ASIA: China has warned the US that stopping US government’s main pension fund from investing in Chinese equities will only hurt US investors. Trump administration officials linked the action to the coronavirus pandemic, which the US and Chinese governments have blamed on each other in increasingly bitter exchanges. The US Department of Homeland Security and […]

ASIA: China has suspended imports of red meat from four Australian abattoirs in a move analysts say was “politically motivated punishment” for Australia’s call for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19. The Chinese embassy in Canberra did not respond to a request for comment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will force additional checks on […]

ASIA: China said that their exports rose 3.5% in April, crushing expectations of a group of economists who predicted a decline of 1-5.7% for the same period. According to data from the General Administration of Customs released on Thursday, exports rose 3.5% from a year ago while imports fell 14.2% in the same period. China’s […]

  ASIA: China’s official index of manufacturing purchasing managers slipped to 50.8 in April from 52.0 in March, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Pandemic triggered recessions around the world have made Chinese manufacturers pessimistic about export demand. Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the United States, has said the two countries need to look beyond […]

ASIA: India’s sovereign rating could come under pressure if its fiscal outlook deteriorates further as the government tries to steer the country through the coronavirus crisis, rating agency Fitch said on Tuesday. Fitch currently rates India at BBB-, with a stable outlook, but any downgrade would consign its sovereign debt to junk bond territory. The […]

ASIA: India laid out plans for the gradual reopening of its economy that will permit some manufacturing, agricultural work, and other activities to resume on a limited basis after April 20, provided they are not in designated coronavirus hotspots. India’s top-down approach to implementing the initial countrywide lockdown was critical in slowing the rapid spread […]

ASIA: India has extended its national lockdown until May 3, 2020. Prime Minister Modi announced this decision today in a televised address to the nation. After April 20, some states that have avoided outbreaks may be allowed to resume. The country has at least 10,363 reported cases, including 339 deaths, according to the Ministry of […]

Market Talk will resume on Monday, April 13. We would like to wish our readers who celebrate a happy Easter weekend. ASIA: India’s factory output rose to a seven-month high of 4.5% in February, before the government imposed a nationwide lockdown in March that crippled normal economic activity. Mining and manufacturing grew at 10% and […]

  ASIA: The former governor of the Reserve Bank of India Raghuram Rajan has said that India can beat the virus with the right resolve and priorities by focusing on immediate needs and delaying less important expenditures. He also said that it will be hard to lockdown the country entirely for much longer periods as […]

ASIA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought forgiveness from the nation’s poor for his 21-day nationwide lockdown. During his address on national radio on Sunday, PM Modi said there was no other option to control this pandemic. The nation-wide lockdown has resulted in the mass exodus of hundreds of thousands of migrant laborers working in the […]