Bloomberg Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sought to stem a slide in his popularity in a special parliamentary hearing on Monday, reiterating his denials of cronyism, apologizing for disparaging remarks about opponents and vowing to focus on the economy. Approval for Abe’s cabinet slumped again in three media polls conducted over the weekend. His support was at 26 percent, the …

Bloomberg China’s official Xinhua News Agency confirmed on Monday that Sun Zhengcai, the former Communist Party chief of Chongqing city, is under investigation for serious disciplinary violations. The brief announcement followed news reports a little over a week ago that Sun, 53, was being probed. As the youngest member of the party’s 25-member Politburo, Sun was considered a rising star …

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc predicted that ticket prices will decline through the rest of the year as Europe’s biggest discount carrier competes to lure more customers amid excess capacity. The shares fell the most in four months. The Dublin-based airline said fares will slide 8 percent in the six months through March, accelerating from a 5 percent drop in the …