Bloomberg India’s monsoon, which irrigates more than half of the country’s farmland and is critical for economic growth, is likely to be normal this year, according to private forecaster Skymet Weather Services Pvt. This could mark a fourth straight year of normal monsoon, and is important because the June-September rainy season delivers as much as 90% of India’s annual ...

  Bloomberg Soaring gasoline prices are fanning inflation and causing a headache for governments and central banks worldwide. In countries with elections coming up, they’re an extra headwind for the incumbents. While the US mid-terms in November are the prime example of fuel prices feeding into the political sphere, upcoming votes in Asia may also be affected. Voting is already ...

  Bloomberg Almost a year after China’s property-market debt squeeze sparked the first in a wave of defaults by developers, the industry is fighting for survival. Home sales continue to plunge and elevated borrowing costs mean offshore refinancing is off the table for many developers. Global agencies are pulling their ratings on property bonds, while a string of auditor resignations ...