By Makiko Yamazaki and Ritsuko Shimizu TOKYO (Reuters) – Sompo Holdings Inc will place more focus on integrating domestic and overseas operations for further growth after a spell of acquisitions abroad boosted the global presence of Japan’s No. 3 non-life insurer group, a senior executive said. “We rapidly shifted capital allocations to overseas to secure…
By Leika Kihara and Yoshifumi Takemoto TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is set to keep monetary policy steady on Friday and may struggle to raise interest rates off their ultra-low levels this year due to the weak economy, the country’s former top currency diplomat Hiroshi Watanabe said on Wednesday. With inflation exceeding…
BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand’s customs-based exports contracted less than expected in March as some key shipments improved, and the commerce ministry said on Wednesday it was expecting some export growth for the full year. Exports, a key driver of growth, dropped 4.2% in March from a year earlier, far better than the forecast for a year-on-year…
By Chen Lin SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Singapore’s growth outlook in 2023 appears uncertain amid global headwinds, the central bank said on Wednesday, but price pressures may ease as rents, a key component of inflation in the city-state, moderate in coming quarters. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in a semi-annual report the economy is expected…
By Mike Dolan LONDON (Reuters) – Growing wealth inequality and rise of the digital economy may well have combined to undermine the entire banking system – in an intriguing connection that potentially helps tie up some loose ends in world markets. Many investment strategists have for years seen the ebb and flow of world liquidity…
SEOUL (Reuters) – Possible U.S. presidential candidate Ron DeSantis called on Wednesday for greater cooperation with South Korea as he visited Seoul on the second leg of a trip seen aimed at burnishing his foreign policy credentials for a presidential run. DeSantis, in a meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, vowed support for South Korean…
(Reuters) -Montana Governor Greg Gianforte is seeking to broaden a bill that will ban not just TikTok, but other social media applications that provide certain data to foreign adversaries, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Earlier this month, Montana lawmakers passed a bill, known as SB 419, to ban TikTok, which is owned by…
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s export-dependent economy likely slipped into a recession in the first quarter, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday, weighed down by sluggish demand for technology products amid global economic woes. Gross domestic product (GDP) likely fell 1.25% in the January-March period versus a year earlier, the poll of 24 economists showed. The…
By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s new central bank chief is likely to keep monetary settings ultra-loose at his debut meeting on Friday, but may consider dropping references to the COVID-19 in forward guidance as the pandemic fades as an economic risk. While such a tweak would not have material implications for policy,…
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ central bank considers it “dangerous” to cut interest rates faster than a policy easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve, its governor said on Wednesday. While Philippine inflation will decelerate to below 4% late this year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) aims to keep its interest rate differential with…
