COPENHAGEN Ai Weiwei will launch collection points in cities around the world for LEGO bricks after the Danish toy maker declined to fulfill a bulk order due to the Chinese artist and dissident’s political activism, his studio said. LEGO confirmed on Monday th... More »
TOKYO Japan’s Ministry of Finance on Monday called for cuts in the country’s budget spending for U.S. forces stationed in Japan in a bid to restore public finances, a move likely to meet opposition from its key ally Washington. The move comes after passage of ... More »
TOKYO The Bank of Japan need not boost its massive monetary stimulus this week as the labor market remains tight, a key economic adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday. Koichi Hamada, an emeritus professor of economics at Yale University, also tol... More »
TOKYO Japan’s Sharp Corp warned of a six-month operating loss due to increased pricing pressure for its smartphone display business. The company forecast an operating loss of 26 billion yen ($215 million) compared with its previous forecast for a profit of 10 ... More »
LONDON, Anyone who goes down with flu in Europe this winter could be asked to enroll in a randomized clinical trial in which they will either be given a drug, which may or may not work, or standard advice to take bed rest and paracetamol. Those who agree could... More »
SINGAPORE Crude oil prices remained weak on Monday as a slowing demand outlook implied oversupply will remain in place for months, prompting speculators to cut their bets on rising prices. Front-month U.S. crude futures were trading at $44.62 per barrel at 2.5... More »
TOKYO Asian stocks on Monday were close to wiping out all their losses since China’s shock currency devaluation in August, as global equities rallied after the Chinese central bank cut rates and U.S. tech giants provided upbeat earning guidance. MSCI’s index o... More »
TOKYO The dollar dipped on Monday as the currency took a breather after scaling a 2-1/2-month high versus a basket of peers, although an improvement in risk appetite after China’s monetary easing limited the losses. Stock markets gained worldwide after China o... More »
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG The Di Mei shopping center in downtown Shanghai is a surprisingly depressing place to shop. The underground mall is located in one of the most shopping-mad cities in China, and yet it is run down and starved of customers. “Sometimes I cannot... More »
SINGAPORE Countries should not bank on oil prices remaining low when formulating their energy policies, as supplies could tighten from mid-2016 due to a drop in investment and falling U.S. output, a senior industry official said on Monday. Global oil prices LC... More »
BEIJING/SHANGHAI China’s ruling Communist Party opened a key meeting on Monday that will focus on financial reforms and how to maintain growth of around seven percent and more broadly map out economic and social targets for the next five years. The Central Com... More »
The president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, has formally entered the race to become FIFA president, the Bahrain News Agency reported on Sunday. The agency said Sheikh Salman had submitted his paperw... More »
BEIJING Liberalizing China’s interest rates is a key element of financial reform, the country’s central bank said on Monday, adding that cutting borrowing costs and lowering the amount of cash banks must keep as reserves do not equate to quantitative easing. T... More »
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – It was a pre-Halloween massacre at the multiplexes. Four new films, including “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension” and Vin Diesel’s “The Last Witch Hunter,” crowded into theaters this weekend and were swiftly pulverized and le... More »
TOKYO Toshiba Corp is set to sell its image sensor business to Sony Corp for around 20 billion yen ($164.68 million) as part of a restructuring plan laid out earlier this year, sources with knowledge of the deal said on Saturday. Toshiba, whose businesses rang... More »
GENEVA The world should stop vaccinating children against one of the three strains of the crippling polio virus as part of a drive to eradicate the disease once and for all, a group of health experts has advised the World Health Organization. There is no cure ... More »
WASHINGTON The plague germ that caused the “Black Death” in the 14th century and other ferocious pandemics has stalked humankind far longer than previously known. A study unveiled on Thursday of DNA from Bronze Age people in Europe and Asia showed the bacteriu... More »
NEW YORK Stocks rose in the United States and Europe and the dollar hit a three-week high against the euro after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said further rate cuts were being considered to stimulate the euro zone economy. The ECB, as widely ex... More »
WASHINGTON A diet of putrid rotting flesh may not be your cup of tea, but to the cinereous vulture, found across southern Europe and Asia, it is positively delightful. This tough bird, it turns out, is genetically wired to thrive on the stuff. Researchers on T... More »
Hackers associated with the Chinese government have tried to penetrate at least seven U.S. companies in the three weeks since Washington and Beijing agreed not to spy on each other for commercial reasons, according to a prominent U.S. security firm. CrowdStrik... More »
