Bloomberg China will curtail its consumption of single-use plastic in an effort to tackle a soaring amount of the discarded material that has quickly become one of the world’s most pressing environmental crises. Non-degradable plastic bags will be banned in places such as supermarkets and shopping malls in major cities, as well as for the country’s ubiquitous food delivery services ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s jobless rate rose for a third month in December, as the city’s consumption and tourism-related industries remained weak amid the city’s protest-driven recession. The unemployment rate rose to 3.3% for the October to December period, the highest since March 2017. The run of three straight months is the worst spate of increases for the measure since it ...

Bloomberg This was the first time Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe didn’t even mention the word “deflation” in his annual start-of-the-legislative-session speech to lawmakers, an omission that may help cement a view the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is now under less pressure to meet its elusive price target. In his 41-minute speech on Monday, Abe talked up the upcoming Tokyo ...