No easy options for China as trade war, US pressure bite

China is running out of options to hit back at the United States without hurting its own interests, as Washington intensifies pressure on Beijing to correct trade imbalances in a challenge to China’s state-led economic model.
15 May 2019, 18:00 PM

Japan’s top two banks post double-digit full-year profit declines

Japan’s two biggest banks by assets posted double-digit declines in annual profit on Wednesday, highlighting deepening challenges for lenders as the world’s third-largest economy looks headed toward another downturn.
15 May 2019, 18:00 PM

Uber drivers are contractors, not employees: US labour agency

Drivers for ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc are independent contractors and not employees, the general counsel of a US labor agency has concluded, in an advisory memo that is likely to carry significant weight in a pending case against the company and could prevent drivers from joining a union.
15 May 2019, 18:00 PM

Canada, Mexico push US to lift steel, aluminum tariffs

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican officials on Tuesday called for the United States to lift steel and aluminum tariffs in order to create “true free trade” on the continent.
15 May 2019, 18:00 PM

‘First ray of hope’ as German economy returns to growth

The German economy returned to growth in the first quarter as householders spent more freely and construction activity picked up, but the government cautioned that the outlook remained clouded by trade disputes.
15 May 2019, 18:00 PM

Victory awaits in China trade war, Trump tells farmers

US farmers who are major exporters of pork and soy, are caught in the middle of President Donald Trump’s trade wars.
15 May 2019, 18:00 PM

India’s incredulous data: Economists create own benchmarks

Economists and investors are increasingly showing that they have little or no confidence in India’s official economic data – presenting whoever is elected as the next prime minister with an immediate problem.
9 May 2019, 18:08 PM

World food prices climb in April

World food prices rose some 1.5 percent in April, with a jump in dairy and meat prices helping offset a fall in cereal quotations, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.
9 May 2019, 18:07 PM

Chinese tech firms’ search for growth seen boosting costs

Three of China’s biggest tech companies are expected to report that they ramped up or broadly maintained their pace of quarterly spending to develop new technology and push into relatively new markets, as current growth drivers stall.
9 May 2019, 18:06 PM

Emirates year-on-year profit declines 69pc

Emirates reported a profit of $237 million for the financial year ending on March 31, a decline of 69 percent from last year’s results.
9 May 2019, 18:03 PM

As tariff hike looms, China asks US to meet it halfway

China appealed to the United States to meet it halfway to salvage a deal that could end their trade war, with its chief negotiator in Washington for two days of talks hoping to stave off US tariff increases set to be triggered on Friday.
9 May 2019, 18:03 PM

Mitsubishi Motors switches gears to slower growth

Mitsubishi Motors Corp forecast on Thursday a 19 percent fall in operating profit this year as it reins in aggressive growth amid slowing global car demand and charts a new course after the ouster of former chairman Carlos Ghosn.
9 May 2019, 18:01 PM

Panasonic net profit up

Japanese electronics giant Panasonic reported a boost in yearly net profits on Thursday but offered a pessimistic forecast for the year ahead thanks to slower sales of industrial systems and reform costs.
9 May 2019, 18:01 PM

Japan’s labour shortage eats away at back-breaking work culture

When she worked in sales for a Japanese bank, Chihiro Narazaki was passed over for the best assignments in favour of older colleagues. Her input was discouraged and she often stayed late just to do routine paperwork.
8 May 2019, 18:00 PM

Toyota annual net profit drops by a quarter

Profits at Japanese car giant Toyota hit the skids despite record sales, the company admitted Wednesday, although it said it expected to accelerate out of trouble in the year ahead.
8 May 2019, 18:00 PM

Q1 profits tumble for Germany’s second largest lender

Germany’s second-largest lender Commerzbank said Wednesday it was sticking to full-year forecasts for 2019 even as profits halved in the first quarter, after merger talks with rival Deutsche Bank fell through.
8 May 2019, 18:00 PM

SoftBank Corp to spend $4b to up Yahoo Japan stake, sees profit rising 24pc

Japanese telco SoftBank Corp said on Wednesday it would spend $4 billion to up its stake in Yahoo Japan Corp and turn the internet company into a subsidiary, a move that would help boost its profit by 24 percent this year.
8 May 2019, 18:00 PM

Apple’s upbeat forecast pushes market value back toward $1tn

Apple Inc shares rose nearly 5 percent on Wednesday, pushing the iPhone maker’s market valuation back toward $1 trillion as its quarterly report and upbeat forecast soothed investors worried about falling iPhone sales.
2 May 2019, 18:00 PM

US Fed sees no strong case for hiking or cutting rates

“We think our policy stance is appropriate at the moment; we don’t see a strong case for moving it in either direction,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a press conference following the end of the central bank’s latest two-day policy meeting.
2 May 2019, 18:00 PM

India’s factory growth hits eight-month low

India’s factory activity expanded at its slowest pace in eight months in April as growth in new orders and output dipped as national elections got under way, a private business survey found.
2 May 2019, 18:00 PM