Japan manufacturers’ confidence drops
Confidence among Japan’s largest manufacturers sagged for a second quarter on rising costs and supply constraints, though the service sector was boosted by economic reopening, a key survey showed Friday.
China’s industrial profits fall again
Profits at China’s industrial firms shrank at a slower pace in May following a sharp fall in April, as activity in major manufacturing hubs resumed, but Covid-19 restrictions still weighed on factory production and squeezed factory margins.
Shanghai fashion stores struggle to clear stock
Almost a month since Shanghai lifted its strict Covid-19 lockdowns, fashion retailers are stuck with piles of unsold stock as cautious consumers stay away from the commercial hub’s glitzy shopping districts.
China sets up yuan liquidity arrangement
China’s central bank said on Saturday it had signed an agreement with the Bank for International Settlements to establish a Renminbi Liquidity Arrangement (RMBLA) that will provide support to participating central banks in times of market fluctuations.
China to host virtual BRICS summit
Chinese President Xi Jinping will host a virtual summit with top leaders from Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa next week, marking the first such meeting since the Ukraine crisis unfolded.
Firms in China teeter under zero-Covid pressure
Fiona Shi lost her job twice during the pandemic -- first, in 2020 when Covid ravaged the travel industry, and then this year as China’s strict virus controls hammered businesses in the world’s number two economy.
In miracle city Shenzhen, fears for China’s economic future
David Fong made his way from a poor village in central China to the southern boomtown of Shenzhen as a young man in 1997. Over the next 25 years he worked for a succession of overseas manufacturers before building his own multi-million-dollar business making everything from schoolbags to toothbrushes.
Migrant worker crisis: Malaysia’s palm oil industry crumbles
Malaysian companies from palm oil plantations to semiconductor makers are refusing orders and forgoing billions in sales, hampered by a shortage of more than a million workers that threatens the country's economic recovery.
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka announces weekly fuel quotas
Crisis-hit Sri Lanka announced weekly fuel quotas for motorists on Sunday, as an acute shortage worsened and longer queues formed outside the few pumping stations still operating.
Japan closer to yen intervention
Japan’s government and central bank said on Friday they were concerned by recent sharp falls in the yen in a rare joint statement, the strongest warning to date that Tokyo could intervene to support the currency as it plumbs 20-year lows.