, a weaker performance than the 0.4% rise forecast by a Reuters poll of economists. Sales grew 3.4% from the year-earlier period, compared to expectations for a 4.9% increase in the Reuters poll.
France all but killed off a possible $20 billion takeover of Carrefour by Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard (ANCTF) on Friday, saying it would oppose any deal to ensure the security of its food sector.
- Automakers around the world are shutting assembly lines because of a global shortage of semiconductors that in some cases has been exacerbated by the Trump administration's actions against key Chinese chip factories, industry officials said.
Automakers around the world are shutting assembly lines because of a global shortage of semiconductors that in some cases has been exacerbated by the Trump administration's actions against key Chinese chip factories, industry officials said.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average inched lower on Friday after rising for five straight sessions to hit a three-decade high, although losses were capped by tech-related shares after Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC posted its best-ever quarterly profit.
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