BLOOMBERG The Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates once again while keeping its year-end forecast unchanged is set to keep Asian stocks under pressure and help government bonds rally, according to regional-focussed investors and strategists. A weaker dollar will help bolster emerging-market currencies and may also provide some relief for Asian equity markets, which will otherwise mirror weaker risk ...

BLOOMBERG  China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle (NEV) Group Ltd warned it may have to stop making electric cars if it can’t obtain new financing, having delivered just 900 of its much-delayed flagship model. The company said it is seeking to cut costs by reducing staff numbers and improving management efficiency. However, “in face of the inability to obtain additional liquidity, ...

BLOOMBERG  Japan ended restrictions on exports to South Korea of three key compounds used in the manufacture of semiconductors and displays, in the latest step towards improving long fractious ties between the two US allies. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced the move to officially ease licensing requirements on fluorinated polyimide, hydrogen fluoride and photoresists, adding the move ...

BLOOMBERG  Tencent Holdings Ltd surged more than 8%, the most in about four months, as traders cited unsubstantiated talk that newly installed Premier Li Qiang toured the Chinese social media leader’s headquarters. Guizhou Party Secretary Xu Lin visited the Chinese company’s offices, according to the official WeChat account of a Guizhou state media outlet. Li, Xi Jinping’s top deputy, didn’t ...

BLOOMBERG  Toshiba Corp accepted a buyout offer from a Japanese consortium, according to people familiar with the matter, as the iconic conglomerate moved a step closer to ending a troubled chapter in its more-than-140-year history. The Tokyo-based company’s board approved a bid of about 2 trillion yen ($15.3 billion) from a group led by domestic private equity firm Japan Industrial ...

BLOOMBERG Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said the US will gain expanded access to military sites in northern Philippines close to Taiwan, as well as in Palawan province near South China Sea, paving the way for greater American presence in key locations as tensions with Beijing linger. Marcos said at a televised briefing that the four additional sites under the ...

BLOOMBERG Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited frontline positions near the besieged city of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region, a focus of fierce battles with the Russian army in recent months, and was briefed about the situation on the ground. Zelenskiy earlier condemned what he called “murderous” Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight using drones, as well as fresh missile attacks ...

BLOOMBERG Turkey’s biggest non-aligned political party said it won’t field its own candidate in May’s presidential elections, in a boost to the main opposition coalition’s chances of unseating Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and five allied left-wing groups will campaign against Erdogan’s “one-man rule,” Co-Chair Pervin Buldan said. While she didn’t explicitly endorse main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, ...

BLOOMBERG South Korea plans to hold its “largest-ever” live-fire drills with the US in a move certain to anger North Korea, which has ramped up its provocations to new levels in response to recent military exercises. The joint drills, which will involve mobilising high-tech military equipment, are planned for June as part of a program to mark the 70th anniversary ...

BLOOMBERG Ethiopian lawmakers agreed to remove the Tigray People’s Liberation Front’s (TPLF) designation as a terrorist group, following a ceasefire signed four months ago to end a two-year civil war. The parliament approved the resolution on the basis of the November 2, 2022 peace agreement, state-controlled Fana Broadcasting Corp has reported. The TPLF and the Oromo Liberation Army were declared terrorist ...