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French Economy Gets Olympic Boost as Germany’s Malaise Deepens

(Bloomberg) -- French services expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years, driving Europe’s second-biggest economy as visitors from around the world flocked to Paris for the Olympic Games.Most Read from BloombergThe Serious Work That Free Play Can DoS&P Global’s Purchasing Managers’ Index for the sector surged to 55 in August from 50.1 in July, far above the 50 threshold that divides growth from contraction and the median estimate of 50.3 in a Bloomberg survey.A gauge for the private se

Labor dispute stops Canadian freight railroads and could cause major economic disruption in US

Both of Canada’s major freight railroads have come to a full stop because of a contract dispute with their workers, an impasse that could bring significant economic harm to businesses and consumers in Canada and the U.S. if the trains don’t resume running soon. Canadian National and CPKC railroads both locked out their employees after the deadline of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Thursday passed without new agreements with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference that represents some 10,000 engineers, conductors and dispatchers. All rail traffic in Canada and all shipments crossing the U.S. border have stopped, although CPKC and CN’s trains will continue to operate in the U.S. and Mexico.

Bangladesh to hike interest rates to 9% in coming days to tame inflation, cbank chief tells BBC

The move comes after weeks of political unrest in the country fuelled a sharp rise in inflation, touching 11.66% in July, amid an ongoing struggle with shrinking reserves and exports from the mainstay garments industry taking a hit. Bangladesh Bank's new governor, Ahsan H. Mansur, appointed just a week ago, also said that he would raise interest rates further to 10% or more in the coming months. Mansur could not be immediately reached for a comment.