Bloomberg Australia’s consumer confidence slumped in March as households were shaken by a slowdown in economic growth and the prolonged downturn in the property market. Sentiment fell 4.8 percent to 98.8, the weakest reading since September 2017 and meaning pessimists now outnumber optimists, Westpac Banking Corp. said in a statement Wednesday. It said responses during the survey showed “a marked ...

Bloomberg Subdued inflation in India is proving to be a dilemma for Prime Minister Narendra Modi weeks before a crucial vote. While most politicians heading into elections would want to cheer their efforts in taming the inflation dragon — especially in emerging economies like India, where price surges can oust governments — Modi has been restrained about this achievement. That’s ...

Bloomberg China will fall well short of its target of cutting taxes and fees by a record 2 trillion yuan ($298 billion) this year, according to S&P Global Ratings. The government will likely only be able to cut taxes by 1.5 trillion yuan, about 25 percent short of its goal, S&P credit analysts led by Yutong Zou wrote in a ...