Bloomberg North Korea fired a barrage of suspected ballistic missiles and issued a warning to the US over joint military exercises, less than two days after Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket designed to hit the American mainland. South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff said North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles between 7 and 7:11 a.m. on Monday from …

Bloomberg Chinese lenders followed the central bank by keeping their benchmark lending rates unchanged on Monday, with analysts expecting possible reductions in coming months to support the economic recovery. The one-year loan prime rate was held at 3.65% for a sixth consecutive month, in line with the forecasts from all 13 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The five-year rate, a reference …

  Bloomberg Standard Chartered Plc plans to hire 300 to 500 staff in Hong Kong this year, in anticipation of an increase in wealth management and lending as the city reopened its borders to mainland China. The lender expects “double-digit” growth in wealth management income and “single-digit” loan growth, according to a spokeswoman. The lender’s headcount in Hong Kong has …