SYDNEY, May 5 (Reuters) – Australia’s central bank on Friday warned that risks to inflation were on the upside given low productivity growth, rising energy prices and a surge in rents as population growth out paces all expectations. In a quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) reiterated that interest rates…
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s service activity grew for a fourth straight month in April, a private-sector survey showed on Friday, as businesses continued to benefit from a return toward pre-pandemic levels of demand and output, although expansion slowed slightly. The Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 56.4 in April from 57.8 the…
BEIJING (Reuters) – Tesla Inc has raised prices for its new Model S and Model X vehicles in China by 19,000 yuan ($2,751), its website showed on Friday. ($1 = 6.9060 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Shanghai newsroom and Liz Lee; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
By Praveen Menon and Roushni Nair (Reuters) -Australia’s Macquarie Group on Friday forecast higher short-term income from its lucrative commodities trading business as price volatility and increased hedging boosted the company’s annual profit to a record high. The Ukraine war and unpredictable weather in North America have turned Macquarie’s oil, gas and power trading unit…
By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) -White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday he will travel to Saudi Arabia this weekend for talks with Saudi leaders, as the United States seeks to bolster often-frayed ties with Riyadh. Sullivan, speaking at a think tank conference, also said the United States will “take the necessary…
By Arathy Somasekhar (Reuters) – Oil prices held steady in early trading on Friday, but were set for a third straight week of losses after markets witnessed dramatic drops on fears of a weakening U.S. economy and slowing Chinese demand. Brent crude rose 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $72.64 a barrel at 0002 GMT, while…
NEW YORK (Reuters) – An exiled Chinese businessman charged by U.S. prosecutors with leading a more than $1 billion fraud on Thursday appealed a judge’s order that he remain in jail pending trial, court records showed. Guo Wengui, once a business associate of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s adviser Steve Bannon, was arrested in March….
By Pavel Polityuk KYIV (Reuters) -Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday evening, the fourth assault in as many days subjecting residents to spasms of gunfire and explosions, and at least one drone was shot down. City authorities had declared an alert for Kyiv and the surrounding area. Residents who had gone to…
By Ann Saphir and Dan Burns WASHINGTON – A fight between Republicans and Democrats over the debt limit ceiling could send the U.S. economy into a recession even if the standoff doesn’t actually trigger a debt default, analysts say – and a much worse downturn with perhaps 7.5 million people thrown out of work if…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Azerbaijan and Armenia have made “tangible progress” towards a peace agreement in negotiations this week in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday. Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over 30 years focusing on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated mainly by Armenians. In…
