TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s services sector activity shrank in February at the quickest pace in nearly two years, a survey showed on Thursday, as business took a hit from struggling consumer sentiment after a record spike in infections of the Omicron coronavirus variant. The activity contraction highlights the challenge Japanese policymakers face in stimulating consumer spending…
BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were lower Friday in Asia after another bumpy day on Wall Street, as investors remain concerned about the broader impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Shares fell more than 2% in Tokyo and Hong Kong and declined in most other Asian markets. U.S. futures were lower. The S&P 500 fell 0.5%…
TOKYO (Reuters) -A Tokyo court on Thursday handed Nissan Motor executive Greg Kelly a sixth month suspended sentence for helping Carlos Ghosn hide pay from financial regulators, paving the way for the American lawyer to return home after more than three years in Japan. “The court finds the existence of unpaid remuneration” and the failure…
By Florence Tan SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices extended their rally on Thursday, with Brent rising above $118 a barrel as trade disruption and shipping issues from Russian sanctions over the Ukraine crisis sparked supply worries, while U.S. crude stocks fell to multi-year lows. Brent crude futures rose as high as $118.22 a barrel, the highest…
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s already dire economic crisis has deepened as oil prices hover near $110 a barrel. Vehicles are stranded with empty tanks, power cuts are depriving students of study time for exams and shopping mall air conditioners are being switched off to conserve energy. The South Asian island nation already…
By Byron Kaye SYDNEY (Reuters) – Credit Suisse Group AG joined creditors of Greensill Capital by filing lawsuits in Australia seeking compensation from the country’s biggest insurer over the supply chain financier’s collapse, court filings showed. Local media put the total claims at A$300 million ($219 million). Insurance Australia Group Ltd (IAG) was previously named…
(Reuters) -Spotify said on Wednesday it has closed its office in Russia indefinitely in response to what the audio streaming platform described as Moscow’s “unprovoked attack on Ukraine.” Since July 2021, Russian legislation signed by President Vladimir Putin has obliged foreign social media companies with more than 500,000 daily users to open local offices or…
BEIJING (AP) — China’s ruling Communist Party is temporarily turning away from its longer-term ambitions to focus on pulling the economy out of a slump as the country heads into the annual meeting of its ceremonial legislature. The National People’s Congress, usually used to showcase big initiatives, is overshadowed this year by a “policy pivot”…
TOKYO (Reuters) -A Tokyo court on Thursday convicted former Nissan Motor executive Greg Kelly of helping Carlos Ghosn hide pay from financial regulators, but said he had not been responsible for the total $80 million the ex-Nissan chief allegedly failed to disclose. “The court finds the existence of unpaid remuneration” and the failure to disclose…
By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares crept higher on Thursday after reassuring comments from the Federal Reserve helped Wall Street rally, though the war in Ukraine sent oil and resource prices spiralling ever higher in a grim omen for global inflation. Western nations tightened sanctions on Russia as Ukraine’s second biggest city, Kharkiv,…
