TAIPEI Orders for Taiwan’s exports in June probably contracted for the 15th straight month, as sluggish global demand continued to hit the island’s technology products, a Reuters poll showed. Twelve economists surveyed forecast export orders would contract for... More »
LONDON Britain’s biggest companies are beset by doubts about the future after last month’s vote to leave the European Union and have slashed their investment plans, according to a survey on Monday that bodes poorly for the economy. Some 82 percent of chief fin... More »
FRANKFURT European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is likely to plead for governments to do more to boost the euro zone’s economy in the coming week as the fallout of Britain’s vote to leave the EU and weaker global growth threaten the bloc’s fragile recov... More »
TOKYO The Bank of Japan will factor in the government’s planned fiscal stimulus package in producing new quarterly projections this month, which will help moderate any cuts to its inflation forecasts, sources familiar with its thinking said. The boost to growt... More »
BEIJING China’s exports fell more than expected in June as global demand remained stubbornly weak and as Britain’s decision to leave the European Union clouds the outlook for one of Beijing’s biggest markets. Imports also shrank more than forecast, indicating ... More »
TOKYO Japan’s top government spokesman said on Wednesday the government was not considering “helicopter money” as an option, denying a media report that its advisers were suggesting the policy. The Sankei newspaper reported on Wednesday that Etsuro Honda, an e... More »
KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia’s central bank surprised markets on Wednesday by cutting its key interest rate for the first time in seven years, saying the move would help the country remain on a “steady growth path”. Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) cut the overnight policy... More »
BEIJING China’s Premier Li Keqiang told European Union officials on Wednesday that the country was committed to market reforms and remained determined to tackle a steel capacity glut that has sharpened tensions between the two sides. Li, speaking at an EU-Chin... More »
BEIJING European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told his Chinese counterparts on Wednesday that overcapacity in steel sector is a very serious problem. China is by far the world’s biggest steel producer and its annual output is almost double that of ... More »
DHAKA The World Bank said on Sunday it has approved $150 million in additional financing to help improve Bangladesh’s health systems and services, bringing its total support for health projects in the country to $508.9 million. The support will help the govern... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. retail sales rose strongly in May as Americans bought automobiles and a range of other goods, even as they paid more for gasoline, suggesting that economic growth was gaining steam despite a sharp slowdown in job creation. Other data on Tuesday... More »
WASHINGTON, June 14 U.S. business inventories barely rose in April as sales recorded their biggest increase in more than two years, pointing to a slow pace of inventory accumulation that could weigh on economic growth in the second quarter. The Commerce Depart... More »
WASHINGTON, June 14 – U.S. import prices recorded their biggest increase in more than four years in May on rising costs of petroleum and other products, pointing to firming inflation as the drag from a strong dollar and lower oil prices fades. The Labor Depart... More »
OTTAWA Governments and central banks need a certain amount of coordination so they can discuss policies and consider the implications on debt levels and financial stability over the medium-term, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said on Saturday. One good ... More »
WASHINGTON The U.S. economy created the fewest number of jobs in more than 5-1/2-years in May as manufacturing and construction employment fell sharply, which could make it harder for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. Nonfarm payrolls increased by o... More »
BEIJING Xia Xiaokang and Bruno Chen, who both run private-sector companies, are the sort of businessmen that Chinese leaders are increasingly concerned about as economic growth slows. Beijing is counting on the private sector to invest more in the economy and ... More »
BEIJING China will push forward supply-side reform and increase the number of middle-income earners, state television quoted President Xi Jinping as saying on Monday. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk) SOURCE: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-econom... More »
TOKYO Japan would intervene in foreign exchange markets if the yen firmed to between 90-95 per dollar, even if it upset the United States, a key economic adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday, asserting the right to curb currency volatility. Koi... More »
BEIJING China’s consumer inflation remained modest in April, while producer prices’ four-year slump moderated as commodity prices rebounded, easing concerns about deflationary risks to the world’s second-largest economy. But analysts disagreed on whether the p... More »
BEIJING The value of China’s services trade is expected to grow rapidly and exceed $750 billion in 2016 but the country’s export sector remains under pressure, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday. Global commodities markets have to cope with reductions in ov... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. small business confidence rebounded from a two-year low in April amid growing labor market optimism, supporting views economic growth will regain momentum in the second quarter. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said on Tue... More »
