TOKYO Asian shares began a central-bank focused week on firm footing on Monday, buoyed by gains on Wall Street as well as glimmers of strength in weekend data from China. Financial spreadbetters expected Britain’s FTSE 100 .FTSE to open 0.3 percent higher. Ger... More »
Scott Hend continued Australia’s impressive run on the European Tour this season by holding off the course record charge of home hope Piya Swangarunporn to win the True Thailand Classic on Sunday. The 42-year-old Queenslander birdied his 17th hole and went on ... More »
SEOUL North Korea is using Chinese-made trucks in a new mobile artillery system showcased five days ago, according to photographs reviewed by Reuters, underlining the difficulty in enforcing U.N. sanctions against the isolated state. North Korea’s Multiple Roc... More »
TOKYO/SINGAPORE Sharp losses in Chinese stocks pulled Asian equities further away from two-month highs on Wednesday as weak trade figures from the world’s second-biggest economy and wobbly oil prices revived concerns about global growth. European shares, howev... More »
TOKYO Asian stocks retreated on Monday after a weekend meeting of G20 policymakers ended with no new coordinated action to spur global growth and as solid U.S. data revived expectation of the Federal Reserve further raising rates before year-end. MSCI’s broade... More »
LOS ANGELES Open Road Films, a small movie producer founded by two theater chains just five years ago, upstaged Hollywood’s big studios on Sunday by winning the coveted best picture award and a likely sales boost for its Catholic Church scandal drama “Spotligh... More »
HONG KONG Four of the five Hong Kong booksellers who went missing in October appeared on Chinese television confirming for the first time they’d been detained for “illegal book trading” in mainland China. The five booksellers – including a British and Swedish ... More »
SINGAPORE Goldman Sachs’ (GS.N) senior investment banker and chairman of its Southeast Asia business Tim Leissner has left the bank, a spokesman said. Leissner helped arrange the sale of U.S. dollar bonds for Malaysian state investor 1Malaysia Development Bhd ... More »
TOKYO/SINGAPORE Asian shares fell on Wednesday as oil prices skidded after Saudi Arabia effectively ruled out production cuts by major producers anytime soon, sending investors into safe-havens such as the yen and gold. European markets set to follow Asia’s le... More »
BARCELONA Most consumers feel they lack control over personal information on their phones, are suspicious of attempts to use it for marketing appeals and many think the problem is getting worse, a survey in major countries of the world has found. The findings ... More »
BANGKOK Battles, a search for love and justice, all set in China. Hired by local Chinese shrines, opera companies in Bangkok’s Chinatown perform mythical stories in Mandarin to round off celebrations marking the Lunar New Year in the Thai capital. The wobbly w... More »
HONG KONG As China’s economy wheezes to a 25-year low, investors who once collected stocks and property are turning to what they are willing to believe will become a new safe haven market – a trading platform for fine art. Even as the global fever among connoi... More »
HONG KONG Asian stocks started a new month on a cautious note on Monday, with the Bank of Japan’s surprise policy easing sparking some buying but further signs of economic weakness in China and a fall in oil prices keeping investors on guard. European stocks w... More »
Several major hedge funds are piling into bets that China’s currency will decline against the dollar, according to the Wall Street Journal. Hayman Capital Management has invested about 85 percent of its portfolio in bets against the yuan and the Hong Kong doll... More »
LONDON European stocks succumbed to another slide in oil prices on Wednesday as markets waited cautiously to see what the Federal Reserve’s reaction will be to what has been a brutal start to the year for world markets. Asian and particularly Chinese bourses .... More »
SHANGHAI Chinese stock investors are finally seeing value in domestic shares, but there’s a twist: instead of wading back onto battered onshore exchanges, they’ve gone shopping for bargains in Hong Kong. By doing so they are exploiting a long-standing market d... More »
HONG KONG/ BEIJING Xiaomi Inc [XTC.UL], China’s second-biggest smartphone vendor, more than doubled Internet services revenue in 2015 to about $564 million, an internal document reviewed by Reuters showed, but still fell well short of an internal target of $1 ... More »
SHANGHAI China stocks recovered much of their earlier losses by the end of a volatile session on Wednesday, ending slightly lower. The CSI300 index .CSI300 of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 0.3 percent, to 2,930.35, while the Shangh... More »