TOKYO Japan’s economy is expected to have slowed sharply in the third quarter as demand across Asia ebbed, keeping the Bank of Japan and policymakers under pressure to inject more stimulus to revitalize growth, a Reuters poll found. The poll of 21 economists p... More »
STA. ROSA, Philippines A typhoon swept across the northern Philippines killing at least nine people as trees, power lines and walls were toppled and flood waters spread far from riverbeds, but tens of thousands of people were evacuated in time. Officials fear ... More »
SYDNEY Australia’s hardline immigration policies overshadowed the launch of its bid to join the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday, with the government and rights lawyers arguing bitterly over a pregnant Somali asylum-seeker who claims she was raped. Immigrat... More »
BEIJING China’s economic growth dipped below 7 percent for the first time since the global financial crisis on Monday, hurt partly by cooling investment, raising pressure on Beijing to further cut interest rates and take other measures to stoke activity. The w... More »
BEIJING China’s economy will maintain stable growth in the future, a spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday, after growth eased to the slowest since the global financial crisis. China’s exports face increased downward pressure and the g... More »
BEIJING China’s economic growth eased to 6.9 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, beating expectations but still the slowest since the global financial crisis, putting pressure on policymakers to roll out more support measures as fears of a sharpe... More »
TOKYO The Bank of Japan maintained its upbeat assessment for all nine of the country’s regional economies despite looming external risks such as China’s slowdown, suggesting that it saw no immediate need to expand monetary stimulus further. In a quarterly repo... More »
HONG KONG Asian shares held two-month highs on Monday as a batch of Chinese data showed the economy slowing while still managing to reassure investors it was not in danger of a hard landing. Adding to optimism wee growing bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve wil... More »
Yahoo Inc’s (YHOO.O) chief development officer, Jacqueline Reses, is leaving the company to join mobile payments company Square Inc, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Reses’ role changed earlier this year when she shifted her focus to... More »
Suppliers of everything from groceries to sports equipment are already being squeezed for price cuts and cost sharing by Wal-Mart Stores (WMT.N). Now they are bracing for the pressure to ratchet up even more after a shock earnings warning from the retailer las... More »
TOKYO The dollar was steady against the yen and euro on Friday after stronger-than-expected U.S. data kept alive prospects of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates before year-end. The Australian dollar inched up after Chinese data on Monday showed growth... More »
HONG KONG China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd on Monday said it will spend $1 billion to support information and communication technology developers over the next five years. “The aim is to help developers create innovative services and rapidly respond to custo... More »
TOKYO Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday the country’s economy was expected to continue recovering moderately even though the slowdown in emerging markets was weighing on exports and output. “The BOJ’s quantitative and qualitative easing is ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “Goosebumps” rode a wave of Clinton era nostalgia to the top of the box office charts, as the adaptation of the popular children’s book series earned $23.5 million in its opening weekend. That just edged out Fox’s “The Martian,” the... More »
SAN FRANCISCO International Business Machines Corp said on Friday it allows certain countries to review, under strict control, portions of the U.S. technology company’s product source code to detect any security flaws in its software. China is among those coun... More »
NEW YORK Stocks in major world markets rose to a two-month high on Friday and the dollar ticked up, boosted by views that the European Central Bank may provide more stimulus to the euro zone economy. Oil prices rose nearly 2 percent as traders covered short po... More »
Big fish Chinese gamblers afraid of a corruption crackdown and poorly paid Walmart workers in the United States might seem to have little in common. But in the global economy, they are in some ways two sides of the same coin, and to understand that is to under... More »
ZURICH/LONDON When Tidjane Thiam unveils his plans for Credit Suisse on Wednesday the Swiss bank’s new chief executive will likely rest his case on three Cs: capital, cuts and charm. Thiam will show his hand after taking the reins at Zurich-based Credit Suisse... More »
NEW YORK Wall Street bankers and traders are likely to get smaller bonuses for 2015 as trading revenue plunges. Goldman Sachs said on Thursday that it set aside 16 percent less money for compensation in the third quarter compared with the same period in 2014. ... More »
FRANKFURT U.S. rate hikes could have greater global repercussions than in the past and affect the euro zone more in some respects than the domestic market, European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio said on Thursday. A Federal Reserve rate rise woul... More »
