SHANGHAI / Reuters The World Bank has approved a $500 million loan to China to support financing of projects to help control air pollution in and around Beijing. The money is part of a broader programme expected to reach $1.4 billion for “green financing” over the next six years that includes another half billion dollars from Hua Xia Bank Co ...

TOKYO / Reuters Japan’s government lowered its assessment of the economy in March for the first time in five months due to weakness in consumer spending, a move likely to reinforce views that more fiscal stimulus will be needed to keep the economy growing. Some of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s advisers and prominent overseas economists have been calling for Japan ...

Kuala Lumpur / DPA The growth prospects of Asean major export-orientated economies of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are expected to remain weaker than its domestic demand-driven economies, says Moody’s Investors Service. The international ratings agency said that hence growth outlook of Asean economies was likely to diverge in 2016 and 2017, against the backdrop of subdued global demand. A Moody’s ...

New Delhi / Bloomberg Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi risks a political backlash among the middle class as he seeks to coax banks into lowering interest rates. Criticism is growing against his government’s move last week to slash interest rates on small savings programs used by as much as a third of India’s 1.3 billion people. Banks have long cited ...

CANBERRA / AP Australia’s prime minister on Wednesday distanced himself from the man he replaced by announcing a new fund to promote clean energy innovation as the country heads toward a likely early election in July. The announcement by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of the 1 billion Australian dollar ($760 million) Clean Energy Innovation Fund comes after his predecessor Tony ...

NEW DELHI / Reuters Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan will push for state-run firms to win development rights for the vast Farzad B gas field in Iran during a visit to that country next month. India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and fourth-biggest consumer, wants to increase dealings with Gulf countries that supply the bulk of its oil needs. Pradhan ...

Bloomberg Some of the biggest shareholders of Deutsche Boerse AG are cautioning management not to overpay for London Stock Exchange Group Plc if a counteroffer emerges, according to people familiar with the matter. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. is contemplating a bid for LSE, which last week agreed to a deal with Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse. The German exchange would get 54 percent ...

Frankfurt / AFP Global uncertainties will shave around 0.1 percentage point off growth in Germany this year, but Europe’s economic powerhouse remains in a moderate uptrend, an expert panel said on Wednesday. The German Council of Economic Experts, known as the five “wise men”, said it is forecasting gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.5 percent this year — fractionally ...

Bloomberg London’s finance industry would “flourish mightily” if Britain votes to leave the European Union in the referendum on June 23, London Mayor Boris Johnson told lawmakers. Citing discussions with unidentified senior bankers, Johnson, a leading opponent of Prime Minister David Cameron’s campaign to keep the U.K. in the 28-nation bloc, said support for staying in the EU is “shallow” ...

Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel is poised to back increases in German spending on defense and infrastructure in a budget plan that seeks to address global risks and the refugee crisis that’s her biggest domestic challenge. The blueprint, set for approval by Merkel’s Cabinet, foresees a 2.7 percent increase in spending next year and balanced federal budgets through 2020, according to ...