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  Bloomberg Profits at industrial firms in China declined in the first 11 months of the year, as production slowed and factory-gate prices fell amid Covid disruptions. Industrial profits in the January-November period fell 3.6% from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. That compared with a decline of 3% in the first 10 months of the ...

  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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

  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 ...

  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 ...

  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 ...