Headlines

Brazilian cosmetics maker Natura &Co is in exclusive talks with asset manager IG4 for the potential sale of Avon's operations outside Latin America, it said on Thursday, sending its shares higher, Reuters reported.

Retailers in the U.K. reported a brighter start to the new year, with sales rising after four straight months of falls, though rebounding inflation and low consumer confidence suggest the outlook for the sector remains uncertain, the Wall Street Journal reported. U.K. retail sales volumes were 1.7% higher in January than in the prior month, from a fall of 0.6% in December, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. Food store sales volumes jumped 5.6%, the largest rise since March 2020, following falls in recent months, the ONS said.

Canadian consumers tightened their grip on their purse strings after a holiday splurge, Bloomberg News reported. An advance estimate suggests receipts for retailers fell 0.4% in January, Statistics Canada said Friday. That would be the first contraction in seven months and follows a solid gain of 2.5% in December, which is the biggest jump since May 2022 and beat the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. A federal sales tax holiday between Dec. 14 and Feb. 15 was likely a major driver of the robust spending, although the momentum didn’t appear to last in January.

Japan's core consumer inflation hit 3.2% in January for its fastest pace in 19 months, data showed on Friday, reinforcing expectations that the central bank will keep raising interest rates from levels still seen as low, Reuters reported. Bond yields rose on the data, as markets factor in the chance that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could hike interest rates more aggressively than initially thought as inflationary pressure mounts.

A decade ago, Germany was the model nation. Its economy hadn’t just withstood the ascendance of China; it was thriving in its wake. Its balanced public finances stood out in a world of huge government debt. And while British and U.S. lawmakers were caught up in the culture wars, German politicians continued to practice the art of compromise. Today, Germany has gone from paragon to pariah, according to a Wall Street Journal commentary. Its economic model is broken, its self-confidence shattered and its political landscape fractured.

Chinese companies, mainly those in the tech sector, are accelerating plans to raise funds offshore, tapping into a rebound in investor sentiment fueled by hopes of Beijing's support for private firms and the popularity of DeepSeek, bankers said, Reuters reported. In a sign of the pickup in offshore equity sale momentum, two tech companies raised $500 million in total this week alone, and bankers and lawyers said a growing list of firms is preparing to launch offshore equity sales in the coming months.

Mexico’s economy posted the biggest quarterly contraction since 2021, with domestic demand and private investment faltering just as tensions with its top trade partner mount, Bloomberg News reported. Gross domestic product fell 0.6% in the three months through December, matching the 0.6% decline reported in preliminary data released by the country’s national statistics institute Jan. 30. From a year ago, GDP expanded 0.5%, less than the flash reading of 0.6%, according to the final data published Friday.

Mastercard's agreement to settle a landmark lawsuit brought on behalf of British consumers was approved by a London tribunal on Friday, despite opposition from the firm that funded the litigation, Reuters reported. The global payments processor said the Competition Appeal Tribunal had approved an agreement it announced in December to settle the long-running litigation over card fees for 200 million pounds ($253 million).

Singapore announced on Friday a set of measures to rejuvenate its equities market, including a 20% tax rebate for primary listings and a S$5 billion ($3.74 billion) program that focuses on investing in domestic stocks, Reuters reported. The statement offers more details on measures Singapore's equities market review group announced on February 13 to revive its stock market that has come under pressure from a dearth of mega listings and softer trading liquidity.

Legal warnings posted on the door of a private, for-profit hospital in eastern China tracked its descent into financial failure, the New York Times reported. Huiren Hospital in the city of Suqian was warned for failing to pay employees. Four months later, a judicial summons said it still had not paid back wages. Finally, in September a paper taped across its entrance declared the building closed. The hospital, once known for treating men with infertility or sexually transmitted diseases, had been hollowed out. The furniture and equipment were gone. There was no staff.