By Scott Murdoch and Lewis Jackson SYDNEY (Reuters) -Planning for Virgin Australia’s upcoming initial public offering (IPO) is “well advanced”, Chairman Ryan Cotton said on Wednesday in an internal email that also outlined bonus payments to the airline’s shareholders and staff after a return to profit. Cotton said Australia’s second-biggest airline was days away from…
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong’s Security Chief Chris Tang criticised an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on a seizure by authorities of a statue commemorating Beijing’s Tiananmen Square crackdown on democracy protesters in 1989. Tang said in a letter to the newspaper that the WSJ opinion piece, titled “Subversive Art is a…
By Karen Lema (Reuters) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has said the prospect of tensions escalating over Taiwan was a “grave concern” to Southeast Asian leaders and discussions about it were inevitable at this week’s summit in Indonesia. “Considering that we agree on the concept of ASEAN centrality when it comes to regional concerns,…
By Sujith Pai BENGALURU (Reuters) – Malaysia’s economic growth probably slowed in the first quarter, hit by tepid consumption and declining exports, a Reuters poll of economists showed. The Southeast Asian economy probably expanded 4.8% in the January-March quarter from a year ago, the median forecast of 21 economists polled from May 2 to 9…
By Madhumita Gokhale BENGALURU (Reuters) – India’s consumer inflation likely cooled to an 18-month low in April as rises in food and fuel prices moderated, keeping it below the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance limit for the second consecutive month, a Reuters poll of economists found. Food inflation, which accounts for nearly half of…
By Renju Jose SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s Labor government said on Wednesday the billions in cost-of-living relief unveiled in the federal budget for families and businesses will not worsen inflationary pressures and put more pressure on the central bank to lift rates further. Australia on Tuesday boasted the first budget surplus in 15 years after…
By Jamie McGeever (Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever. A heavy dose of Japanese corporate earnings and a smattering of South Korean economic data give Asian markets a local steer on Wednesday against a backdrop of growing unease surrounding the U.S. debt ceiling crisis. Full-year Japanese earnings…
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s current account balance in March ended a two-month run of deficit to post a surplus, but suffered its biggest quarterly deficit in more than 14 years during the January-March period, data showed on Wednesday. The country posted a $0.27 billion current account surplus in March, after setting a deficit in…
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An auto trade group warned on Tuesday that aggressive U.S. targets for reductions in vehicle emissions may rely on a too rapid transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and pose significant challenges with manufacturing and supply chains. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed sharp emissions cuts that it…
By Herbert Lash and Alun John NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -A gauge of global equities fell on Tuesday as investors grew cautious ahead of key data on U.S. consumer prices, while the impasse over the U.S. debt ceiling sparked a sharp sell-off in short-dated Treasury bills. Disappointing forecasts from companies such as PayPal and Apple supplier…
