TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Monday he would watch the impact of the October sales tax hike on the economy and take additional measures to prop up the economy if needed. “After the consumption tax rate hike, I’ll take... More »
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong private home prices fell for the third straight month in August, according to government data released on Monday, as increasingly violent street protests take a toll on the economy. Prices dropped 1.37%, steeper than July’s revi... More »
BEIJING(Reuters) – China’s factory activity unexpectedly expanded at the fastest pace in 19 months in September as plants ramped up production and new orders rose, a private business survey showed on Monday, suggesting a modest recovery in the manufacturing se... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Growth in China’s services sector activity slowed slightly in September, official data showed on Monday. The official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 53.7 from 53.8 in August, but stayed well above the 50-point ma... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union commissioners-designate said the bloc should agree on a digital tax if no deal on the matter was reached at a global level by the end of next year, ramping up pressure on multinationals accused of paying too little. In writt... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – The German economy will slide into a recession in the current quarter, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) said on Wednesday as it slashed its growth forecasts for Europe’s biggest economy due to trade disputes and Brexit uncertai... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The number of Chinese visitors to Australia ticked up in July though the annual pace of growth slowed to the equal weakest in nine years, in a sign the Sino-U.S. trade war and sluggish economic growth were hurting mainland tourists’ travel p... More »
BENGALURU (Reuters) – Expansion in India’s manufacturing sector hit its slowest in 15 months in August as demand and output grew at their weakest pace in a year and cost pressures increased, a private sector survey showed on Monday. The survey comes after offi... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The bitter trade war between China and the United States kept Asian factory activity mostly in decline in August, business surveys showed, strengthening the case for policymakers to unleash fresh stimulus to fend off recession risks. In a sur... More »
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s government authorized currency controls on Sunday in an about-face by President Mauricio Macri, who had previously lifted many protectionist practices of his predecessor, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. The central bank is ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese companies raised spending on plant and equipment in April-June for the 11th straight quarter, underscoring the resilience of capital expenditure despite the Sino-U.S. trade war and slowing global growth. Firms raised capital spending... More »
SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A decline in economic activity in the U.S. Midwest, apparent in a little-noticed report on Friday from the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, adds to evidence of slowing growth in factory-heavy corners of the country key to next... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s economy contracted on weaker exports in the second quarter, detailed data showed on Tuesday, highlighting the Achilles heel of Europe’s largest economy due to escalating trade disputes and waning foreign demand. The Federal Statist... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s central bank would consider unconventional monetary options if the cash rate was cut to 0.5%, Deputy Governor Guy Debelle said on Tuesday, though he hoped such heavy policy adjustments would not be needed. Debelle said the Reserv... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – French consumer confidence levels in August held at their highest levels in a year and a half, official data showed on Tuesday, while a measure of confidence within French industry rose slightly. The INSEE national statistics office said cons... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – French manufacturing companies have lowered their investment plans from only a few months ago, according to a quarterly survey from the INSEE statistics agency on Tuesday. Manufacturers plan on increasing investments in 2019 by 6%, down from ... More »
ALGIERS (Reuters) – On the face of it, Algeria’s state-dominated economy has weathered six months of turmoil well, with flightloads of public sector workers heading abroad for holidays even as protesters who ousted the veteran president in April now target his... More »
(Reuters) – Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan on Wednesday played down fears of a potential U.S. recession, saying strong consumer spending could keep the economy growing. “The underlying consumer is doing well and making more... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump and top White House officials dismissed concerns that economic growth may be faltering, saying on Sunday they saw little risk of recession despite a volatile week on global bond markets, and insisting their tr... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British working-age households are growing more cautious about making major purchases amid concerns about Brexit and a possible recession, a monthly consumer survey showed on Monday. The IHS Markit Household Finance Index dropped to a three-... More »
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s announcement of key interest rate reforms over the weekend has fueled expectations of an imminent reduction in corporate borrowing costs in the struggling economy, boosting share prices on Monday. The People’s Bank of China... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s exports slipped for an eighth month in July, while manufacturers’ confidence turned negative for the first time in over six years as China-bound sales slumped again in a fresh sign the Sino-U.S. trade war could tip the economy into re... More »
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that spending promised in the annual budget would help stimulate the economy, but the government is always looking at other things it can do. “We are certainly mindful of the rol... More »
LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain’s housing market picked up modestly in June with a stronger-than-expected rise in mortgage approvals, but consumer lending growth slowed to a fresh five-year low, Bank of England figures showed on Monday. Brexit worries have weighed... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s economic growth slowed to 6.2% in the second quarter, its weakest pace in at least 27 years, as demand at home and abroad faltered in the face of mounting U.S. trade pressure. While more upbeat June factory output and retail sales o... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s pork output fell by less than expected in the first half as the country tackles a devastating disease outbreak, although official data showed conflicting figures on the size of the decline in the hog herd. China produced 24.7 millio... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission lowered its estimates on Wednesday for euro zone growth and inflation, saying uncertainty over U.S. trade policy posed a major risk to the bloc. In its quarterly economic forecasts, the European Union’s executive ar... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan on Monday cut its assessment on factory output for two of the country’s nine regions and warned that more companies were feeling pinched by the U.S.-China trade war than three months ago. But the central bank maintained its ... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German exports rebounded more strongly than expected in May but failed to fully recover from a slump a month earlier, data showed on Monday, as trade conflicts cool Europe’s largest economy in the second quarter. Exports grew by 1.1% on the ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – External demand is likely to rebound from its current soft patch in the latter half of this year, a senior Bank of Japan official overseeing the Kinki region in western Japan said on Monday. Domestic demand in the region, including capital ex... More »
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India proposed tax waivers on Friday on the purchase of electric vehicles and removed import taxes on some auto components to help boost sales and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. India, the world’s third-biggest emitter of g... More »
DALIAN, China (Reuters) – China’s economy is likely to hit its growth target this year provided a bitter trade dispute with the United States does not worsen, and hence will not need “very big” stimulus measures to prop up growth, a central bank adviser said o... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone lending growth held steady in May while a broader money supply indicator, which often foreshadows future activity, grew faster than expected, data showed on Monday, easing pressure on the European Central Bank to provide more st... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Factory activity in the euro zone shrank faster last month than previously thought in a broad-based downturn, according to a survey on Monday that suggested there would be no quick turnaround. The downbeat data will likely add to calls for t... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Factory activity shrank in most Asian countries in June as the simmering U.S.-China trade conflict put further strains on the region’s manufacturing sector, keeping policymakers under pressure to deploy stronger steps to avert a global recess... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A now record-setting run of U.S. economic growth enters its 121st month on Monday, sustained by a decade of low interest rates and massive Federal Reserve intervention that helped put 22 million people back to work. But the real economic... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s central bank is expected to keep its benchmark policy rate steady on Wednesday for a fourth straight meeting, a Reuters poll showed, despite slowing growth and the way many Asian central banks have shifted toward easing policy. I... More »
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Bank Indonesia is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at a policy review on Thursday, but it may begin to follow other Asian central banks by cutting later this year, a Reuters poll showed. All but three of 22 analysts surve... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank will “certainly” debate heightening overseas risks at a rate review this week, underscoring concerns among policymakers about the economic fallout of a U.S.-China trade war. The tra... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – New home prices in China rose at their fastest pace in five months in May, complicating government efforts to keep frothy housing markets under control as it rolls out more stimulus for the slowing economy. Average new home prices in China’... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank can deliver more monetary stimulus if necessary, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The BOJ will ease further if the momentum toward its 2% inflation target is lost, Kuroda said in an in... More »
BENGALURU (Reuters) – India’s retail inflation likely accelerated to a seven-month high in May on rising food prices, but it is expected to remain well below the Reserve Bank of India’s target, giving it room to ease policy further, a Reuters poll found. The R... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Rare earth exports by China, the world’s dominant producer, fell 16% in May from a month earlier amid an increased focus on the raw materials due to the Sino-U.S. trade war, although the drop was in line with usual trading. Exports by China... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s exports unexpectedly returned to growth in May despite higher U.S. tariffs, but imports fell the most in nearly three years in a further sign of weak domestic demand that could prompt Beijing to step up stimulus measures. Some analy... More »
SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s crude oil imports slipped 8% in May from an all-time peak hit the month before, customs data showed, as the world’s top importer of the commodity curbed shipments from Iran amid tightening U.S. sanctions on that country. C... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s soybean imports fell 24% in May from the same month last year, customs data showed on Monday, as the ongoing Sino-U.S. trade war and deadly African swine fever checked demand. China brought in 7.36 million tonnes of soybeans in May,... More »
MOSCOW, (Reuters) – Russian manufacturing activity contracted in May for the first time in nine months, the Markit purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed on Monday, driven by a faster-than-expected decline in employment. The index’s headline reading fell to 4... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian businesses reported a decent increase in profits for the first three months of the year, supported by surging iron ore prices while higher wages and inventories may have also helped prop up momentum in the slowing economy. Data fr... More »
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Factory activity contracted in most Asian countries last month as an escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing raised fears of a global economic downturn and heaped pressure on policymakers in the region and beyond to roll out m... More »
BENGALURU, (Reuters) – India’s manufacturing sector expanded at its quickest pace in three months in May on improved output and new orders, according to a private business survey which also showed a pick up in hiring. The survey found increased optimism about ... More »