KARACHI The lean days appear to be over for Mor Sahib, an 87-year-old crocodile venerated by Pakistan’s tiny Sheedi community, as pilgrims once again flock to a shrine in Karachi that has been shunned for years amid fears of Taliban attacks. The aging reptile,... More »
BRUSSELS Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (ABI.BR) CEO says a study of SABMiller’s (SAB.L) African beer markets and talks with top shareholders led to an “alignment of stars” that drew it to its nearest rival. But observers say the real catalysts for the $100 billion ta... More »
BOSTON A rash of hacking attacks on U.S. companies over the past two years has prompted insurers to massively increase cyber premiums for some companies, leaving firms that are perceived to be a high risk scrambling for cover. On top of rate hikes, insurers ar... More »
KUALA LUMPUR Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and some leaders of the ruling party jointly demanded resolution of the 1MDB state fund scandal on Monday and condemned a crackdown on dissent, signaling a divide within the coalition. Mahathir has ... More »
MOSCOW Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet the United Nations’ special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Tuesday, RIA news agency quoted the ministry’s press department as saying. RIA said the information came in response to a question on wh... More »
HONG KONG Asian shares rose on Monday, extending an October rally, as investors hunted for bargains in industrials and basic materials, fueled by a rebound in commodities while the dollar struggled as hopes of a Fed rate rise this year faded. European stocks w... More »
SHANGHAI Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Monday it will invest 11.4 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) over the next five years to expand research and development in China, the latest effort by the U.S. carmaker to secure a larger slice of the world’s biggest auto market... More »
BEIJING China’s quality watchdog said on Monday it was “highly concerned” about the mechanism in Volkswagen AG’s (VOWG_p.DE) diesel cars designed to trick emissions tests and would take appropriate follow-up measures. The General Administration of Quality Supe... More »
SINGAPORE The dollar hovered near a three-week low versus a basket of major currencies on Monday, anchored by doubts that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by year-end. The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s value against a basket of... More »
SHANGHAI Now is not the right time for the United States to raise interest rates, given the global economic situation, China’s Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said in an interview published in the China Business News on Monday. Speaking on the sidelines of the annu... More »
SHANGHAI China’s stock market correction is “almost over”, the official China Securities Journal quoted a senior central banker as saying. Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China told an annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and Worl... More »
LIMA, Peru A senior International Monetary Fund official has urged Japan to go ahead with a sales tax hike scheduled for April 2017 to maintain its long-term fiscal credibility. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, the IMF’s deputy managing director, warned on Sunday that flex... More »
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “Pan” walked the plank over the Columbus Day Weekend. Warner Bros. spent $150 million to bring the Neverland adventure to screens and millions more in marketing, but the big-budget fantasy mustered a puny $15.5 million opening. That... More »
POLK CITY, Fla. At a Florida retirement home for former circus elephants, residents enjoy a steady diet of high-quality hay and local fruits and vegetables, as well as baths and occasional walks. For these majestic beasts, this life of relative leisure at the ... More »
TOKYO A Japanese government-backed fund is considering a range of options to help turn around Sharp Corp including a direct investment, a person familiar with the matter said. A direct investment would mark a shift in thinking at the Innovation Network Corpora... More »
The U.S. administration hopes to release the full text of a Pacific trade deal within the next 30 days, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in an interview with CNN. The United States sealed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with 11 trading partner... More »
MANILA American chemist and Nobel laureate Richard Heck died in Manila on Saturday after years of illnesses that left him almost penniless, relatives of his Filipina wife said on Saturday. Heck, 84, along with Japanese Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki, won the... More »
SHANGHAI China on Saturday published draft rules to regulate online car hailing businesses, a booming sector where U.S. firm Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] and Chinese rival Didi Kuaidi have been aggressively competing for market share. The draft rules, publi... More »
STOCKHOLM/MINSK Belarussian author Svetlana Alexievich won the Nobel Prize for Literature on Thursday for her portrayal of the harshness of life in the Soviet Union and in her first public response denounced Russia’s intervention in Ukraine as an “invasion”. T... More »
MINSK The Belarussian recipient of the Nobel prize for literature charged Russia on Thursday with carrying out an “invasion” of Ukraine by backing separatists in its eastern regions. Author Svetlana Alexievich, who was awarded the prize for her portrayal of li... More »