HONG KONG One of Hong Kong’s staunchest pro-Beijing lawmakers said a bookseller’s tearful confession on state television to a hit-and-run accident more than a decade ago in China is unlikely to appease public concerns that he may have been abducted. The Sunday... More »
LONDON British insurer Prudential Plc (PRU.L) posted a slightly above-forecast capital ratio under new European rules and appointed a UK head as it attempts to woo investors later on Tuesday. Prudential has been a darling of investors but worries about Asian m... More »
SHANGHAI China stocks rebounded roughly 3 percent on Tuesday, as weak quarterly economic data strengthened market expectations the government will unveil more stimulus moves. The CSI300 index .CSI300 of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen ros... More »
TOKYO Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday as Shanghai stocks surged after data pointing to slower Chinese economic growth fanned stimulus hopes. Spreadbetters expected Europe to follow Asia’s lead and forecast a higher open for Britain’s FTSE .FTSE, Ger... More »
LONDON European shares fell on Monday, following Asia lower and led by banks after the European Central Bank said it would quiz euro zone lenders about high levels of bad loans, while oil prices tumbled on the prospect of more supply from Iran. With U.S. marke... More »
LONDON World stocks fell to near 2-1/2 year lows on Monday as a fresh pounding for Chinese markets left Asia at a four-year trough and sent oil and commodity markets sprawling again. Europe’s main bourses saw a more steady start to the week but investors were ... More »
SHANGHAI China stocks closed down on Monday at their lowest since September, following weak inflation data over the weekend and continuing investor anxiety over the economy and the trajectory of the yuan. The CSI300 index .CSI300 of the largest listed companie... More »
DUBAI President Hassan Rouhani ordered his defense minister on Thursday to expand Iran’s missile program, in defiance of a U.S. threat to impose sanctions over a ballistic missile test Iran carried out in October. Under a landmark agreement it clinched with wo... More »
SINGAPORE/SYDNEY Chinese shares led Asian markets higher on Monday, defying a dive on Wall Street, while the price of Brent crude plumbed 11-year lows on renewed worries over a global oil glut. European shares are unlikely to follow Asia’s example, with spread... More »
LOS ANGELES “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” shattered box office records with an estimated $517 million in worldwide ticket sales through Sunday, a staggering debut that re-established the celebrated space saga as a global phenomenon under Walt Disney Co. The f... More »
MACAU Top Republican Party donor Sheldon Adelson said on Friday he met presidential candidate Donald Trump earlier this week and that the two American billionaires broached the issue at the heart of Adelson’s political agenda: support for Israel. While the meg... More »
FRANKFURT Chinese investment group Fosun has withdrawn its offer for wealth management group BHF Kleinwort Benson, the Belgian stock market regulator said on Friday. Fosun had offered 5.10 euros per share for BHF, but its bid was challenged by French private b... More »
SYDNEY Asian stock markets jumped on Thursday as investors chose to take an historic hike in U.S. interest rates as a mark of confidence in the world’s largest economy, lifting the dollar and piling on the pain for oil prices. European shares were expected to ... More »
BEIJING/SINGAPORE Xia Lili, marketing chief at a privately-owned Shanghai software firm switched to flying with Spring Airlines (601021.SS) after China’s first low-cost carrier took off in 2010. Her company has since made it mandatory for staff to use budget a... More »
SYDNEY Asian share markets turned mixed on Monday as caution grew ahead of Chinese data, though sentiment stayed supported by hopes the U.S. economy would be able to handle an expected first increase in interest rates in almost a decade. Oil prices were near t... More »
BOSTON/SINGAPORE Parents who gave their child a Kidizoom smartwatch or a VTech InnoTab tablet may have exposed them to identity theft after Hong Kong-based VTech said hackers stole the personal information of more than 6 million children. The breach underscore... More »
BRUSSELS EU antitrust regulators have dropped charges against 13 banks including Citigroup and Deutsche Bank for blocking exchanges from derivatives markets, but will continue their case against data company Markit and trade body ISDA. The European Commission ... More »
