KAGOSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya said the central bank could widen the band at which it allows long-term interest rates to move around its target, signaling its readiness to accept further falls in bond yields if driven by market forces. The BOJ currently allows 10-year government bond yields to […]
KUALA LUMPUR (REUTERS) – Malaysia will review its labour laws to cut an “over-dependence” on foreign labour and address other issues, its prime minister said on Thursday (Aug 1), amid simmering discontent against overseas workers who make up 46 per cent of the labour force. In the first quarter of the year, South-east Asia’s third-biggest […]
SINGAPORE – Structural cracks were found about a month before an uncompleted viaduct near Upper Changi Road collapsed and caused the death of one worker and injuries to 10 others. On Thursday (Aug 1), the court heard that cracks were first found on June 16, 2017 before more were discovered on June 30. The Pan-Island […]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In cutting U.S. interest rates but signaling that a series of further cuts was unlikely, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday took a page from the playbook of his predecessor Alan Greenspan, who used a similar tactic in the 1990s with apparent success. Rather than marking the start to a lengthy […]
TAIPEI (REUTERS) – Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday (August 1) called Beijing’s ban on individual tourists to the island a “major strategic mistake” amid heightened tension with giant neighbour China. China is using mainland tourists as “political tools” and the move would create antipathy in Taiwanese people, Ms Tsai told reporters in Taipei. China […]
South Korea has detained a North Korean soldier who crossed the heavily guarded demilitarised zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas. He was detected by thermal imaging equipment overnight, said South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JSC). The unidentified man was an active-duty soldier who expressed interest in defecting to Seoul, said the JCS. Dozens […]
SYDNEY (REUTERS) – Australian casino giant Crown Resorts issued full-page newspaper ads on Thursday (Aug 1) describing recent media reports that alleged it pressured officials to fast-track visas for Chinese gamblers as a”deceitful campaign”. Following the reports by several news outlets, Attorney-General Christian Porter said on Tuesday he had referred the allegations to an anti-corruption […]
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s Finance Ministry has lowered its growth forecast for 2019 to 1.1% as evidence mounts that Latin America’s second-largest economy is falling short of the government’s expectations. In an update on the country’s budget, the ministry said it had cut the forecast from a prediction of 2% made when the government […]
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese manufacturing deteriorated for a third month in July, a revised survey showed on Thursday, offering another sign of how trade protectionism and slower global growth are denting the economy. The final Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was up a notch at a seasonally adjusted 49.4 compared to 49.3 […]
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Investors are hoping for generous dividend payouts as some of Australia’s biggest companies look set to report profit declines this month, and will punish underperformance in a market trading at record highs, fund managers and analysts said. The prospect of across-the-board earnings disappointment in a frothy sharemarket puts the spotlight on capital […]