BEIJING China’s economy is likely to grow between 6.6 percent and 6.8 percent in 2016, the Shanghai Securities News said quoting the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). The forecast was made in the think-tank’s Blue Book on China’s economy that was rele... More »
BENGALURU/SYDNEY Asian factories barely grew in April and those in the euro zone did little better despite heavy discounting, setting a sluggish tone on Monday for the global economy in the second quarter. Japanese manufacturing activity shrank last month at t... More »
BRUSSELS/BERLIN Overcoming years of poor health and crisis, the euro zone economy grew at its fastest pace in five years in the first quarter, driven by unlikely stars such as France and Spain. It now stands larger that in did at its peak before the financial ... More »
TOKYO Japan’s central bank is likely to cut its price forecasts on Thursday and debate whether a strong yen, weak global demand and soft consumption have hurt inflation expectations enough to warrant another blow of stimulus. The policy decision will be a clos... More »
FRANKFURT There is ongoing growth in the euro zone economy and this should continue, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Thursday. “We expect the economic recovery to proceed,” Draghi told a news conference, although he added that global risks... More »
BEIJING China’s economy expanded a seasonally-adjusted 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2016 from the fourth quarter of last year, National Bureau of Statistics data showed, the lowest quarterly expansion on record since 2010. The slower-than-expected quart... More »
SEOUL South Korea’s finance minister stressed the importance of policy consistency following a parliamentary election that resulted in a defeat for the ruling party, the ministry said in a statement on Monday. “As much as there are concerns from ratings agenci... More »
NEW YORK U.S. business conditions are the strongest since the summer of 2014 as sentiment has recovered from a weak start to the year, signaling companies’ willingness to make capital expenditures, Morgan Stanley economists said on Friday. More investment in e... More »
SHANGHAI China’s consumer price inflation rose less than expected in March, flattening out after a four-month strengthening trend, but wholesale prices remained stubbornly in deflation. Consumer prices in March rose 2.3 percent, below a median forecast of 2.5 ... More »
SYDNEY Australian retail sales were surprisingly muted in February, a red flag for hopes that consumer spending could offset global headwinds and keep the economy accelerating through the first half. Combined with a very subdued private-sector reading on infla... More »
TOKYO Japanese companies’ long-term inflation expectations weakened in March from three months ago, a central bank survey showed, a sign January’s decision to adopt negative interest rates has failed to convince firms that price rises will accelerate over time... More »
BEIJING Capital expenditure by Chinese companies fell to the lowest in at least five years in the first quarter, a private survey showed, highlighting persistent weakness in the economy even as the government ratchets up policy support to head off a sharper sl... More »
TOKYO Bank of Japan policymakers engaged in heated debate during their policy review in March on the pros and cons of their decision in January to adopt negative interest rates, with one even saying it was preferable to roll it back. A summary of the March 14-... More »
TOKYO Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday he does not expect the Bank of Japan to take monetary policy steps directly aimed at intentionally weakening the yen. “The BOJ is not conducting monetary policy to directly target currency rates,” Abe t... More »
BEIJING China’s survey-based unemployment rate stood at around 5.1 percent throughout January and February, state television quoted the statistics bureau as saying on Monday. The rate is hovering at a relatively low level, and 0.05 percentage point below the s... More »
TOKYO Bank of Japan (BOJ) officials have been scurrying to commercial banks to explain and apologize for its surprise adoption of negative interest rates in January, while Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has distanced himself from a decision that is proving unpopula... More »
BEIJING China completed investment of 5.3096 trillion yuan ($817.83 billion) on 11 types of key projects by the end of January, the country’s state planner said in a briefing on Monday. The types of key projects include information networks, environmental prot... More »
TOKYO Japan’s core machinery orders jumped in January, inflated by large orders from the steel industry, but economists say excluding this factor orders were probably flat from the previous month. The 15.0 percent monthly rise in core orders, a highly volatile... More »
BEIJING China’s wider fiscal deficit budgeted for 2016 will be mainly used to finance tax cuts, a senior official of China’s cabinet research unit said on Wednesday. The comments from Huang Shouhong, deputy director of the State Council Research Office, came f... More »
BEIJING China said on Monday it expects to lay off 1.8 million workers in the coal and steel industries, or about 15 percent of the workforce, as part of efforts to reduce industrial overcapacity, but no timeframe was given. It was the first time China has giv... More »
TOKYO Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday he has no plans now to freeze or postpone a sales tax hike to 10 percent from 8 percent scheduled in April next year. Speaking in parliament, Abe also confirmed his previous remarks that it would not make... More »
