December, 2022

• 27 December

  Apple Japan hit with $98m in back taxes

    Bloomberg Apple faces about $98 million in back taxes in Japan, a bill that appears to be tied to bulk sales of duty-free devices to foreign tourists, Nikkei reported. Japan’s tax-free shopping for visitors staying less than six months doesn’t apply to purchases for resale purposes, according to the report. At least one transaction at an Apple store involved ...

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• 27 December

  Japan to require tests for visitors coming from reopened China

  

  Bloomberg Japan will require negative Covid-19 test results for travellers coming from China, as the country of 1.4 billion throws open its borders from January 8 and abandons its Covid Zero policy at a rapid pace. The policy will take effect from December 30, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters in Tokyo. Those who have been in mainland China within ...

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• 27 December

  South Korea sends drones into North in unprecedented move

  

  Bloomberg South Korea sent drones across the border into North Korea for the first time, an unprecedented tit-for-tat military move after Kim Jong-un’s regime dispatched five unmanned aerial vehicles into its air space. The exchange of drones, which briefly stopped flights from taking off at major airports near Seoul, came as Kim opened a major political meeting to set security, ...

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• 27 December

  Ukraine must surrender or face continued war: Russia

  

  Bloomberg Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine must surrender or face continued war, even as Moscow’s troops have been forced to retreat in a series of damaging defeats. In an interview with the state-run news service Tass, Lavrov said Ukraine must cede sovereignty over territories annexed by Russia since President Vladimir Putin’s February 24 invasion. He reiterated unfounded claims ...

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• 27 December

  Taiwan extends military service on China row

  

  Bloomberg Taiwan announced it is extending its compulsory military service to one year from the current four months, a signal to Beijing and Washington it is serious about defending itself. President Tsai Ing-wen said at a press briefing in Taipei that the change coming in 2024 was necessary to ensure international support and that China’s expansionism threatened regional stability. “This ...

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• 27 December

  Serbian army put on highest alert over Kosovo tensions

  

  Bloomberg Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic has ordered the nation’s army on full alert after weeks of rising tensions in neighbouring Kosovo where the local Serb minority has been confronting the authorities over new registration requirements, putting up road blockades and holding protests that threaten to tip into violence, the defense ministry says. “The President of the Republic of Serbia, as ...

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• 27 December

  Top Japan bankers see negative rates to stay as BOJ roils market

  

    Bloomberg Top executives at Japan’s biggest banks are expecting negative interest rates to linger and see little immediate earnings boost after a surprise move by the nation’s central bank pushed lenders’ shares up by 13% last week. Earnings won’t enjoy a meaningful lift unless the Bank of Japan (BOJ) scraps negative interest, according to three senior executives, who asked ...

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• 27 December

  OCBC to hire ex-Goldman’s Moo as private bank CEO

  

    Bloomberg Jason Moo, who spent more than two decades at Goldman Sachs Group Inc, will become the new chief at the private banking unit of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC), according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Moo, a Singaporean, will start at Bank of Singapore next year, said the person, who declined to be identified discussing confidential ...

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• 27 December

  Reducing core inflation pressures key to easing prices, says India rate-setter

  

    Bloomberg A decline in core inflation pressures is critical for moderating price gains and returning them to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) 4% midpoint, said a rate-setter at India’s monetary policy panel. The pass through of higher input cost pressures in overall prices may not be complete yet, said Shashanka Bhide, an external member, adding that rising demand ...

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• 27 December

  Guindos sees euro economy in a ‘ very difficult situation’

    Bloomberg The euro area faces a “very difficult economic situation” that will test individuals and businesses, European Central Bank (ECB) Vice President Luis de Guindos said. “The high inflation rates that we are seeing across Europe are coinciding with an economic slowdown and low growth,” he told the Spanish Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs’ Associations in an interview published on ...

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