Bloomberg Japan’s Topix index completed its biggest advance over a four-day period since November 2016 while the yen remained near a two-month low against the dollar as investors brushed off concerns of a trade war between the US and China. Electronics and machinery shares were the biggest boosts to the benchmark as China’s Ministry of Finance said Beijing is still …

Bloomberg Euro-area banks probably won’t restore their profits to the peaks seen before the 2008 financial crisis, according to the European Central Bank. The squeeze on profits has resulted from factors including tougher capital requirements put in place since the crisis and banks’ shying away from riskier businesses, the ECB said. Still, firms need to earn an “appropriate return” on …

Bloomberg Thailand’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged near a record low as expected, with the prospect of a future tightening increasing as more monetary policy committee members dissented. Five of the seven committee members at the meeting voted to hold the one-day bond repurchase rate at 1.5 percent, where it’s been since 2015, according to the Bank …