Japan’s Q1 GDP growth seen revised up on strong capex: Reuters poll

By Kantaro Komiya TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s economy likely grew more than initially estimated in the first three months of this year, thanks to solid investments by manufacturers, a Reuters poll showed. Revised real gross domestic product (GDP) data is expected to show the world’s third-largest economy expanded at an annualised rate of 1.9% in…

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Bank of China chairman visits Papua New Guinea amid Sino-US strategic rivalry

By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) – Bank of China chairman Ge Haijiao has travelled to Papua New Guinea (PNG) as the world’s fourth-largest bank seeks an operating licence in the Pacific Islands nation, which is seeking to boost China trade while expanding U.S. defence ties. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week travelled to…

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Japan, South Korea finance ministers to hold next meeting on June 29

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and South Korean Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho will meet on June 29 in Tokyo for the next bilateral meeting, almost two months after the first talk between the two countries’ financial leaders in seven years. Japan’s top financial diplomat Masato Kanda and South Korea’s Deputy Minister for…

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Florence seeks to ban Airbnb rentals apartments from city centre – mayor

By Federica Urso and Federico Maccioni ROME (Reuters) -Florence wants to ban residential properties in its historic centre from being used for short-term rentals by platforms such as Airbnb in order to free up more homes for local people in the Tuscan city. Dario Nardella, the mayor of one of Italy’s most popular tourist destinations,…

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US fines British Airways $1.1 million over delayed refunds

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) said on Thursday it is fining British Airways $1.1 million for failing to provide timely refunds to passengers for flights to and from the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since March 2020, USDOT received over 1,200 complaints alleging British Airways failed to provide…

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McCarthy’s moment: Debt ceiling vote secures Republican US House speaker’s standing

By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Kevin McCarthy earned his stripes as Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, navigating fierce hardline opposition to pass a debt ceiling bill containing federal spending limits that President Joe Biden for months vowed to resist. Six months after he endured 15 humiliating floor votes just…

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Russia says US hacked thousands of Apple phones in spy plot

By Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday it had uncovered an American espionage operation that compromised thousands of iPhones using sophisticated surveillance software. Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab said dozens of its employees’ devices were compromised in the operation. The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said in…

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Amazon’s iRobot deal faces July 6 EU antitrust deadline

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) -EU antitrust regulators will decide by July 6 whether to clear Amazon.com Inc’s $1.7 billion acquisition of the maker of robot vacuum cleaner iRobot Corp, according to a European Commission filing on Thursday. U.S. online retailer Amazon announced the takeover in August last year that will boost its portfolio…

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