TOKYO Japan’s industrial output rose the most in a year in January, tentatively signaling a pick up in factory activity, but the outlook remains far from assured given global market jitters and weakening demand both at home and abroad. The 3.7 percent month-on... More »
NEW DELHI India will release data on Monday showing it remains one of the fastest growing economies in the world, but economists are struggling to reconcile that rosy picture with ground realities like weak exports, investment, and flat corporate order books. ... More »
TOKYO The Bank of Japan could confuse markets and trigger a global competition to push interest rates deeper into negative territory by cutting its rates below zero, dissenters to the move told a rate review last month, underscoring Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s ... More »
LONDON Global markets have been in turmoil since the start of the year, with stocks and commodities prices reeling, eroding inflation and making central banks increasingly dovish – a trend that could continue with more weak economic data. China, a focus of muc... More »
SYDNEY January updates on Asia’s mammoth factory sector released on Monday showed the new year began much as the old one ended – with too much capacity chasing too little demand. China was again the epicentre of disappointment as its official measure of manufa... More »
BEIJING Activity in China’s manufacturing sector contracted more than expected in January, missing market expectations and weaker than the previous month, an official survey showed on Monday. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 49.4 in Janua... More »
SHANGHAI China’s manufacturing activity contracted at its fastest pace in almost three-and-a-half years in January, an official survey showed, suggesting the world’s second largest economy is off to a weak start in 2016 and adding to the case for near-term sti... More »
TOKYO Bank of Japan policymakers would prefer to hold back additional monetary easing at their meeting on Friday, people familiar with the central bank’s thinking say, though global market volatility could yet force their hand. Even as slumping oil prices and ... More »
SYDNEY Australian price pressures remained restrained last quarter as underlying inflation slowed to the very bottom of policy makers’ target range, offering the scope but not necessarily the trigger for a cut in interest rates. Key measures of underlying infl... More »
DAVOS, Switzerland Central banks still have more firepower they can use to counter a slowdown in global growth, which does not change the outlook for recovery in the euro zone, European Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said on Wednesday. In an interview... More »
BEIJING China’s economic growth in the fourth quarter slowed to the weakest since the financial crisis, adding pressure on a government that is struggling to restore the confidence of investors after perceived policy missteps jolted global markets. Concerns ab... More »
BEIJING China’s output of electric power and steel fell for the first time in decades in 2015, while coal production dropped for a second year in row, illustrating how a slowing economy and shift to consumer-led growth is hurting industrial consumers. China’s ... More »
TOKYO Japan’s Cabinet Office will issue forecasts this week showing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration is falling behind its fiscal discipline targets, a document viewed by Reuters showed. The forecasts could deal a blow to the credibility of Abe’s fis... More »
PARIS Economic conditions are stabilizing in China and the outlook is for steady growth in the euro zone, while the U.S. and UK economies are losing steam, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Monday. The Paris-based OECD said tha... More »
SHANGHAI China will face great difficulty in achieving economic growth above 6.5 percent over the 2016-2020 period due to slowing global demand and rising labor costs at home, the China Securities Journal quotes a top state adviser as saying. Li Wei, president... More »
BERLIN Economic sentiment in the euro zone deteriorated more than expected in January as an economic slowdown in China and its impact on the world economy unsettled investors, survey data released on Monday showed. The Frankfurt-based Sentix research group’s i... More »
LONDON Moribund. Decrepit. Sclerotic. Popular words to describe the economy shared by the 19 countries of the euro zone – but perhaps no longer apt. Very slowly – and primarily because of massive stimulus from the European Central Bank – the euro zone is showi... More »
BENGALURU/NEW YORK The global economy finished last year on a fragile footing, with factory activity in China shrinking for the 10th month running in December, while euro zone manufacturing picked up but U.S. activity slowed. Coming on a day of volatility in A... More »
BAGHDAD Iraq’s central bank has increased the sale price of U.S. dollars to banks and currency exchange companies by 16 dinars, or 1.37 percent, as the government seeks to compensate a decline in oil revenue, a government official and the central bank said. Th... More »
JAKARTA Asia policymakers on Thursday applauded an historic turn in U.S. monetary policy, but analysts cautioned that the region’s economies faced vulnerabilities even as markets took the Federal Reserve rate hike in their stride. The prospect of the first hik... More »
TOKYO Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday he saw no need to implement negative deposit rates in Japan as borrowing costs were already very low due to the central bank’s aggressive asset purchases. The European Central Bank has adopted negativ... More »
BERLIN German industrial output inched up in October, data from the Economy Ministry showed on Monday, in a sign that this sector of Europe’s largest economy is recovering slightly at the start of the fourth quarter after a rough patch in the summer. While the... More »