Viacom Inc’s (VIAB.O) second-largest shareholder has urged the media company to sell a stake in its Paramount movie studio to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N), according to the Financial Times. “If Alibaba is going to be serious about getting into the entert... More »
LONDON A perceived lack of ambition in the European Central Bank’s latest stimulus efforts left financial markets with a niggling worry on Thursday that even ‘Super Mario’ Draghi might not be able to drag euro zone inflation back up to target. A bare minimum 0... More »
SINGAPORE When “Bathing in the Shower” by the late Indonesian artist Hendra Gunawan went under the hammer at Sotheby’s autumn auction in Hong Kong in October this year, the oil painting of three female bathers was sold for HK$9.7 million ($1.3 million). That p... More »
HONG KONG The theft of toy maker VTech Holdings Ltd’s database highlights a growing problem with basic cyber security measures at small, non-financial companies that handle electronic customer data, industry watchers said on Monday. The hacked data at VTech in... More »
HONG KONG/SINGAPORE Almost a year after students ended pro-democracy street protests in Hong Kong, they face an online battle against what Western security experts say are China-sponsored hackers using techniques rarely seen elsewhere. Hackers have expanded th... More »
TOKYO An extended selloff in Chinese stocks pulled down Asian markets on Monday, while the yuan bounced on suspected intervention by Beijing hours ahead of an IMF decision on whether to promote it to a basket of global reserve currencies. MSCI’s broadest index... More »
SHANGHAI China stocks opened slightly lower on Monday after falling more than 5 percent on Friday triggered by concerns over a widening probe by regulators into brokerages. The CSI300 index fell 0.1 percent, to 3,554.89 at market open, while the Shanghai Compo... More »
GUANGZHOU, China Automakers are betting that Chinese families will embrace the mini-van, hoping the larger, unsexy sibling of the bestselling SUV will become the next big thing just as Beijing relaxes the one-child policy. Mini-vans, or multi-purpose vehicles ... More »
HONG KONG Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement got a boost on Monday with about eight candidates involved in crippling protests last year winning office at district-level elections, while some veterans from both sides of the political divide suffered defeat. The... More »
SYDNEY The euro sagged to a seven-month trough on Monday as the prospect of more policy easing in Europe benefited the U.S. dollar, while activity in Asian shares was crimped by a holiday in Japan. The strength of the dollar also combined with worries about Ch... More »
BEIJING/HONG KONG Google, part of Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), aims to launch the China version of its Google Play smartphone app store next year, according to people familiar with the matter, its first major foray in the market since ending localized product suppo... More »
SINGAPORE The co-founder of a Singapore church and five other leaders were sentenced to jail terms of up to eight years on Friday, for fraudulently diverting millions of dollars to support his wife’s pop singing career. The mix of faith and fraud has fascinate... More »
SHANGHAI Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, enjoys strong support in the United States, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told Chinese officials during a visit this week to the Himalayan region, while expressing concern about human rights there. Pel... More »
NEW YORK MSCI will add Alibaba Group, Baidu.com and a dozen other overseas-listed Chinese shares to its emerging market index beginning on Dec. 1, in a move that is expected to draw billions of dollars into the stocks and make MSCI the first indexer to include... More »
LONDONThe dollar took a breather on Monday having surged to a seven-month high, while emerging, commodity and bond markets had a nervy feel after strong U.S. jobs data boosted bets on a December Federal Reserve rate hike. European .FTEU3 and Asian .MIAPJ0000PU... More »
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK/YANGONWestern banks are cutting trade finance in Myanmar after learning that part of the country’s main port is controlled by a man blacklisted by Washington, threatening to stop nascent U.S. economic ties with the Southeast Asian nation in... More »
HONG KONG MSCI (MSCI.N) will begin to add overseas-listed Chinese shares to its emerging market indexes this month, drawing billions of dollars into such stocks, which could eventually lead to mainland-listed companies finding their way into global equity port... More »
