Bloomberg Chinese leader Xi Jinping appears to be recalibrating his hardline approach to Taiwan in the year before the island holds a presidential election that his government’s preferred negotiating partner has a shot at winning. Kuomintang Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia is expected to visit China on Wednesday, the latest in a series of friendly gestures between the one-time foes in …

Bloomberg South Korea’s progressive opposition bloc used its majority in parliament to approve an unprecedented impeachment measure against the interior minister, heating up partisan tensions as worries mount about the country falling into recession. The Democratic Party and small groups passed the measure Wednesday to impeach Lee Sang-min, making him the first cabinet minister in the country’s history to be …

Bloomberg Societe Generale SA fell short of a pledge to pay out half of its underlying profit to shareholders, even after its fixed-income traders handed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frederic Oudea a bigger-than-expected profit. Revenue from buying and selling fixed-income products and currencies jumped 56% in the fourth quarter, beating analysts’ estimates as well as all main rivals so far. …