By Jeanny Kao and Faith Hung TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan’s export-dependent economy contracted more than expected in the first quarter and slipped into recession as exports were hit by slowing global tech demand and broader economic woes, but should hit a 2% growth target this year. Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 3.02% in January-March from a…
(Reuters) – The Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Friday kept ultra-low interest rates but announced a broad review of its monetary policy, laying the groundwork for new Governor Kazuo Ueda to gradually phase out his predecessor’s massive stimulus programme. Following are excerpts from the news conference, which was conducted in Japanese, as translated by Reuters:…
By Geert De Clercq PARIS (Reuters) -The French economy grew slightly in the first quarter, despite a series of strikes against the government’s pension reform bill, but inflation remained stubbornly high, rising to nearly six percent in April. Statistics agency INSEE data showed GDP edging up 0.2% in Q1, in line with expectations, after a…
(Reuters) – The Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Friday kept ultra-low interest rates, but announced a broad review of its monetary policy, laying the groundwork for new Governor Kazuo Ueda to phase out his predecessor’s massive stimulus programme. As widely expected, the BOJ made no changes to its yield curve control (YCC) policy that sets…
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Euro zone bank regulators should consider tweaking a raft of rules, from how much cash banks should hold to how failing institutions are resolved, in order to protect the financial system, two leading European Central Bank policymakers said. The 20-nation currency bloc’s lenders fared well in last month’s banking turmoil but some…
By Simon Jessop and Tommy Wilkes LONDON (Reuters) – Standard Chartered Plc said on Friday it has changed its target for curbing carbon emissions associated with its loans to oil and gas companies, ditching a methodology that critics say allows climate-damaging emissions to rise. The Asia, Africa and Middle East-focused bank had previously set a…
By Richa Naidu and Jessica DiNapoli LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sudan’s eruption into conflict has left international consumer goods makers racing to shore up supplies of gum arabic, one of the country’s most sought-after products and a key ingredient in everything from fizzy drinks to candy and cosmetics. About 70% of the world’s supply of…
By Alessandro Parodi and Alberto Chiumento (Reuters) – Marilyn Nabor, an experienced high school mathematics teacher in the Philippines, moved to Italy 14 years ago with high hopes of honing her craft in the country of Galileo and Fibonacci. Now aged 49, she works as a housekeeper in Rome, counting cobwebs and crockery, and has…
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s factory activity likely expanded at a slower pace in April, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, pointing to the strains on the manufacturing sector from weak global demand and a slow recovery in the long-depressed domestic property industry. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) is expected to have edged down…
By Brendan O’Brien (Reuters) -Television personality Jerry Springer, known for a long-running talk show that featured raucous audiences, controversial topics and fist-fighting guests and who briefly served as Cincinnati mayor, died at age 79 on Thursday, his family said. Springer died peacefully after a brief illness at his home in suburban Chicago, his family said…
