By Leika Kihara (Reuters) -The International Monetary Fund on Thursday warned of “uncertainty” around the direction of Japan’s monetary policy, saying a possible shift from ultra-low interest rates could have a significant impact on global financial markets. Krishna Srinivasan, director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, also pointed to risks surrounding Asia’s economic outlook…
By Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s factory activity unexpectedly contracted in April as orders fell and poor domestic demand dragged on the sprawling manufacturing sector, a private survey showed on Thursday, imperilling the broader economic outlook for the second quarter. The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 49.5 in…
By Fransiska Nangoy, Stefanno Sulaiman JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia has cut tax incentives to limit investment in lower quality nickel products as it aims to extract as much value as possible from its rich nickel reserves and push for further downstream investment, a cabinet minister said on Wednesday. The government is aiming for around $95 billion…
MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Albemarle has agreed to double the capacity at its lithium hydroxide processing operations in Western Australia to 100,000 tonnes by 2026 and spend around $1.5 billion to build two more trains at the facility, Albemarle said on Wednesday. Construction is expected to start immediately at Albemarle’s Kemerton operations south of Perth, with the…
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s exports to China surged to record highs in March as the Asian giant sucked in more iron for its steel industry and lowered barriers to thermal coal shipments amid thawing diplomatic relations. Data out on Thursday showed exports of Australian goods to China hit A$19 billion ($12.71 billion) in March, a…
By Ross Kerber (Reuters) – Median pay for top U.S. CEOs rose 7.7% last year to a record $22.3 million, a new study found, as big stock awards helped the group stay ahead of inflation while U.S. workers’ pay fell behind. Among those receiving big pay increases were the CEOs of Jefferies Financial Group and…
By Byron Kaye and Himanshi Akhand (Reuters) – National Australia Bank Ltd, the country’s No. 2 lender, fell short of analyst forecasts in half-year profit released on Thursday and took a hit to its share price after warning that the windfall from rising interest rates had peaked. Profit at the bank, also Australia’s biggest business…
(Reuters) – Western Alliance Bancorp said on Wednesday it had not experienced unusual deposit outflows following the sale of collapsed lender First Republic Bank to JPMorgan Chase & Co, as the U.S. regional bank sought to reassure investors. Phoenix-based Western Alliance said its total deposits were $48.8 billion as of Tuesday, up from $48.2 billion…
(Reuters) -Private-equity firm Apollo Global Management is nearing a deal to buy U.S. aluminum products maker Arconic, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal, which could be announced by the time Arconic reports its results on Thursday, is set to value the manufacturer at $30 a share,…
By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Oklahoma is seeing a sharp increase in foreign investment interest, especially in its renewable energy sector, and is on the cusp of signing large new deals with firms in Switzerland and Asia, Governor Kevin Stitt told Reuters on Wednesday. Stitt said Oklahoma, which just signed a trade agreement with…
