Bloomberg Chinese home prices gained in fewer cities as local governments joined some of the nation’s largest hubs in imposing residential property curbs to quell soaring real estate values. New-home prices excluding government-subsidized housing gained in 51 cities last month, from 55 in June, among the 70 the government tracks, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. Prices …

Bloomberg Blackstone Group LP is close to an agreement to buy an eight-building apartment complex on Manhattan’s east side, for $620 million, cementing its position as one of New York’s largest residential landlords, according to a person with knowledge of the talks. The New York-based firm, the world’s largest manager of alternative assets, is planning to buy Kips Bay Court …

  Bloomberg A newly built apartment tower in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens hasn’t yet opened to the public nor found a single tenant, but the building is for sale. The developer, Property Markets Group, has put the 45-story tower at 23-01 42nd Road on the market to take advantage of investor demand to own apartments in the …

  Bloomberg Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s shopping spree on premium content from Game of Thrones to NBA broadcasts has again helped defy investors’ expectations and a slowing Chinese economy. Second-quarter sales and profit beat analysts’ estimates as the operator of the WeChat and QQ social network services splashed out on mobile games and content — including anything from anime and comics …

  Bloomberg Cisco Systems Inc., the biggest maker of equipment that runs the internet, plans to cut about 7 percent of its workforce, trying to recast itself as a provider of software-based systems and services. The company will eliminate 5,500 positions from its workforce of more than 73,700, Cisco said Wednesday in a statement. Savings from the job reductions will …

  Bloomberg Lenovo Group Ltd. expects its loss-making smartphone business to turn a corner next fiscal year as it shifts toward higher-end devices and ramps up marketing in the US and China. The world’s largest PC maker is counting on a revival of the Motorola smartphone business it bought for $2.8 billion to make up for a declining computer industry. …

  Bloomberg SoftBank Group Corp.’s Masayoshi Son has a 300-year plan, so if combining Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. takes a few years longer than he hoped, that’s OK. Son, who became one of the world’s wealthiest men by turning Tokyo-based SoftBank into a telecommunications and technology powerhouse, still would like to merge the U.S. wireless providers, according to …

  Manila / Bloomberg The Philippines economy grew faster than economists predicted last quarter, giving a boost to new President Rodrigo Duterte as he seeks to attract more investment and speed up infrastructure spending. Gross domestic product increased 7 percent in the three months through June from a year earlier, the fastest pace since the same period in 2013, the …

  Tokyo / AFP India’s soybean output may rebound from an 11-year low as ample rain and sunshine boosts crop development, according to the Soybean Processors Association of India. Production may top the 6.93 million metric tons harvested in 2015-16 if current favorable weather continues next month, Chairman Davish Jain said by phone from Indore. That was the smallest crop …

  Jakarta / Bloomberg Palm oil shipments from Indonesia, the world’s largest grower, probably rose to the highest level in three months in July after buyers from China to India boosted purchases. Exports of palm and kernel oils climbed 6.7 percent to 1.9 million metric tons, according to the median of seven estimates from analysts and plantation executives compiled by …