Today
China’s exports slow in warning sign for economy
Exports rose 7 per cent in July in dollar terms from a year earlier, falling short of economists’ median forecast of a 9.5 per cent gain.
- 1 hr ago
- Yujing Liu
Yesterday
Bangladesh protesters back Nobel laureate for government role
Protesters have called for Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus to be named chief adviser of a new interim government after PM Sheikh Hasina fled the country.
- John Reed, Benjamin Parkin and Lucy Fisher
- Opinion
- Sharemarket
Why global investors find it so easy to sell Japan
It is easier to sell Japan into a rout than any other Asian market, and unusually attractive to take profits from it right now because the gains this year have been so good.
- Leo Lewis
This Month
Bangladesh protesters to march on government after deadly clashes
At least 91 people were killed and hundreds injured on Sunday in a wave of violence in the country of 170 million, as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets.
- Ruma Paul
- Opinion
- Global economy
Shouldn’t the world thank China for producing too much stuff?
If trade policy were about consumers, the US and EU would thank China for its cheap EVs, batteries and solar panels and its contribution to lowering carbon emissions.
- Gary Hufbauer
- Analysis
- North Korea diplomacy
On the front line of North Korea’s nuclear threat
The possibility of another Trump presidency has global leaders nervous about Kim Jong-un’s erratic behaviour. Would a second mandate tame or embolden “little rocket man”.
- Updated
- Jessica Sier
July
China factory activity shrinks for third straight month
The official PMI index hit 49.4. The gauge has stayed below the 50-mark separating growth from contraction for all but three months since April 2023.
- Updated
- Shinjini Datta and Zhu Lin
Wong calls on China to rein in North Korea
The foreign minister acknowledged that countries all around Asia are beefing up their defence capabilities in response to China’s dramatic military expansion.
- Staff reporters
- Analysis
- Global economy
China’s low-tech manufacturers hanging on by their fingernails
China is shifting more to high-tech and EV manufacturing as its clothing, toy and furniture factories struggle against anaemic orders, trade restrictions and competition.
- William Langley
In tougher job market, aspiring bankers skip class to ‘stack’ internships
Goldman Sachs had 31.5 per cent more internship applications in Singapore this year, and graduate recruitment is now so competitive that “internships are where you can get the foot in the door”.
- Bernadette Toh
Meloni vows to ‘relaunch’ cooperation with China
Italy was the only Group of Seven country to join the massive Belt and Road Initiative, but it withdrew last year under US pressure over Beijing’s economic reach.
- Giselda Vagnoni and Laurie Chen
Quad expands maritime coverage to combat China aggression
Quad member countries will expand their maritime data sharing program as China’s aggression in critical waterways ramps up.
- Staff reporters
- Analysis
- Food & drink
How the Domino’s Japanese dream died
The pizza business failed to recognise that Japan’s explosive growth in lockdown was due to its convenient delivery service rather than a shift in consumer taste.
- Staff
Australians welcome Trump’s pro-crypto stand
Crypto traders say Donald Trump’s pledges to end the “persecution” of the industry and sack SEC chairman Gary Gensler are a good start.
- Updated
- Staff reporters
Australia doubles down on its subsea cable diplomacy in South Pacific
The rollout of undersea cables has become a major focus of the strategic competition between Western nations and China to gain influence in the Pacific.
- Updated
- Staff
US boosts military command in Japan amid ‘provocative’ China
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin says an upgrade to the US command in Japan is “one of the most significant developments in the history of our alliance”.
- Updated
- Mari Yamaguchi
China insists the world needs more EVs despite looming trade war
Beijing says Chinese manufacturers are helping the world fight climate change, rejecting US and European criticism of flooding the market with cheap cars.
- Updated
- Jana Randow
Indonesia moves to reduce China’s investment in nickel projects
Jakarta wants to help its industry qualify for tax credits under Joe Biden’s initiative to build a US electric vehicle supply chain.
- Updated
- A. Anantha Lakshmi
The stumbling block in Japan’s Silicon Valley dream
The island nation has joined the global race to grab a bigger slice of the semiconductor supply chain. But it has a unique problem.
- Jessica Sier
Alarms, double prices: Japan is getting fed up with foreign tourists
Angst is rising in Japan over what locals are calling an “over-tourism crisis” – and some towns are taking action.
- Jessica Sier