SYDNEY Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Monday unveiled a A$1.1 billion ($806 million) package to boost innovation in Australia, using his first major economic policy statement since becoming leader to map out a pathway beyond the country’s fading resources ... More »
TOKYO Bank of Japan board member Takehiro Sato said on Monday the impact of its quantitative easing is likely diminishing, as long-term interest rates have not declined much since the central bank increased debt purchases in October 2014. Sato said the BOJ can... More »
SHANGHAI China’s economy will likely grow at or above 6.5 percent next year, an official think-tank said in a report in the China Securities Journal on Monday. The country’s consumer price index (CPI) will rise about 1.5 percent, government think-tank the Stat... More »
LONDON The outlook for British manufacturing next year has darkened, with output and new orders deteriorating at rates not seen since 2009, according to an industry survey on Monday that warned of slowing growth both at home and abroad. Manufacturing organizat... More »
BEIJING In the Chaoyang district of northeast Beijing, a nondescript wall covered in patriotic posters protects one of the city’s most valuable treasures: a dirt field containing nothing but a few scattered trees. Last month the block sold for 3.3 billion yuan... More »
FRANKFURT European Central Bank President Mario Draghi called on Thursday for euro zone member states to do more to improve the economy. Saying that the ECB’s easy monetary policy has been “a success”, Draghi said there nonetheless needed to be more. “Actions ... More »
TOKYO Japan’s industrial output rose for a second straight month in October and retail sales grew much faster than expected – a tentative sign of the economy’s recovery from a recession. The latest indicator should ease concern among policymakers after data la... More »
NAGOYA, Japan Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda warned on Monday that a slowdown in emerging economies, if prolonged, may hurt Japanese business confidence and discourage firms from increasing capital expenditure. “The BOJ will respond without hesitation ... More »
TOKYO Japan’s government plans to raise the minimum wage and introduce other steps to revitalise the economy, but the draft of stimulus measures seen by Reuters on Monday appeared to break no new ground on reforms that analysts say are needed to end decades of... More »
TOKYO Japan slipped into its fourth technical recession in five years between July and September – spotlighting how the government’s “Abenomics” policies have struggled to drag the economy out of chronic stagnation. Official data on Monday showed the world’s t... More »
TOKYO Japanese Economics Minister Akira Amari said on Monday that the economy was in a moderate recovery trend albeit some weakness and that it would continue to improve gradually even though overseas economies posed downside risks. Amari made the remarks afte... More »
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has urged Japan to offer fiscal support to its economy to ensure it returns to growth driven by domestic demand. Lew made the remark in a bilateral meeting with Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso on the sidelines of a Group of ... More »
PARISGlobal trade flows have fallen dangerously close to levels usually associated with a global recession, although actions taken by China and others should ensure a pick-up in 2016, the OECD said in a report on Monday. The Paris-based Organisation for Econom... More »
BERLINGerman exports and imports bounced back in September after plunging in the prior month but failed to allay concerns that a slowdown in emerging markets will leave its mark on Europe’s largest economy. The Federal Statistics Office reported on Monday that... More »
TOKYOJapanese summer bonuses fell the most since the global financial crisis partly due to the effects of sampling, while monthly pay rose at a modest pace for a third straight month in September, underlining concerns about tepid wages and private consumption.... More »
LONDONBritish finance minister George Osborne will spell out on Monday the first set of spending cuts to be imposed on government departments as part of an overall 37 billion-pound ($56 billion) austerity plan to turn Britain’s deficit into a surplus by 2020. ... More »
LONDONEuro zone private business growth remained tepid last month but activity in China’s services industry expanded at its fastest pace in three months, easing concerns about persistent weakness in its economy, surveys showed on Wednesday. There was little si... More »
SYDNEY Activity in China’s colossal factory sector shrank in October as global demand stuttered, reinforcing the case for more stimulus and questioning whether the Federal Reserve can be confident enough to raise U.S. interest rates this year. A crop of indust... More »
BEIJING Activity in China’s manufacturing sector unexpectedly contracted in October for a third straight month, an official survey showed on Sunday, fuelling fears the economy may still be losing momentum in the fourth quarter despite a raft of stimulus measur... More »
BEIJING China’s factory activity fell for an eighth straight month in October but at a slower pace as export orders flickered into life, a private survey showed on Monday, pointing to continued sluggishness in the world’s second-largest economy. The Caixin/Mar... More »
TOKYO Nov 2 Japanese manufacturing activity in October expanded at the fastest pace in a year as new domestic and export orders increased, a private business survey showed on Monday. The Markit/Nikkei Japan Final Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) r... 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
