Fires that have consumed swathes of Australia, the Arctic and now the western US are lighting only a tiny flame under climate action for the world’s top polluters. It’s hard to imagine how the past two years could have included more environmental alarm bells, from the ancient peatlands ablaze in the thawing north to mercury hitting just over 54 degrees ...

Bloomberg Japan’s key inflation gauge went negative again last month, underscoring the challenge the Bank of Japan and new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga face in trying to restore price momentum amid the pandemic. Consumer prices excluding fresh food fell 0.4% in August from a year earlier, going negative again after two months of staying unchanged, the ministry of internal affairs ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s government is drawing fresh criticism from economists and business advocates who say a third round of virus relief stimulus doesn’t go far enough. While Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s latest spending plan will draw from the city’s fiscal reserve of HK$976.6 billion ($126 billion) in July, that cash pile is still seen by economists as large enough to ...

Bloomberg 51job Inc received a takeover approach from DCP Capital Partners that values the Chinese human-resources company at $5.3 billion. DCP, an Asian private-equity firm, made a non-binding cash offer of $79.05 per common share in a letter to the company, 51job said. 51job said it hasn’t yet had a chance to carefully review and evaluate the offer. Founded in ...

Bloomberg Indonesia’s palm oil exports increased in July on higher shipments to China and the Middle East, according to the Indonesian Palm Oil Association. Total exports rose to 3.13 million tons from 2.77 million tons a month earlier, the association, known as Gapki, said in a statement on Sunday. While shipments to China increased 43% month-on-month, those to the Middle ...

Bloomberg Apple Inc will this month begin direct sales online in India, more than 20 years after the world’s most valuable tech company first began operating in the South Asian country that’s one of world’s fastest-growing smartphone markets. Cupertino, California-based Apple said it will launch its online store in India on September 23, confirming a Bloomberg News report last month. ...

Bloomberg Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda is launching operations in Japan, expanding its Asian footprint to the world’s No. 3 economy. The company will roll out its meal delivery services in six Japanese cities in a first phase, including Kobe, Yokohama and Nagoya, Jakob Angele, Foodpanda’s Asia Pacific chief executive officer, told Bloomberg TV’s Rishaad Salamat and Juliette Saly. The firm ...

Bloomberg Malaysia’s aim to attract medical tourists by focussing on curbing the coronavirus outbreak hit a roadblock as resurgences around the world limited its ability to reopen borders. Hospitals in the country can expect to earn 800 million ringgit ($194 million) of revenue from medical tourists next year, compared with 500 million ringgit this year, according to the Malaysia Healthcare ...

Bloomberg Thailand’s anti-government protesters, emboldened by their biggest demonstration since the 2014 military coup on September 19, called for a general strike next month as the movement challenges long-held taboos including questioning the monarchy’s powers. Organisers of the rally handed a list of demands to a representative of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s Privy Council on Sunday, and installed a plaque on ...

Bloomberg Hundreds of people rallied in the Belarus capital, challenging the authorities’ increasing threats against protesters with children, while police detained more than 200 women at a weekly march against President Alexander Lukashenko’s 26-year rule. A crowd gathered outside a shelter for endangered children, demanding a first-grader be reunited with his mother, Alena Lazarchyk. He was taken there when she ...