The French and British are at it again, as always. The British Royal Navy and French police boats patrolled offshore from the Isle of Jersey’s port of Saint Helier. French fishermen are angry about losing access to waters off the Jersey coast, thanks to Brexit, and have some 70 ships gathered for a protest calling […]

ASIA: China is set to report its first population decline since records began in 1949 despite the relaxation of the government’s strict family planning policies, which was meant to reverse the falling birth rate of the world’s most populous country. The latest Chinese census, which was completed in December but has yet to be made […]

ASIA: China on Tuesday kept the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) unchanged at 3.85% and five-year LPR at 4.65%. That was in line with predictions from a majority of traders and analysts in a Reuters poll, who had expected no change to either the one-year or five-year LPR. India will waive its 10% customs duty […]

ASIA: International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist Gita Gopinath has said its 2021 GDP numbers for India were locked on March 5, around the same time the country started seeing an upsurge in Covid-19 cases and that there could be a downward risk if the country goes for a nationwide lockdown. The IMF this week […]

ASIA: China’s factory activity in March expanded at the slowest pace in almost a year on softer overall domestic demand, but underlying economic conditions remained positive even as input and output inflationary pressures intensified for manufacturers. The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 50.6 last month — the lowest level since April 2020 […]

ASIA: Chinese officials on Monday said Sweden’s H&M and other foreign brands should not make rash moves or step into politics after the companies raised concerns about forced labor in Xinjiang, sparking a furious online backlash and boycotts. H&M, Burberry, Nike, Adidas, and other Western brands have been hit by consumer boycotts in China since […]

ASIA: The US Commerce Department said on Wednesday that it has served subpoenas on multiple Chinese companies that provide information and communications technology services in the United States to see if they pose a national security risk. The subpoenas will gather information to “allow us to make a determination for possible action that best protects […]

The Washington Post has been forced, no doubt begrudgingly, to print a retraction two months after they published a story that made it sound like Trump was trying to rig the election speaking to an elections investigator in Georgia. The Post reported in January that the then President had spoken to Frances Watson in December, […]

ASIA: India’s trade deficit in goods widened to $12.62 billion in February from $10.16 billion during the same period a year earlier, revised data released by the government on Monday showed. Merchandise exports rose 0.67% in February from a year earlier to $27.93 billion, while imports were up 6.96% to $40.54 billion, the data showed. […]

ASIA: China denied on Friday it was planning to hit e-commerce giant Alibaba with a record fine of almost $1 billion for allegedly flouting monopoly rules, as authorities turned up the pressure on the country’s vast technology sector. Alibaba, China’s largest online shopping portal, has been in the crosshairs of authorities in recent months over […]