TOKYO Asian stocks slid to their lowest level in nearly three weeks on Monday, as profit taking set in after soft Chinese factory surveys and U.S. consumer spending data raised concerns over the global economic outlook. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific sh... 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
BOSTON Apple Inc APPL.O said on Sunday it is cleaning up its iOS App Store to remove malicious iPhone and iPad programs identified in the first large-scale attack on the popular mobile software outlet. The company disclosed the effort after several cyber secur... More »
SINGAPORE Asian shares and emerging currencies fell on Monday after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates at record lows raised fresh concerns about growth globally, particularly in China. European markets were set to follow suit, with fin... More »
HONG KONG Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday he hopes the economy will grow faster this year than last, and expects that Asia’s third-largest economy will not see a big hit from China’s slowdown. Jaitley, who is on a road trip meeting foreign ... More »
BOSTON Apple Inc APPL.O said on Sunday it is cleaning up its iOS App Store to remove malicious iPhone and iPad programs identified in the first large-scale attack on the popular mobile software outlet. The company disclosed the effort after several cyber secur... More »
TOKYO Asian shares rose in choppy trade on Monday after Chinese markets were hit by soft economic data, while the dollar sagged as investors questioned whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will be confident enough to raise rates for the first time in almost a deca... More »
BRUSSELS Hutchison Whampoa Ltd (0001.HK) on Friday sought EU approval for its 10.25-billion-pound ($15.82 billion) bid for Telefonica’s (TEF.MC) British mobile unit O2, the same day regulators unveiled a tougher approach towards mergers in the sector. The Euro... More »
TOKYO Asian stocks were subdued on Monday, lacking clear direction as Shanghai shares see-sawed in and out of the red after the Chinese markets resumed trading following a four-day long weekend. Spreadbetters forecast Britain’s FTSE .FTSE, Germany’s DAX .GDAXI... More »
SHANGHAI China stocks fell sharply on Monday before recovering much of their losses as regulators cracked down on speculators which Beijing blames for a 40 percent crash in the country’s stock markets since June. Both main indexes plunged more than 4 percent a... More »
HONG KONG Global financial markets looked set for another rough week on Monday, with stocks and commodities falling ahead of data that could give clues on when the U.S. will raise interest rates and surveys which are likely to point to further weakness in Chin... More »
SINGAPORE Carlyle Group’s nominee on the board of China Fishery Group (CNFG.SI) has stepped down, a few months after the U.S. private equity firm declined to take part in the Singapore-listed company’s rights issue. Patrick Siewert resigned as a non-executive ... More »
SHANGHAI China’s Bank of Communications Co Ltd, the country’s fifth-largest listed bank by assets, reported a 1.5 percent rise in first half net profit, even as its bad debts continued to rise. BoCom on Thursday posted a net profit of 37.32 billion yuan ($11.0... More »
SHANGHAI Chinese stocks tumbled again on Tuesday, despite a rebound in markets elsewhere in Asia, as investors despaired at the lack of policy action from Beijing in response to recent data suggesting the downturn in the world’s second-largest economy is deepe... More »
LONDON Volatile global markets got some respite from the latest blood-letting on Tuesday as bargain hunters nudged up Asian and European stocks, though China, at the center of the rout, was smashed again. The dollar and oil prices saw their first rises in five... More »
NEW YORK/BOSTON With Chinese stocks down nearly 9 percent on Monday and Latin American countries already hurting, some top-performing emerging market fund managers are throwing in the towel when it comes to playing once-hot overseas growth stories. Instead, th... More »
HONG KONG Police raided the Hong Kong offices of taxi-hailing service Uber Inc on Tuesday and arrested five drivers for the “illegal use of vehicles for hire”, police said. A Hong Kong police senior inspector, Bruce Hung, said undercover police officers had us... More »
HONG KONG HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L) beat expectations with a 10 percent rise in first-half profit on Monday, driven by a strong performance in Hong Kong, and said it had agreed the sale of its unprofitable Brazilian unit. It said it had agreed to sell Banco Brade... More »