TOKYO It’s a plot that could almost have come from Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, the wildly popular author known for writing about disillusionment, who has been a top pick for the Nobel Literature prize for nearly a decade – in vain. To the bitter disappo... More »
Sony Corp (6758.T) is proceeding with a plan to sell its half of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the world’s largest music publisher, the Wall Street Journal reported. Sony, which owns the unit with Michael Jackson’s estate, recently triggered a clause in its contr... More »
NEW YORK U.S. fund managers, hoping that a bit of Hollywood magic goes a long way in China, have been rushing to invest in IMAX Corp, best known for enormous movie screens. Prospects for growth in China, alongside upcoming releases of expected blockbusters tha... More »
PARIS/SINGAPORE Uber Inc’s aggressive global expansion is looking costlier and riskier than ever as the company struggles with regulatory and competitive obstacles in major markets. Just last week, the company faced a police raid on its European headquarters i... More »
SYDNEY Australia, where Uber is popular but mostly illegal, offers a microcosm of the company’s global challenges. Three years after launch, the service has failed to gain government approvals in most jurisdictions, and two criminal cases that are heading to c... More »
LONDON The dollar nursed losses on Monday, falling around 0.4 percent against the euro and easing against a basket of currencies, after a weak U.S. jobs report drove traders to push back expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike to early 2016. The euro’s bou... More »
KABUL Police and residents said Afghan government forces had regained control of most of the besieged city of Kunduz on Monday, and some shops in the center of the provincial capital opened for the first time since it fell to Taliban fighters a week ago.Reside... More »
BEIJING A typhoon bringing heavy rain churned inland through southern China on Monday, a day after making landfall, killing at least six people, injuring hundreds, knocking out power and overturning cars. The storm made landfall in the southern province of Gua... More »
HONG KONG Hong Kong’s former leader, Donald Tsang, was charged on Monday with two counts of misconduct in public office, the latest in a string of scandals that have ensnared senior business and former political figures in the financial hub. Tsang, 70, retired... More »
SEOUL Crude oil futures rose on Monday after Russia said it was ready to meet other producers to discuss the situation in the global oil market, where prices have more than halved from last year’s highs due to a persistent supply glut. A report showing a fifth... More »
BANGKOK Thailand’s military government, which took power in May last year, appointed a committee to draft the country’s 20th constitution on Monday after a previous draft was rejected, delaying promised elections until at least 2017. The junta-appointed legisl... More »
TOKYO Asian stocks rose on Monday as expectations for a U.S. interest rate hike this year faded after weaker-than-expected employment data. Spreadbetters forecast a higher open for Britain’s FTSE .FTSE, Germany’s DAX .GDAXI and France’s CAC .FCHI as investors ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “The Martian” blasted off with a massive $55 million this weekend, nearly surpassing another space-based adventure, “Gravity,” as the highest-grossing October debut in history. The Ridley Scott release was bolstered by rapturous rev... More »
Ichiro Suzuki got a chance to experience life atop the mound on Sunday when the Miami Marlins let the veteran outfielder pitch the eighth inning of their season finale against Philadelphia. Ichiro, who has more than 4,000 combined hits in Japan and the major l... More »
ATLANTA A dozen Pacific nations closed in on a sweeping free-trade pact on Sunday in Atlanta but failed to finalize terms on the fifth day of round-the-clock talks, dashing hopes raised by an earlier breakthrough on protections for new biotech drugs. U.S. offi... More »
SEOUL South Korea’s central bank chief said on Monday economic growth this year will be near the 2.8 percent level the bank had forecast in July. The central bank will revise its forecasts later this month. “Domestic consumption is considered to be in recovery... More »
TOKYO, Oct 5 – Japan’s services sector expanded in September at a much slower pace compared with the previous month as new business slackened in a sign that domestic demand ended the third quarter on a soft note. The Markit/Nikkei Japan Services Purchasing Man... More »
LONDON The world’s nine biggest insurance companies will have to hold more capital under new rules just finalised by global regulators that aim to prevent taxpayer bailouts of the industry in a crisis. Regulators decided to look at the multi-trillion dollar in... More »
SYDNEY Australian businesses are turning their backs on bitcoin, as signs grow that the cryptocurrency’s mainstream appeal is fading. Concerns about bitcoin’s potential crime links mean many businesses have stopped accepting it, a trend accelerated by Australi... More »
WASHINGTON It was a combination of calamities – an asteroid strike followed by vast volcanic eruptions half a world away – that doomed the dinosaurs and many other creatures 66 million years ago. That is the conclusion of scientists who said on Thursday they h... More »
