BLOOMBERG Political tensions between the US and China are contributing to lower container shipments between the world’s two largest economies, on top of an already-underway reshaping of global trade, according to a major shipping industry boss. “We are seeing a de-leveraging of trade between the US and China,” Jeremy Nixon, chief executive officer of Ocean Network Express, said at the …

BLOOMBERG Taiwan’s industrial production plunged in March, weighed down by a manufacturing sector struggling to overcome a slump in global demand. Industrial output shrank 14.5% last month compared to a year ago, the Economics Ministry said in a statement. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast a 12.3% drop. March’s decline was the biggest contraction since May 2009 — in the …

BLOOMBERG Adani Group bonds rose after a key company started the first debt buyback by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate since it was targeted by a short seller in January. Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd plans to buy back as much as $130 million of its July 2024 bonds and similar amounts in each of the next four …

BLOOMBERG Nippon Life Insurance Co expects the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will adjust its yield-curve control policy in June and will accelerate the purchase of local bond holdings when it does so, according to its annual allocation plan. The central bank will allow benchmark yields trade in a range of 1% around zero, compared to a current cap of 0.5%, …

BLOOMBERG Chinese President Xi Jinping told Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the only way to achieve peace for Ukraine is through negotiations with Russia. In their first conversation since the Russian invasion last year, Xi also told the Ukrainian leader that China will send an envoy to visit Kyiv. Ukrainian officials said the nearly one-hour conversation was an “important dialogue.” The talks …

BLOOMBERG President Joe Biden launched the first television ad of his newly launched reelection campaign on Wednesday, backed by a first-week expenditure of more than $250,000 — mostly in six battleground states. The 90-second ad — extraordinarily long in modern television advertising — comes 24 hours after making his candidacy official with an online video. The paid ad echoes many …

BLOOMBERG The US will strengthen the deterrence it provides South Korea against nuclear threats, securing a pledge from Seoul to honour commitments to not pursue its own atomic arsenal. US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will announce the agreement when they meet at the White House, according to senior American administration officials who spoke on condition …

BLOOMBERG Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cancelled three scheduled campaign appearances less than a month before high-stakes elections after falling ill during a live television interview. Broadcasting was disrupted for several minutes after Erdogan, 69, became sick with what he said was stomach flu. In power for the past two decades, Erdogan has developed a reputation as a tireless strongman …

BLOOMBERG Even as Warren Buffett’s blessing and buying by the foreign investors helps drives outperformance in Japanese stocks this year, retail investors are turning increasingly bearish. The blue-chip Nikkei 225 Stock Average has risen more than 9% so far to above 28,000, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index Excluding Japan Index is up less than 1%. Gains have been helped …

BLOOMBERG A rout in Chinese stocks paused after a $446 billion wipeout in value for mainland shares this month, but a meaningful rebound may be hard to come by as geopolitical tensions simmer. The benchmark CSI 300 Index ended little changed on Wednesday. The MSCI gauge of Chinese shares advanced as much as 1.6% after a six-day slide, though it’s …