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…
LONDON (Reuters) -Canadian miner Teck Resources, the target of an unsolicited takeover bid by Glencore, narrowly missed first-quarter estimates on Wednesday, hit by lower prices, weak copper and zinc sales and higher expenses. Teck reported adjusted profit of C$1.81 per share for the three months to March 31, compared with an average analyst estimate of…
PRAGUE (Reuters) – Czech carmaker Skoda Auto, part of German group Volkswagen, wants to expand its electric vehicle range to six models by 2026, the company said, further boosting its ambitions in the shift to e-mobility. The company had previously aimed to launch three new electric models but said in a Tuesday evening release it…
By Nyasha Chingono and Wendell Roelf HARARE (Reuters) – Ben Gilpin is one of hundreds of commercial farmers who has been offered government compensation for being evicted from their land and farms two decades ago, and found the plan has come up short. Expelled from his 1,000-hectare farm during a land reform campaign led by…
ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss financial regulator FINMA has labelled the recovery and resolution plans of two of Switzerland’s five systematically important banks as insufficient, it said on Wednesday. FINMA questioned the ability of Zuercher Kantonalbank (ZKB) and PostFinance to continue functioning in case they experienced a crisis. It said “ZKB has not yet built up…
BERLIN (Reuters) – German consumer sentiment is set to pick up in May as moderating energy prices and expected wage increases help to dissipate households’ initial fears about a loss in purchasing power, a GfK institute survey showed on Wednesday. The institute’s consumer sentiment index improved to -25.7 heading into May from a slightly upwardly…
By Anant Chandak BENGALURU (Reuters) – Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies will grow at a much slower pace in 2023 than last year as expectations for muted gains in crude prices and oil production cuts take a toll on revenues, a Reuters poll found. Oil prices have spiked nearly 20% since they hit this year’s…
