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  BEIJING / AP China will raise its defense budget by about 7 percent this year, a government spokeswoman said Saturday, continuing a trend of lowered growth amid a slowing economy despite regional tensions over the South China Sea and other issues. Total defense spending would account for about 1.3 percent of projected gross domestic project in 2017, said Fu ...

  Bloomberg The world’s biggest pension fund posted the biggest quarterly gain in its history as Japanese stocks surged and a plunge in the yen boosted overseas investments after Donald Trump’s election victory. The Government Pension Investment Fund returned 8 percent, or 10.5 trillion yen ($92 billion), in the three months ended December 31, increasing assets to 144.8 trillion yen, ...

  Bloomberg A private survey signaled the first expansion in four months for India’s key service sector, adding to signs the economy is bouncing back from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s shock clampdown on cash late last year. The Nikkei India Services Purchasing Managers’ Index inched up to 50.3 in February, a report showed Friday, from 48.7 in January and November’s ...

  Bloomberg Nintendo Co. shares rose to their highest in a month after a smooth debut of Switch, a hybrid console that aims to bring together the worlds of mobile and home gaming. Retailers in Tokyo and Sydney began selling a limited number of units early, while fans in New York and Toronto waited in the cold to buy the ...

  Bloomberg Hutchison China MediTech Ltd., the biotechnology company backed by billionaire Li Ka-shing, reported positive late-stage results for its drug to treat colorectal cancer, taking the company one step closer to having a home-grown therapy on the market. The Hong Kong-based company, known as Chi-Med, said in a statement that it is currently preparing to submit a new drug ...

  Bloomberg China has the economic power to move markets, and it isn’t afraid to use it. South Korean stock trading offered a case in point, with a selloff in hotels, cosmetic makers and other tourism-related companies that made the country’s benchmark the worst performer among Asian equity markets. The slide followed a Yonhap news agency report on China ordering ...

  DUBAI / WAM In his capacity as Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, has issued Decree No. 5 of 2017, on the formation of the board of directors of the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC). The new board serves under the supervision of Crown Prince ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM Saif Hadef Al Shamsi, Assistant Governor for Monetary Policy and Financial Stability at the UAE Central Bank, said that total Islamic banking assets in the UAE have increased to approximately AED520 billion in the past few years. Al Shamsi added that Islamic banking’ assets account for around 20 percent of AED2.6 trillion of the total ...

  DUBAI / WAM In line with preparing the draft of the federal budget for the fiscal year 2018, which covers the second year in the five-year plan for 2017-2021, H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance (MoF), issued the financial circular No. (1) of 2017 concerning the preparation of the draft ...

  Abu Dhabi / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on Thursday attended the Hosn Al Ittihad (Union Fortress), a public live military demonstration involving all branches of the UAE Armed Forces, held at Abu Dhabi’s Corniche. HH the Crown Prince was flanked by ...