Bloomberg China’s top legislature approved changes to the nation’s Securities Law, including formalising registration-based initial public offerings after years of reviews, as it eased listing rules and stiffened penalties for violations in the country’s $21 trillion capital markets. The revisions are effective from March 1, according to a report from a government website citing decisions made by the National People’s ...

Bloomberg Japan’s financial regulator ordered a three-month suspension of insurance sales by two units of Japan Post Holdings Co as punishment for improper sales practices. The Financial Services Agency said it found examples of Japan Post customers being sold unduly expensive policies, without proper explanation of what they were buying. The penalty applies to the group’s mail and insurance subsidiaries, ...

Bloomberg Australia is in the grip of another heatwave with temperatures forecast to soar over the weekend, exacerbating deadly wildfires that have ravaged the nation for months. Severe heat will spread across the southeast of the country over the next few days, building to “extreme” conditions in some areas, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Parts of western Sydney are ...