By Uditha Jayasinghe and Sudipto Ganguly COLOMBO (Reuters) -Sri Lankans elected Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake as new president on Sunday, putting faith in his pledge to fight corruption and bolster a fragile economic recovery following the South Asian nation’s worst financial crisis in decades. Dissanayake, 55, who does not possess political lineage like some of his rivals in the presidential election, led from start to finish during the counting of votes, knocking out incumbent President […]
Tag: economy
China central bank says cuts two key rates to support economy
BEIJING, July 22, 2024 (AFP) – China’s central bank on Monday cut two benchmark interest rates in a bid to boost lending and kickstart growth in the world’s second-largest economy. Beijing is battling an unprecedented crisis in the country’s vast real estate sector, continued weak consumption and a high youth unemployment rate, while geopolitical tensions with Washington and the European Union threaten its foreign trade. A year and a half after the lifting of health […]
‘The people have spoken’: Kenya’s Ruto pulls finance bill after protest deaths
By Dylan GAMBA NAIROBI, June 26, 2024 (AFP) – Kenyan President William Ruto said Wednesday that a bill containing contentious tax hikes would “be withdrawn”, dramatically reversing course after more than 20 people were killed in clashes with police and parliament was ransacked by protesters opposed to the legislation. The initially peaceful demonstrations were sparked last week by the 2024 finance bill — which politicians passed Tuesday afternoon — and took Ruto’s administration by surprise […]
Japan household spending sees first rise in 14 months
TOKYO, June 7, 2024 (AFP) – Japan’s household spending rose in April for the first time in 14 months, official data showed Friday, as wages grow at the fastest pace in three decades. The figure was up 0.5 percent on-year with more money spent on education, clothes and transport, including cars, according to the internal affairs ministry. Eyes are now on a decision next week by the Bank of Japan, which in March hiked interest […]
US trade gap widens to largest in 18 months
WASHINGTON, June 6, 2024 (AFP) – The US trade deficit expanded slightly less than analysts expected in April, to the widest since late 2022, as imports rose more quickly than exports, according to government data released Thursday. The overall gap was $74.6 billion, growing from March’s revised $68.6 billion figure, said the Commerce Department. This was the largest deficit since October 2022, according to official data. US consumption has been more resilient than anticipated […]
Australian economy shows ‘weak’ growth
SYDNEY, June 5, 2024 (AFP) – Australia’s resource-rich economy posted anaemic growth in the first quarter, official data showed Wednesday, deepening concerns about a double-whammy of low growth and still high prices. Growth slowed to 0.1 percent in the quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported, using seasonally adjusted data. The economy had grown 0.3 percent in the last quarter of 2023. Economists predict tepid growth — coupled with still-high inflation — will tie the […]
Japan inflation slows to 2.2% in April
TOKYO, May 24, 2024 (AFP) – The pace of Japanese inflation slowed in April to 2.2 percent as gas bills fell, government data showed Friday, with the figure remaining above the Bank of Japan’s two percent target. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) excluding volatile fresh food prices eased from a 2.6 percent year-on-year rise in prices logged in March by the internal affairs ministry. Friday’s figure was in line with market expectations and comes as […]
One out of three Lebanese poverty-stricken: World Bank
BEIRUT, May 23, 2024 (AFP) – A third of Lebanese people are impoverished with poverty rates tripling in a decade, the World Bank said Thursday, as the country grapples with years of economic meltdown and war in the south. One in every three Lebanese “was poverty-stricken in 2022,” the World Bank said in a report covering about 60 percent of the country’s population. The institution could not access data from the eastern Hermel region or […]
Japan’s Q1 GDP shrinks more than expected, raising recession fears
TOKYO, May 16, 2024 (AFP) – Japan’s economy contracted by a worse-than-expected 0.5 percent in the first three months of the year, official government data showed Thursday. Gross domestic product in the world’s fourth-biggest economy was expected to have shrunk by only 0.3 percent from the previous quarter, according to economist forecasts. Exports shrank 5.0 percent, after growing 2.8 percent the previous quarter, while imports fell 3.4 percent, data from the cabinet office showed. […]
US sharply hikes tariffs on Chinese EVs and chips
By Beiyi SEOW, Danny KEMP WASHINGTON, May 14, 2024 (AFP) – US President Joe Biden took aim at China on Tuesday, saying Beijing is “cheating” rather than competing on trade as Washington unveiled steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports like electric vehicles and semiconductors. The move — which drew strong opposition from Beijing — comes as Biden gears up for a rerun of his 2020 contest with Republican rival Donald Trump in November’s election, with […]
Asia’s first spot bitcoin, ether ETFs start trading in Hong Kong
HONG KONG, April 30, 2024 (AFP) – Hong Kong on Tuesday launched trading of Asia’s first spot bitcoin and ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs), moving forward in the city’s race to become a regional virtual asset investment hub. The debut comes three months after the United States gave the greenlight to ETFs pegged to bitcoin’s spot price, making it easier for mainstream investors to add the unit to their portfolio. Hong Kong’s pioneering crypto ETFs on […]
Tesla CEO Elon Musk in China for talks
By Peter CATTERALL BEIJING, April 28, 2024 (AFP) – Tech billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk was in China for talks on Sunday, making his second trip in less than a year to the world’s biggest market for electric vehicles. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said Musk — one of the world’s richest people — held a meeting with a top trade official, publishing a photograph of the X owner at Beijing’s grand Diaoyutai state guesthouse. […]
