Asia Economy

Japan’s Ishiba rules out tax cuts funded by debt issuance
World

Japan’s Ishiba rules out tax cuts funded by debt issuance

Japan’s prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Japan will not resort to tax cuts funded by additional debt issuance, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday, pushing back against political pressure to loosen fiscal policy ahead of an upper house election slated for July. “Japan is seeing interest rates turn positive and its fiscal state is not good,” Ishiba told parliament, […]

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China calls U.S. trade talks ‘good’ but quiet on next steps, as Trump hints at Xi call
Politics

China calls U.S. trade talks ‘good’ but quiet on next steps, as Trump hints at Xi call

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, China’s Vice Minister of Finance Liao Min, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and China’s International Trade Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang, meet on the day of a bilateral meeting between the U.S. and China, in Geneva, Switzerland, May 11, 2025. Keystone/eda/martial Trezzini | Via Reuters […]

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Japan assets saw record inflows in April as investors fled U.S. markets — their promise still holds
World

Japan assets saw record inflows in April as investors fled U.S. markets — their promise still holds

A man walks past an electronic board showing the Nikkei 225 index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange along a street in Tokyo on April 7, 2025.  Kazuhiro Nogi | Afp | Getty Images Japan saw record foreign inflows into its equities and long-term bonds in April as investors fled U.S. markets following President Donald Trump’s […]

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Japan’s economy contracts by a more than expected 0.2% from prior three months as exports fall
World

Japan’s economy contracts by a more than expected 0.2% from prior three months as exports fall

Commercial and residential buildings at dusk in the Minato district of Tokyo, Japan. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Japan’s economy shrank for the first time in a year, contracting 0.2% in the March quarter as exports declined sharply, preliminary government data showed Friday. The gross domestic product data was poorer compared to the 0.1% […]

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Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed as investors parse Japan’s downbeat GDP data
World

Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed as investors parse Japan’s downbeat GDP data

Yukinori Hasumi | Moment | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Friday as investors parsed Japan’s latest gross domestic product figures and awaited a slate of other economic data from the region. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.14%, while the Topix added 0.12% after Japan’s economy contracted 0.2% quarter-on-quarter for the three months ended March. […]

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Trump says he doesn’t want Apple building products in India: ‘I had a little problem with Tim Cook’
World

Trump says he doesn’t want Apple building products in India: ‘I had a little problem with Tim Cook’

Donald Trump speaks alongside Apple CEO Tim Cook (L) during the first meeting of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, March 6, 2019. Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he told Apple CEO Tim Cook […]

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India approves Apple-supplier Foxconn’s 3 million joint venture in bid to boost chip industry
Technology

India approves Apple-supplier Foxconn’s $433 million joint venture in bid to boost chip industry

In this photo illustration, a Foxconn logo is seen displayed on a smartphone. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, has received approval from the Indian government to build a semiconductor plant in a joint venture with HCL Group, drawing an investment of 37.06 billion rupees ($433 million).  […]

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Group of 21 economies — including U.S. and China — warns of growth slowdown over trade tensions
World

Group of 21 economies — including U.S. and China — warns of growth slowdown over trade tensions

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – 2025/04/16: An APEC 2025 large-scale promotional video and a statue of King Sejong the Great are seen at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images An intergovernmental grouping of 21 economies including the United States and China warned Thursday that their collective growth risks a sharp […]

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Asia-Pacific markets fall as investors assess U.S.-China trade developments
World

Asia-Pacific markets fall as investors assess U.S.-China trade developments

© Marco Bottigelli | Moment | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets fell Thursday, after mostly gaining in the previous session on easing U.S.-China trade tensions. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.90%, while the Topix lost 0.75%. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.29% while the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.37%. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.24%. Hong Kong’s Hang […]

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Sony shares rise about 2% in volatile trading following share buyback announcement
World

Sony shares rise about 2% in volatile trading following share buyback announcement

A file photo of Hiroki Totoki, Sony Group Corporation executive, delivering a keynote address at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, on January 6, 2025.  Artur Widak | Nurphoto | Getty Images Sony Group shares rose about 2% Wednesday in volatile trading after the Japanese conglomerate announced a 250 billion yen ($1.7 billion) share buyback and […]

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