ASIA: India and Israel agreed to resume talks on a free trade agreement from November, with the aim of signing a deal by mid-2022, both countries said on Monday. Ties between the two countries have grown closer in the seven years since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been in power. Several strategic military and […]

ASIA: China’s economic growth in the third quarter slumped to its slowest pace in a year, as a property slowdown and energy shortages highlighted rising pressure on policymakers. Gross domestic product grew 4.9 percent year on year between July and September, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday, compared with […]

ASIA: India’s September fuel consumption crawled higher month-on-month as economic activity continued to ramp up, government data showed on Wednesday, but soaring global oil prices could stall a recovery in the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer. Fuel consumption, a proxy for oil demand, totaled 15.92 million tonnes last month, up slightly from August and […]

ASIA: India’s economy, which contracted by 7.3 percent due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is expected to grow by 9.5 percent in 2021 and 8.5 percent in 2022, according to latest projections released by the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday. India’s growth projection released by the latest World Economic Outlook remains unchanged from its previous WEO (World […]

ASIA: The Indian economy is poised to achieve 10.25 per cent GDP growth in FY 2021-22 on the back of effective government policies, Reserve Bank’s accommodative policy stance and improved business sentiments, industry body PHDCCI said on Monday. Last week, the Reserve Bank retained the GDP (gross domestic product) forecast for the current financial year at 9.5 […]

ASIA: Goldman Sachs has cut China’s growth forecast to 7.8 percent this year from the previously estimated 8.2 percent as the world’s second largest economy faces “yet another growth shock” in the form of constraints on energy consumption. The country is already battling to save Evergrande amid fears that Chinese property behemoth could turn out […]

ASIA:   The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today: NIKKEI 225 increased 370.73 or 1.34% to 28,048.94 Shanghai increased 24.00 or 0.67% to 3,592.17 Hang Seng increased 136.12 or 0.55% to 24,837.85 ASX 200 increased 63.40 points or 0.87% to 7,320.10 Kospi decreased 3.16 points or -0.11% to 2,956.30 SENSEX increased 381.23 […]

ASIA: China has been busy cultivating at least two new coal markets, Mozambique and South Africa, and expanding trade with smaller exporters, including Kazakhstan, Myanmar and Colombia. Cultivation has been underway since the start of the year, as domestic demand for coal-fired power rises acutely amid an electricity crunch and ban on the commodity from […]

The greatest problem I have is that those in power are evolving to the lowest possible denomination. Thirty years ago, I would have intelligent conversations with heads of state. Those days are gone. If I met with Biden, I would probably have to bring a napkin to wipe the drool from his face. I think […]

ASIA: The US plans to launch new trade talks with China, but will maintain tariffs on Chinese imports as it presses Beijing to fulfill pledges to buy more US goods and services, according to Biden administration officials. The Biden administration will directly engage with Beijing in the coming days to enforce commitments in their trade […]