ASIA:   A Reuters poll of 19 economists showed that Japan’s core consumer inflation likely increased in April due to retail price hikes offsetting the effect of the government’s energy subsidies. The core CPI, which excludes fresh food but includes energy items, likely grew by 3.4% in April from a year earlier, marking the fastest […]

ASIA:   The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today: NIKKEI 225 increased 4.54 points or 0.02% to 29,126.72 Shanghai decreased 9.60 points or -0.29% to 3,309.55 Hang Seng decreased 18.41 points or -0.09% to 19,743.79 ASX 200 decreased 3.80 points or -0.05% to 7,251.90 Kospi decreased 5.51 points or -0.22% to 2,491.00 […]

ASIA: The Agricultural Bank of China, one of the country’s largest commercial lenders, has scaled up support for the manufacturing sector. As of the end of March, the bank’s outstanding loans to the manufacturing sector exceeded 2.69 trillion yuan ($388.42 billion), according to the bank. Newly-added loans to the manufacturing industry stood at over 390 […]

ASIA:   The UAE and India are expected to surpass their non-oil trade target of $50 billion this year, on their way to reaching the $100 billion goal by 2030. Bilateral non-oil trade reached $45.5 billion between May 2022 and March 2023, with a 7% increase from the previous year. In the first quarter of […]

COMMENT #1: I see you are not a 100% diehard Republican or a Democrat. Not sure what that makes you. Perhaps you should run for president. LR COMMENT #2: The more I have looked into everything, the more I see your point. The majority of people think linearly. Everything is just a straight line. It […]

ASIA:   High prices are starting to put pressure on small and midsize businesses in Japan, forcing a record number of them into bankruptcy as the country lags behind the West in passing along the increased costs to customers.  Fiscal 2022 saw 463 companies file for bankruptcy over rising prices or an inability to pass […]

ASIA:   The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today: NIKKEI 225 closed Shanghai increased 27.18 points or 0.82% to 3,350.46 Hang Seng increased 249.57 points or 1.27% to 19,948.73 ASX 200 decreased 4.30 points or -0.06% to 7,193.10 Kospi decreased 0.46 points or -0.02% to 2,500.94 SENSEX increased 555.95 points or 0.91% […]

ASIA:   Core consumer inflation in the Japanese capital beat expectations in April and an index cutting fuel costs rose at its fastest pace in four decades, underscoring the challenge the central bank’s new chief faces in keeping interest rates ultra-low. The core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes fuel […]

ASIA: China Gold Association said that China’s gold production recovered to pre-pandemic level as demand for gold and jewelry jumped during the first quarter of this year. As COVID-19 impacts waned, the gold output of domestic mines operated by big gold enterprises reached around 32.72 tonnes in Q1, accounting for nearly half of the country’s […]

ASIA:   Investors are bracing for a regime change in global markets as the Bank of Japan moves closer to abandoning policies that have depressed the yen for decades, luring Japanese money back home. The yen has gained more than 11% from 30-year lows against the dollar last October and about 9% from eight-year lows […]