China keeps lending benchmarks unchanged; economic weakness tests policymakers

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -China left its lending benchmarks unchanged on Thursday, after the central bank stood pat on a key policy rate earlier this week even as signs of a faltering economic recovery called for more stimulus. China’s economy grew at a frail pace in the second quarter, raising investor hopes for more supportive measures to…

Read More

Canada’s Pacific dock workers revoke strike notice after Trudeau’s crisis meeting

By Chris Helgren and Steve Scherer VANCOUVER (Reuters) – Dock workers on Canada’s Pacific coast said they have revoked a strike notice issued for Saturday, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau directed a crisis meeting to pursue all options to ensure the stability of supply chains as he stressed the critical role of port operations. The…

Read More

S.Korea financial watchdog gathers securities firms to manage real estate risks

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s financial market watchdog gathered local securities firms on Thursday to assess real estate-related risks and urged for thorough and preemptive preparation against them amid concerns the number of overdue loans could rise. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) called on the firms, which are akin to investment banks, to swiftly write…

Read More

Factbox-What has become of Western carmakers’ assets in Russia?

By Gleb Stolyarov and Alexander Marrow (Reuters) – The Western automakers that dominated Russia’s car market left following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, leaving a slumping production and sales in their wake, with domestic producers and Chinese firms picking up the pieces. Here is an overview of the fate of foreign carmakers’ assets in Russia: RENAULT…

Read More

Australian BNPL firm Zip’s credit performance in local market weakens further

(Reuters) – Australia’s Zip Co Ltd said on Thursday it faced a jump in bad debts at home grounds, its biggest market by revenue, during the March-June quarter due to poor domestic consumer credit and discrepancies with third-party payment processors. The country’s biggest standalone buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) provider said Australia’s June-quarter net bad debts, which are…

Read More

US House members want Biden to negotiate Taiwan tax deal

By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation on Wednesday that would authorize President Joe Biden’s administration to negotiate a tax agreement with Taiwan, seeking to foster investment as Washington works to shore up the island against a rising China. The lawmakers, including House Foreign…

Read More

US regulators unveil antitrust roadmap with Big Tech in crosshairs

By Diane Bartz and Anirban Sen WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. antitrust regulators published guidelines on Wednesday on the kinds of mergers and acquisitions they object to, reaffirming the skepticism with which President Joe Biden’s administration has approached many deals, especially in the technology sector. The U.S. Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have mounted an…

Read More

Biden widens war on junk fees, says US consumers tired of being treated as ‘suckers’

By Steve Holland and Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House on Wednesday expanded its war on junk fees to the rental housing market, announced a crackdown on price-fixing in food and agricultural markets, and unveiled draft merger guidelines as part of an ongoing push to aid U.S. consumers. President Joe Biden, who has made…

Read More