On Monday, Malaysia’s defense minister Hishammuddin Hussein suggested if reports that China is placing military assets in the Spratlys are true, it would force the Southeast Asian state into a “pushback” against China. “If the reports we’ve received from various sources regarding the buildup and placement of military assets in the Spratlys are true – this forces us in a ...

Bloomberg Banks dragged European shares lower, while investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting for signals on the health of the world’s biggest economy and the trajectory of interest rates. Credit Suisse Group AG led declines among banks, sliding 6.5 percent, with four Europe-based traders citing the absence of Chief Financial Officer David Mathers from a conference in London ...

Bloomberg Bank of America (BofA) Merrill Lynch says India’s central bank should set a schedule for bond purchases to help bring down lending rates amid a cash crunch in the financial system. The Reserve Bank of India has bought 570 billion rupees ($8.5 billion) of sovereign debt since resuming open-market operations, or OMOs, in early December after almost two years. ...