SAO PAULO HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L) agreed to sell its Brazilian unit to Banco Bradesco SA (BBDC4.SA) for $5.2 billion, retreating from the second-largest emerging market economy after years of disappointing performance. Europe’s No. 1 bank said in a statemen... More »
HONG KONG/TOKYO An index of Asian shares outside Japan fell close to this year’s lows on Monday thanks to a deepening selloff in commodities and fresh concerns over slowing growth in China, while the dollar held its ground against a basket of currencies. In li... More »
TAIPEI Protests in Taiwan over textbook revisions which students say aim to brainwash them into accepting a “one China” view of history underscore the island’s growing sense of independence from its vast neighbor and geopolitical foe. Hundreds of youths storme... More »
BANGKOK/HONG KONG U.S. fund giant BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) has won a special new licence that will allow it to raise funds in China directly for the first time, a senior executive told Reuters, paving the way for the world’s largest money manager to expand in the... More »
TOKYO Most Asian stocks drooped on Tuesday as Chinese equity markets went into a fresh tailspin, fraying investor nerves already strained by uncertainty hanging over the future of Greece and the European currency union. Chinese shares fell more than 5 percent ... More »
SHANGHAI Chinese investors sold off shares on Tuesday morning after Premier Li Keqiang was quoted on a government website saying that China has the ability to deal with economic risks but did not specifically mention the country’s embattled stock market. Inves... More »
NEW YORK Greece’s sound rejection of a bailout at a referendum on Sunday increased the chances it may leave the euro zone, but Athens and its creditors could still reach a deal, said a top strategist for BlackRock Inc, the world’s largest asset manager. “It do... More »
ZURICH Tunisia has filed an objection to HSBC’s agreement to pay 40 million Swiss francs ($43 million) to settle a money laundering investigation at its Swiss private bank, a lawyer representing the North African country said on Monday. After four months of in... More »
ZURICH Tunisia has filed an objection to HSBC’s agreement to pay 40 million Swiss francs ($42.5 million) to settle a money laundering investigation at its Swiss private bank, Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported on Sunday. After four months of inquiries Ge... More »
SAO PAULO Swiss lender UBS AG made a whistleblower deal with Brazilian authorities investigating the suspected rigging of Brazil’s currency market and will receive no punishment in the case, a local newspaper reported on Friday. The investigation, which involv... More »
HONG KONG Asian shares held near five-month lows on Tuesday after Chinese stocks took another leg down while safe-haven assets received a boost as investors nervously awaited further developments in the deepening euro zone crisis. China’s stocks .SSEC tumbled ... More »
TOKYO U.S. stock futures edged up and the euro sagged in early Asian trading on Tuesday as Greece lurched toward defaulting on a debt payment due later in the session, raising the likelihood of the cash-strapped nation’s exit from the euro zone. Greece will no... More »
ORLANDO, Fla. Walt Disney Co will ban selfie sticks starting next week at its theme parks around the world, the company said on Friday, joining a growing list of attractions that restrict the camera accessories for safety reasons. Beginning Tuesday, the compan... More »
HONG KONG Hong Kong’s legislature on Thursday vetoed a China-vetted electoral reform package that had been criticized by opposition pro-democracy lawmakers and activists as undemocratic, potentially easing the prospect of fresh mass protests. The vote came ear... More »
SEOUL South Korea on Tuesday reported the first two deaths from an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) that has affected 25 people in two weeks, as officials scrambled to contain the outbreak. A 58-year-old woman, who had contact with South Kor... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The dollar started the week on the defensive on Monday after more disappointing U.S. economic data reinforced expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will not hike interest rates any time soon, while concerns about Greece’s debt talks pressured... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – French media group Vivendi has made a 250 million euro ($275 million) indicative offer for most of Dailymotion, the video-sharing website owned by French telecoms group Orange, a source said on Monday. The source said that Orange’s board woul... More »