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s exports likely contracted 4.5% in May from a year earlier, logging a seventh straight month of decline, according to a median forecast of 11 analysts polled by Reuters. Taiwan’s April exports had dropped 3.3% from a year earlier, in... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The results of the European parliamentary election are likely to lead to less ambitious euro zone integration plans and set Italy up for more clashes with the European Commission over its fiscal policy, euro zone officials said on Monday. ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday the global economic outlook is highly uncertain, and there are downside risks due to trade friction, China’s slowing economy and Britain’s negotiations to leave the European Union. “There ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s government said on Monday that high-tech industries will be added to a list of businesses for which foreign ownership of Japanese firms is restricted. The new rule, effective Aug. 1, comes amid heightening pressure from the United Sta... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Profits for China’s industrial firms shrank in April as slowing manufacturing activity halted the previous month’s surge, putting more pressure on policymakers to step up support for an economy hit by a bitter trade war with the United Stat... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House will unveil the first part of President Donald Trump’s long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan when it holds an international conference in Bahrain in late June to encourage investment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,... More »
MILAN (Reuters) – Italy is firmly committed to preserving financial stability while also relaunching investments, Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said on Monday. “The ‘Def’ document clearly states Italy’s will to meet commitments on public deficit and debt,” Tr... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Surprisingly retained by Australians in a national election over the weekend, Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s center-right government now needs to find a fast way out of a worrying slowdown in an economy that has been recession-free since 19... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s central bank has not intervened in the trading of the baht to gain a trade advantage with the United States, an assistant governor said on Monday, amid speculation that Washington may soon add the country to a currency watch list... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s export earnings are booming as resource prices surge but a statistical quirk means tens of billions of dollars go missing from main measures of growth, making the economy seem weaker than it actually is. The cash is still coursin... More »
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s economy expanded more slowly than expected in the first quarter of this year, as investment dropped ahead of elections and campaign spending failed to sustain growth momentum. Southeast Asia’s largest economy grew 5.07 percent i... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s central bank said on Monday it will cut reserve requirement ratios (RRRs) to release about 280 billion yuan ($41 billion) for some small and medium-sized banks, in a targeted move to help companies struggling amid an economic slowdo... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China is expected to report much slower export growth for April after a strong rebound in March, while imports likely shrank for a fifth straight month but at a milder pace, a Reuters poll showed. If Wednesday’s readings are in line with fo... More »
JENA, Germany (Reuters) – From the 12th floor of Jenoptik’s headquarters, chief executive Stefan Traeger points to his laser factory and the university that provides it with talent. Welcome to “Optics Valley” – a role model for Germany’s East in a big year for... More »
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s central bank will keep interest rates on hold on Thursday, a Reuters poll showed, though some economists say a rate cut to bolster economic growth is coming – and one sees a possible trim next month. All 23 analysts in the poll ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Guangdong, China’s top province by economic output, maintained a growth rate of 6.6 percent in the first quarter thanks to improving industrial production and infrastructure spending, the 21st Century Business Herald reported, citing local ... More »
HAVANA (Reuters) – The Cuban government has ordered its state-run power system to further reduce electricity generation in the latest sign that a cash crunch exacerbated by new U.S. sanctions is taking an economic and human toll, a newspaper reported on Sunday... More »
CAIRO (Reuters) – Sudan’s central bank on Sunday strengthened the Sudanese pound to 45 pounds to the dollar from 47.5, state news agency SUNA reported. It said the measure coincided with the sharp rise in the price of the pound against the dollar on the parall... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s annual manufacturing output in February is expected to have risen at a slightly faster pace than in the previous month, a Reuters poll showed. The median forecast of eight economists was for the manufacturing production index (MP... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan board member Yutaka Harada on Monday defended the central bank’s massive asset-buying program dubbed quantitative and qualitative easing (QQE), saying the policy has helped create jobs and boost productivity. “The biggest contri... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s core inflation rate eased to a nine-month low in February, reinforcing expectations that the central bank will keep monetary policy unchanged when it meets next month. The core inflation rate was 1.5 percent on a year-on-year ... More »
MANAMA (Reuters) – As the weekend kicks off in Bahrain, Saudi Arabian and Kuwaiti cars jam the capital’s roads and hotel lobbies fill with visitors looking for bars, restaurants and other night-time entertainment. A new sales tax introduced this year means gov... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s exports fell for a third month in February in a sign of growing strain on the trade-reliant economy, suggesting the central bank might be forced to offer more stimulus eventually to temper the effects of slowing external demand and tr... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s machinery orders fell in January at the fastest pace in four months as the U.S.-China tariff war hit global trade, knocking demand from the country’s auto and telecommunications equipment manufacturing sectors lower. The 5.4 percent d... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – A plunge in car production drove an unexpected drop in German industrial output in January as the engine room of Europe’s largest economy, which narrowly avoided recession last year, stuttered amid trade friction and unease about Brexit. Ind... More »
