2023

By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese supermarket owner Hiromichi Akiba has built his bustling business through close ties with his neighbourhood – the reason, he says, he can’t make the price hikes on his wares that would allow him to give his workers a pay rise. Steep price increases on surging raw materials costs…

(Reuters) – Global equity funds secured weekly inflows for a second straight week in the week to Jan. 18 on hopes over waning inflationary risks and more measured rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, though recent data showed a drop in consumer spending. Refinitiv Lipper data showed global equity funds obtained $5.24 billion worth of…

By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) – Masami Fujino got his first raise in 20 years recently, but it’s still not enough to let the Tokyo day labourer treat himself to plain McDonald’s hamburgers as much as he used to. “Last year, I finally got a bit of a raise at one place,” said the 54-year-old,…

By Ankur Banerjee SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar loitered around its seven-month lows on Friday as fears of an economic slowdown dented risk appetite, while the yen eased even as speculation swirls that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will eventually move away from its ultra-easy policy. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency…

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Ankur Banerjee With the Year of the Rabbit upon us, the Asian markets shrugged off some of the skittishness seen overnight on Wall Street, attempting a bit of a risk-on rally. Thin liquidity will keep gains capped, though, and fears of an economic…

(Reuters) – The lending unit of crypto firm Genesis filed on Thursday for U.S. bankruptcy protection from creditors, toppled by a market rout along with the likes of exchange FTX and lender BlockFi. Genesis Global Capital, one of the largest crypto lenders, froze customer redemptions on Nov. 16 after FTX stunned the financial world with…

By Sudarshan Varadhan (Reuters) – Oil prices were set to post a second straight week of gains on Friday, spurred largely by brightening economic prospects for China which should boost its fuel demand. Brent futures for March delivery gained 30 cents, or 0.35%, to $86.46 a barrel by 0317 GMT, while U.S. crude advanced 49…

By Kevin Buckland TOKYO (Reuters) – Most Asian equity markets edged higher on Friday, while the U.S. dollar hung near its weakest level since May, with investors fretting about the risks of a global recession as the Federal Reserve presses on with interest rate increases. U.S. Treasury yields remained elevated in Tokyo after bouncing off…

By Arathy Somasekhar (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Friday on optimism that the U.S. Federal Reserve will ends its tightening cycle, buoying the economy and boosting fuel demand. Brent futures for March delivery gained 48 cents, or 0.6%, to $86.64 a barrel by 0113 GMT, while U.S. crude advanced 54 cents to $80.87 per…