New Delhi / Bloomberg Jewellers in India, the world’s second-biggest gold consumer, ended a strike to protest against a new tax announced in the budget after the government assured them the charges won’t lead to harassment by authorities. The strike, which started on March 2, ended after the government agreed not to “trouble the industry” over the excise levy, Ketan ...

Manila / AFP When mystery hackers launched a stunning raid on Bangladesh’s foreign reserves, a plot worthy of a John le Carre spy novel was sparked in the Philippines, exposing the Southeast Asian nation as a dirty money haven. The $81 million stolen from the Bangladesh central bank’s American accounts last month was immediately sent via electronic transfer to the ...

Beijing / Bloomberg Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei downplayed a decision by Moody’s Investors Service Inc. to cut his country’s credit-rating outlook, saying leaders “didn’t care that much” because the move had little market impact. The March 2 downgrade didn’t lead to irrational market behavior or aggressive short-selling, Lou said at the China Development Forum, a gathering of world business ...