HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnamese lawmakers on Tuesday urged the central bank to consider cutting policy rates further to support the economy and help the country meet its economic growth target for the year. Vietnam’s growth slowed from 5.92% in late 2022 to 3.32% in the first quarter of 2023, prompting the State Bank of Vietnam…
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s imports of iron ore rose 5.1% in April from the same period the previous year, customs data showed on Tuesday, as buyers anticipated strong demand for the steelmaking ingredient during the peak spring construction season. The world’s top iron ore consumer brought in 90.44 million tonnes of the steelmaking ingredient last…
(Reuters) – Progress in reducing deaths during pregnancy and childbirth and among newborn infants has stalled since 2015, and over 60 countries are on track to miss 2030 targets at current rates, a World Health Organization report released on Tuesday found. The COVID-19 pandemic, poverty, and worsening humanitarian crises have strained already pressured healthcare systems,…
By Makiko Yamazaki and Katya Golubkova TOKYO (Reuters) -Two major European asset managers have jointly filed a shareholder resolution at Japanese electricity generator Electric Power Development Co Ltd, known as J-Power, for the second consecutive year in a row. The asset managers are calling on J-Power, Japan’s largest operator of coal-fired power stations, to set…
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was a very positive step, the European Union ambassador to China said on Tuesday, while urging greater efforts to achieve peace. Xi’s hour-long call with Zelenskiy for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, fulfilled one of Kyiv’s long-standing goals,…
By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) -Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Tuesday the central bank will end its yield curve control policy and then start shrinking its balance sheet, once prospects heighten for inflation to sustainably hit its 2% target. Speaking in parliament, Ueda said Japan’s economy was picking up and inflation…
By Stephen Nellis (Reuters) – LinkedIn, the social media network owned by Microsoft Corp that focuses on business professionals, said on Monday it would cut 716 jobs as demand wavers, while also shutting down its China-focused job application. LinkedIn, which has 20,000 employees, has grown revenue each quarter during the last year, but it joins…
By Kantaro Komiya TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s consumer spending unexpectedly fell in March at the fastest rate in a year, while real wages marked a twelfth month of decline on persistent inflation, highlighting the challenges facing the economy in mounting a strong post-COVID revival. Tuesday’s government data also reinforce the uncertainties around the Bank of…
By Devjyot Ghoshal, Juarawee Kittisilpa and Orathai Sriring BANGKOK (Reuters) – Kavita Wongyakasem runs a small business in Bangkok, owns a two-storey house on the outskirts of the Thai capital, drives a pick-up truck, and sends her two daughters to good schools. But every day is a desperate struggle to find the money to keep…
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian retail sales volumes during the first quarter of 2023 fell for a second straight quarter, a sign that rising interest rates and the high cost of living are working to curb consumer spending. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed real retail sales fell 0.6% in the first…