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The Turkish economy contracted a sharper than expected 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, its worse performance in nearly a decade, in the clearest sign yet that last year’s currency crisis is tipping it into recession. Turkey, a m... More »
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The worst is now behind Turkey’s economy, Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said on Monday, following the release of official data showing the economy contracted at a sharper than expected 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018. O... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday the central bank would debate and communicate at an appropriate timing an exit plan from its ultra-loose monetary policy. Speaking at the upper house budget committee, Kuroda also undersco... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. personal income fell for the first time in more than three years in January and consumer spending dropped by the most since 2009 in December, putting the economy on a weak growth path early in the first quarter. The economic outlook... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank has downplayed a global slowdown for months, but it will finally take a tentative step next week to prop up the euro zone economy, signaling fresh stimulus to keep banks lending. With a global trade war already b... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – French consumer confidence jumped in February to its highest level since “yellow vest” protesters started their weekly demonstrations, as households took heart in an improvement in their finances and unemployment fears receded. The reading of... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – The Saudi Arabian government will spend 100 billion riyals ($27 billion) in 2019 and 2020 as part of its industrial development program, Aabed Abdullah al-Saadoun, deputy minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources said on Monday Sour... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion cut tax package appeared to have no major impact on businesses’ capital investment or hiring plans, according to a survey released a year after the biggest overhaul of the U.S. tax code in more th... More »
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s economic growth probably slowed in the fourth quarter as the island’s technology exports were hit by softening global demand and fallout from the U.S.-China trade war. The median forecast in a Reuters poll of 14 economists was for f... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Earnings at China’s industrial firms shrank for a second straight month in December, putting pressure on policymakers to support industries hurt by slowing prices and weak factory activity amid a protracted U.S.-Sino trade war. The downbeat... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Barclays economists said on Wednesday they reduced their outlook on U.S. economic growth in the first quarter to an annualized rate of 2.5 percent from an earlier projection of 3.0 percent as a result of the historically long partial feder... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The French government will not put off planned asset sales aimed at financing an innovation fund, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday. The French media has recently raised the possibility that plans to sell down stakes in ai... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Unemployment in the euro zone unexpectedly fell in November to its lowest rate in more than ten years, official estimates released on Wednesday showed. The EU statistics office Eurostat said unemployment in the 19-country currency bloc dro... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Worried by prospects of a pause in the U.S. interest rate hike cycle, the Bank of Japan is shifting focus towards a risk that it may be forced to deploy more stimulus this year to stop sharp yen rises from derailing an economic recovery, sour... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Inflation in Germany’s most populous regions slowed in December, just as the European Central Bank ended a crisis-fighting bond purchase scheme after four years and as global markets slumped. The annual inflation rate in Germany’s most popul... More »
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba’s economy grew 1.2 percent in 2018, below the government’s forecast, and is expected to expand 1.5 percent in 2019 despite falling export revenues and continued austerity measures, the communist-run country’s economy minister said on Fr... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The anti-government protests convulsing France will slow growth to close to a standstill in the final quarter, the central bank said on Monday, complicating President Emmanuel Macron’s task of finding concessions to placate the “yellow vest” ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will adopt a more vigorous fiscal policy to help tackle external uncertainties without resorting to strong policy stimulus, state radio said on Monday, citing the cabinet. Slowing economic growth has sparked a heated debate among gove... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The U.S. and euro zone economies remain a world apart and growth data due in the coming days will only highlight the widening gap, suggesting that monetary policy will continue to move in opposing directions on the two sides of the Atlant... More »
ROME (Reuters) – The head of Italy’s central bank on Tuesday warned the new anti-establishment government to be cautious with public finances to avoid upsetting financial markets and increasing public debt. Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco told a gathering... More »
ROME (Reuters) – Italian Economy Minister Giovanni Tria called on Tuesday for greater risk sharing in order to strengthen the euro zone banking system. In a speech to a gathering of bankers in Rome, Tria said boosting Italy’s economic growth was “no less impor... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – The mood among German investors slumped in July to its lowest since August 2012, a survey showed on Tuesday, soured by concerns about escalating trade tensions with the United States. The ZEW research institute said its monthly survey showed... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. job growth increased more than expected in June as manufacturers stepped up hiring, but steady wage gains pointed to moderate inflation pressures that should keep the Federal Reserve on a path of gradual interest rate increases. Non... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. job growth increased more than expected in June as manufacturers stepped up hiring, but steady wage gains pointed to moderate inflation pressures that should keep the Federal Reserve on a path of gradual interest rate increases. Nonfarm payrol... More »
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. trade deficit fell to a 1-1/2-year low in May as exports rose to a record high, boosted by an increase in shipments of soybeans and commercial aircraft. The Commerce Department said on Friday the trade gap narrowed 6.6 percent ... More »