BENGALURU/LONDON World economic growth lost momentum in September, with China’s factory output shrinking again, euro zone manufacturing growth slowing, and U.S. activity steady. The latest business surveys across Asia, Europe and the Americas paint a gloomier ... More »
BRUGELETTE, Belgium Belgian researchers are examining the excrement of giant pandas to try to understand how they can digest tough bamboo, hoping for clues on how to develop new generations of biofuel. The genetic make-up of endangered pandas is that of a carn... More »
BEIJING/WASHINGTON On Friday morning, Chinese President Xi Jinping enjoyed the symbolic high point of his first state visit to the United States – a 21-gun salute as he stood with President Barack Obama outside the White House. For most Americans, it was a sid... More »
UNITED NATIONS China’s President Xi Jinping told the United Nations on Sunday that all Chinese women have the opportunity to excel, touting his government’s record on women’s rights as the United States slammed Beijing and others for jailing women for their vi... More »
NEW DELHI India launched its first space research observatory and several U.S. satellites on Monday, part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s drive to expand his country’s influence in the competitive, $300 billion global space industry. The observatory, named A... More »
ZURICH The Swiss competition regulator has opened an investigation into possible collusion in the precious metals market by several major banks, it said on Monday, the latest in a string of manipulation probes. Switzerland’s WEKO watchdog said its investigatio... More »
HONG KONG Hundreds of pro-democracy activists rallied near government headquarters on Monday amid tight security to mark the first anniversary of pro-democracy protests that crippled parts of the Chinese-controlled city. Police were on alert to avoid a repeat ... More »
MALE The president of the Maldives was unhurt but his wife and two aides were injured in an explosion on board their launch as it approached Male, capital of the Indian Ocean archipelago, a senior aide told Reuters. The cause of Monday’s blast, witnessed by jo... More »
LONDON The dollar edged back towards a five-week high against a basket of major currencies on Monday, as investors eyed U.S. payrolls numbers and Chinese data later in the week for confirmation of bets the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates this year. Th... More »
SINGAPORE Singapore surprisingly scrapped its two biggest horse races worth S$4 million ($2.80 million) on Monday, claiming they have achieved their purpose and were no longer needed. The S$3 million Singapore Airlines International Cup (SIA), a 2,000 meter Gr... More »
OSAKA, Japan Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda dismissed concern an expected U.S. interest rate hike could jolt global markets, saying that emerging nations are now less concerned that tighter U.S. policy will trigger an exodus of funds from their economi... More »
OSAKA U.S. cable company Comcast Corp said on Monday it has agreed to buy a 51 percent stake in Osaka-based theme park operator USJ Co for $1.5 billion. Comcast said in a statement Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Seoul-based private equity firm MBK Partners and other... More »
The U.S. regulator overseeing the replacement of Takata Corp (7312.T) air bags is considering an order that would expand the recalls and has contacted seven manufacturers who could be affected, including Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O),... More »
SHANGHAI China stocks inched up in thin trading on Monday, as investors remained cautious while shrugging off data showing profits of Chinese industrial companies in August declined at the sharpest rate in four years. The CSI300 index .CSI300 of the largest li... More »
SINGAPORE Oil prices dropped on Monday despite a fall in U.S. drilling activity for the fourth straight week, with analysts pointing to a poor economic growth outlook as the main reason for low crude prices. China’s August industrial profits dropped 8.8 percen... More »
MUMBAI The Reserve Bank of India is expected cut its key repo rate to a four-year low on Tuesday to help support the domestic economy at a time when consumer inflation is at a record low, but may express caution about easing further as price risks still loom. ... More »
OSAKA U.S. cable company Comcast Corp said on Monday it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Osaka-based Universal Studios Japan for $1.5 billion, part of an acceleration of its global theme park strategy. Comcast, which owns Universal Studios through its... More »
ATLANTA Now that the Tour Championship and FedExCup playoffs are finished, many of golf’s top players are looking ahead to the next big event — the President’s Cup. Jordan Spieth capped a stellar season to secure both the season-ending trophies on Sunday, alon... More »
SAN JOSE, California Lights flashed and chants of “Modi, Modi” filled the 18,000-seat sports arena in San Jose, California, on Sunday as the Indian premier took the stage for the final event of his Silicon Valley tour, marked by sporadic protests over his huma... More »
SHANGHAI/BEIJING China’s most popular ride-hailing app Didi Kuaidi said on Monday it has invested in Indian peer Ola, forging a new alliance within a network of companies challenging U.S. rival Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL]. Didi joins existing investors inc... More »
