Bloomberg Hong Kong has a “constitutional responsibility” to implement the anti-sanctions law that China has passed to ensure the city’s long-term and steady development, Financial Secretary Paul Chan wrote in his blog on Sunday. Chan joins Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam in backing local legislation to include Beijiing’s anti-sanctions law in the city’s constitution. The US has interfered with ...

Bloomberg South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma, currently serving a 15-month jail term for contempt of court, has undergone surgery for an unspecified condition, and is due to have further procedures carried out in coming days. Zuma, whose arrest last month triggered a wave of protests and looting in parts of the country, will remain hospitalised close to his prison, ...

Bloomberg A Covid outbreak that has partially shut one of the world’s busiest container ports is heightening concerns that the rapid spread of the delta variant will lead to a repeat of last year’s shipping nightmares. The Port of Los Angeles, which saw its volumes dip because of a June Covid outbreak at the Yantian port in China, is bracing ...

Bloomberg Olam International Ltd, one of Asia’s biggest agricultural commodity traders and suppliers, has a target for its food ingredients unit to become part of the FTSE 100 after its initial public offering in London. The company, a major supplier of cocoa beans and products, green coffee and spices, expects the IPO to be “one of the bigger listings” on ...

Bloomberg Malaysia lowered its 2021 economic growth forecast for a second time, as renewed movement restrictions and rising infections hamper the recovery. Gross domestic product is expected to expand 3%-4% this year, Bank Negara Malaysia said, down from an earlier estimate of 6%-7.5% growth. Malaysia’s economy shrank 2% in the second quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis compared to the ...

Bloomberg Mumbai will restart commuter train services for fully vaccinated residents from Sunday, a move that could tackle traffic jams that are popping up as Covid-19 cases drop off but also one that risks transmitting the virus across India’s financial hub. Services had been halted since March 2020, making it the longest shutdown for a railway system that has survived ...

Bloomberg Taiwan raised its economic growth forecast for this year as an export and investment boom continues and it begins easing virus restrictions, giving a boost to consumption. The government increased its full-year estimate for gross domestic product to 5.88% from a previous forecast of 5.46%. That would be Taiwan’s strongest annual growth since 2010 when the economy bounced back ...

Bloomberg It’s been two decades since Wall Street analysts were this upbeat. About 56% of all recommendations on S&P 500 firms are listed as buys, the most since 2002. It’s one more data point that shows the extent of the euphoria sweeping markets after a blockbuster earnings season. While analysts are historically a bullish bunch, they’re turning even more optimistic ...

Bloomberg The total market value of cryptocurrencies rose above $2 trillion again as Bitcoin continued to climb and the likes of Cardano, XRP and Dogecoin advanced as well. Crypto’s market value rose to $2.06 trillion, according to CoinGecko, which tracks more than 8,800 coins. Bitcoin reached as high as $48,152, the highest level since May 16, as it showed staying ...

Bloomberg One of Europe’s riskiest bond bets is turning into a telltale sign of how much faith investors have in the central bank’s ability to engineer a smooth recovery out of the pandemic. Italian benchmark yields are near a six-month low and the government is so flush with cash that it canceled last week’s debt auction. The market is beginning ...