BEIJING (Reuters) – Several Chinese commercial banks cut interest rates on a range of yuan deposits from Monday, following their larger peers in a coordinated move to ease pressure on profit margins. The deposit rate cuts follow a similar move by China’s biggest state lenders on Friday and marks the second such industry-wide cut within…
By Ahmed Rasheed and Timour Azhari BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Iraq’s parliament on Monday approved a 2023 budget of 198.9 trillion dinars ($153 billion) that sets out record spending on a growing public wage bill and development projects to improve services and rebuild infrastructure ruined by neglect and war. The budget deficit is estimated at a record…
By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s wholesale inflation slowed for a fifth consecutive month in May because of sliding fuel and commodity prices, data showed on Monday, a sign cost-push pressure that has driven up consumer inflation may be subsiding. The data underscores the central bank’s view that consumer inflation will slow in coming months…
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to “hold hands” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and bolster strategic cooperation on their shared goal of building a powerful country, state media KCNA reported on Monday. Kim made the pledge in a message to Putin marking Russia’s National Day, defending his decision to…
By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) -The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy this week and its forecast for a moderate economic recovery, as robust corporate and household spending cushion the blow from slowing overseas demand, sources said. The central bank also may signal that inflation is overshooting its forecasts, which…
By Parisa Hafezi DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday said a deal with the West over Tehran’s nuclear work was possible if the country’s nuclear infrastructure remained intact, amid a stalemate between Tehran and Washington to revive a 2015 nuclear pact. Months of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to salvage the nuclear accord…
By Aziz El Yaakoubi and Maha El Dahan RIYADH (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia wants to collaborate, not compete, with China, the kingdom’s energy minister declared on Sunday, saying he “ignored” Western suspicions over their growing ties. As the world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia’s bilateral relationship with the world’s biggest energy consumer is anchored by hydrocarbon…
By Saurabh Sharma COLONELGUNJ, India (Reuters) – The chief of the Wrestling Federation of India, under police investigation for suspected sexual misconduct after accusations by female athletes, held a political rally on Sunday in his first public appearance since the probe was launched in April. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, also a federal lawmaker from Prime…
BEIJING (Reuters) – Honduras opened an embassy in China on Sunday, Chinese state media reported, after the Central American nation cut diplomatic relations with Taiwan earlier this year. The embassy in Beijing was opened by foreign ministers from the two countries, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Honduran President Xiomara Castro is in China for a state…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China has been spying from Cuba for some time and upgraded its intelligence collection facilities there in 2019, a Biden administration official said on Saturday, following a report about a new spying effort underway on the island. The Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported that China had reached a secret deal with…
