Bloomberg Australia’s prized AAA rating will only rest on a firm footing once there’s a “meaningful moderation” in housing and credit, S&P Global Ratings said as it maintained a negative outlook on the country’s sovereign score. The country’s rating was affirmed by the credit assessor after the latest federal government budget projected a return to surplus by 2021, although S&P …

Bloomberg “Go west!” is the mantra Taiwanese companies lived by for the best part of three decades, turning China into their biggest trading partner. But with cross-strait relations at their worst in close to a decade, President Tsai Ing-wen is urging firms to turn south. Tsai wants to mitigate reliance on the mainland by bolstering trade with 18 countries in …

Bloomberg Shares of Tata Steel Ltd. jumped after the Indian steelmaker said it has struck a deal to solve its long-running UK pension standoff, bringing the company a step closer to a possible joint venture with Thyssenkrupp AG for its European operations. The stock climbed as much as 5.1 percent to 479.95 rupees ($7.5) in Mumbai on Wednesday, the biggest …

Bloomberg Henderson Land Development Co. outbid eight other developers and will pay a record HK$23.3 billion ($3 billion) for the first commercial land to be sold by Hong Kong’s government in the Central district since 1996. The Hong Kong company’s shares fell the most in the Hang Seng Properties Index on Wednesday, sliding as much as 2.9 percent. Henderson Land …

Bloomberg The malware campaign affected more than 200,000 computers in at least 150 countries, locking users out of systems at Chinese government agencies, Deutsche Bahn, automakers Nissan Motor Co. and Renault, logistics giant FedEx Corp., and hospitals around the world. As security experts gain the upper hand in containing the infection, police have begun the hunt for its creators. “The …

Bloomberg The UK must “radically” overhaul its approach to trade policy if it is to land post-Brexit deals with other countries, the Institute for Government said. After decades of access to the European Union’s single market, the UK is facing a renegotiation of its trading relationship with the bloc and the need to strike deals with the rest of the …

Bloomberg Qualcomm Inc.’s battle with Apple Inc. is heating up as the chip company hauls assemblers of the iPhone into a US court on claims they are failing to pay patent royalties. Four Asian contract manufacturers, including Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron Corp., aren’t complying with obligations to pay for the use of patented technology, according to a complaint Qualcomm …

Bloomberg Modern office buildings are all the rage in central London, with a swath of companies including UBS Group AG moving into new premises in the last 12 months. The problem for landlords is finding someone to replace them. A growing number of unoccupied older properties caused the overall office vacancy rate to climb to 5.8 percent at the end …

Bloomberg Growing concerns over the turmoil engulfing President Donald Trump’s administration weighed on risk appetite, boosting the yen and gold and sending stocks lower. Oil gained as more producers backed the extension of supply cuts. S&P 500 Index futures declined with European and Asian equities on reports that Trump asked FBI Director James Comey to drop an investigation into former …

DUBAI / Reuters Egypt’s stock market outperformed its Gulf peers on Wednesday on the back of strong first-quarter earnings and positive news from a real estate developer, while Saudi Arabia saw increased activity as traders took positions ahead of Ramadan. Egypt’s index rose 1.0 percent as real estate firm Sixth of October Development (SODIC) jumped 4.2 percent to a four-month …