Bloomberg China’s top legislative body approved a landmark national security law for Hong Kong, a sweeping attempt to quell dissent that drew fresh US retaliation and could endanger the city’s appeal as a financial hub. The National People’s Congress Standing Committee voted unanimously to approve the law on the former British colony as a three-day meeting began to wrap up ...

Bloomberg Joe Biden is set to sharply criticise Donald Trump’s stewardship of the response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying the president is dismissing the threat of the virus as cases surge. More than six months after the first reported Covid-19 case in the US, Biden on Tuesday will deliver a speech in Wilmington, Delaware, outlining what he will call a ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump has publicly shrugged off allegations that Russia offered bounties to kill American troops in Afghanistan, reigniting concerns that he’s more interested in preserving ties with the Kremlin than defending US interests. Trump has yet to demand an investigation or threaten Russia with any consequences if the allegations are confirmed — even as lawmakers from both parties ...

Bloomberg Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s estranged brother won’t stand in the July 10 election, removing a potential obstacle for the ruling party as it seeks to retain its 55-year grip on power. “I have chosen not to stand for political office because I believe Singapore does not need another Lee,” Lee Hsien Yang said in a Facebook post ...

Bloomberg Tokyo is set to revise how it monitors the state of coronavirus infections in the city, as daily new cases in the Japanese capital rise after a state of emergency was lifted and businesses resumed operations. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will not reimpose restrictions on businesses based solely on numerical guidelines, according to domestic media reports citing the government. ...

Bloomberg Brazil’s government was expected to announce on Tuesday the extension of an aid to informal workers for a few more months, seen as crucial to poorest people amid pandemic impacts on the economy. Country’s unemployment rose in May to 12.9% from 12.6% in April, according to the national statistic agency. Primary deficit hit 131.4 billion reais in May from ...

Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank may buy billions of dollars of sovereign bonds at zero interest, or below its benchmark rate to help the government finance a wider deficit arising out of stimulus measures to counter fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Bank Indonesia may bear the full cost of an expanded health care and social safety net budget of $27.6 billion ...

Bloomberg UK households continued to amass savings and pay down debt in May as stores remained closed for a second month in an effort to the stop the spread of coronavirus. The build-up of money in bank accounts reflects both the reduced opportunities to spend and the fact that the wages of millions of furloughed workers are being paid by ...

Bloomberg The Bank of Korea (BOK) said unemployment and other economic fallout from the pandemic will accelerate already existing declines in South Korea’s potential growth rate. Higher jobless rates, more people dropping out of the workforce, and a delayed recovery in corporate investment will exacerbate a downward trend that started before the coronavirus, the bank said in a report. Slowing ...

Bloomberg An incessant steepening in Japan’s yield curve is raising the stakes for the central bank’s monthly bond-buying plan. Faced with mounting losses on their portfolios, investors are looking to the Bank of Japan to boost purchases of super-long debt to ease the pressure. The spread between 10-year and 30-year yields widened for a third month in June in the ...