Business

Asia markets mixed after last week’s hefty losses

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets were mixed Monday as bargain-buying from last week’s sharp losses was offset by a weak US jobs report and ongoing concerns about the global economy. Investors ran for the hills Friday after the European Central Bank slashed its growth and inflation forecasts, and China announced a plunge in exports and imports. Later that day the Labor Department said the US economy created just 20,000 jobs last month, a […]

Ghosn wants to attend Nissan board meeting: media

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn is seeking court permission to attend a board meeting at the Japanese automaker while out on bail, local media reported Monday. Ghosn wants to attend a Tuesday meeting at the company’s headquarters in the city of Yokohama, Kyodo news agency reported, citing one of his lawyers. The office of Ghosn’s lead lawyer Junichiro Hironaka declined to comment. Nissan said it could not confirm that Ghosn was […]

Government to close the country’s infrastructure gap by the end of Duterte’s term

By Caesar Vallejos OPEN FOR BUSINESS, Eagle News Service Department of Finance Carlos Dominguez III said that by the end of the Duterte administration, government spending on infrastructure is expected to be equivalent to 7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  “By then, we would be able to close the country’s infrastructure gap,” he said. Speaking at the recently concluded 9th Business Forum on the Philippine Economic Outlook for 2019 organized by the Manila Times, Dominguez […]

Trump: China trade talks going ‘pretty well’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Thursday negotiations to resolve his eight-month trade war with China were making progress, expressing fresh optimism about resolving the confrontation between the world’s largest economies. Trump told reporters at the White House that the talks were “moving along pretty well.” Chinese and American officials have alternated between expressing optimism that a deal is at hand and also warning that much remains to be done to […]

NBA expands China partnership with Alibaba platforms

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — An expanded partnership for NBA China and Alibaba Group announced Wednesday will bring NBA content to Alibaba platforms for the first time and boost online shopping opportunities for Chinese consumers. The “NBA Section” to be launched across all Alibaba platforms will allow league fans in China to personalize and engage with more NBA content. NBA game highlights, games from past seasons and original programs will be offered to almost […]

US stocks fall amid weakening global growth outlook

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Wall Street stocks fell Wednesday, continuing its run of recent weakness amid a dimming global economic outlook. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.5 percent to finish the session at 25,673.46. The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.7 percent to 2,771.45, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 0.9 percent to end the day at 7,505.92. After a strong start to 2019, US stocks have generally traded flat to lower […]

Ride-hailing firm Grab secures $1.5 billion in funding

SINGAPORE (AFP) — Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab said on Wednesday it has secured $1.5 billion in fresh financing from a fund run by Japan’s SoftBank and will use a significant portion of it to expand in Indonesia. Grab has seen its business grow rapidly since it bought US-based rival Uber’s regional ride-hailing and food business in March last year. Uber received a 27.5 percent stake in Grab in return. The fresh investment from the […]

China cuts taxes, sees ‘tough struggle’ as growth slows

by Eva Xiao and Ryan McMorrow BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s premier warned Tuesday that the country faces a “tough struggle” as he unveiled tax cuts to prop up a stuttering economy while increasing military spending to nearly $180 billion. The slowdown and US trade war have become major challenges for President Xi Jinping, a year after becoming the country’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong with the abolition of term limits and etching of […]

Australia’s economy slows ahead of election

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s economic growth ground to a near halt in the second-half of 2018, official data showed Wednesday, thrusting the issue to the front and center of an already contentious general election campaign. The figures released by Australia’s statistics agency showed growth for October to December at 0.2 percent, after a 0.3 percent reading in the previous three months. Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison has based his re-election campaign on stewardship of […]

Global stocks mixed as Brexit talks resume

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Global stocks were mixed Tuesday as markets awaited details on US-China trade negotiations and Brexit talks resumed between the EU and Britain. Wall Street finished a choppy session marginally lower after European bourses had pushed higher, shrugging off Brexit worries. “The market is trying to react to a mixed bag of things,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National. “How much is priced in terms of good news […]

Asian markets track Wall St lower, China slashes growth target

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets retreated Tuesday as investors awaited fresh developments in the China-US trade talks, while Beijing lowered its growth forecasts for this year and unveiled massive tax cuts to support the stuttering Chinese economy. Equity investors tracked losses on Wall Street, where the global rally hit a bump as optimism that the world’s top two economies are heading for a tariffs deal was replaced by a need for clarity on […]

Inflation further slows down to 3.8 percent in February 2019

  (Eagle News) — The country’s headline inflation slowed down further to 3.8 percent in February 2019, considered the “lowest inflation rate since March 2018,” according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. The 3.8 percent in February was much lower than the 4.4 percent in the previous month and below market expectations of 4 percent. The same 3.8 percent inflation rate was also posted in February last year. “The main drivers in the downtrend of inflation […]