Beijing / Bloomberg China will combine its biggest state-owned enterprises as part of a sweeping plan to cut overcapacity in the $18 trillion sector but won’t see the widespread layoffs that accompanied a similar overhaul in the 1990s, a senior regulator said. Reform of China’s state-owned enterprises must balance many interests, especially those of employees, Xiao Yaqing, the chairman of …

Singapore / DPA With fewer contracts to go around and labour costs continuing to rise, construction firms are being squeezed from both sides. The broader effect on the economy may not be dire, with the sector accounting for only about 5 per cent of GDP. But economists expect – and firms fear – that there will be casualties within the …

Bloomberg U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is sticking to his guns. Tripped up by an economy proving weaker than forecast and with lower tax revenues as a result, Osborne is set to use his budget on March 16 to deliver even more austerity to meet a legally binding pledge of a fiscal surplus by the end of the …