Japan to Make Raising Wages a Top Priority, Says Senior Govt official
Japan's government will make raising wages a top priority in its economic policy next year, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara said on Wednesday. "The biggest challenge for Japan's economy is a lack of wage growth. Unless wages rise, consumption won't pick up and...
Asian Stocks Hit By Tech Rout, More Fed Cues Awaited
Most Asian stock markets sank on Wednesday tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, with technology-heavy indexes losing the most as caution kicked in ahead of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s February meeting. Japan’s Nikkei 225, the Taiwan Weighted index, and South Korea’s KOSPI...
European Stock Futures Higher; U.S. Debt Optimism, Solid Earnings Help Tone
European stock markets are expected to open higher Friday, benefiting from the global optimism that a U.S. debt default will be avoided, but concerns about future growth remain. At 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT), the DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.2% higher, CAC 40...
Chinese Tech Stocks Rise, Tencent Surges On Strong FY Results
Major Chinese technology stocks rose on Thursday, with shares of Tencent up sharply after the internet giant logged stronger-than-expected annual earnings, while less hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve also aided sentiment. Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700) rose over 6% to HK$368.40 a share, and...
Bitcoin Near 9-Month High As Bank Turmoil Sparks Rally
to turn to digital assets. The biggest cryptocurrency by market value fell 1.8% in Asia hours to $27,549 after hitting its highest since June 12 on Sunday at $28,474. It rose 26% last week and is up more than 35% in ten days as...
Australia wins U.S. Support For Critical Minerals Industry
Australia has won the backing of the United States for development of its critical minerals industry after the two countries reached an agreement to coordinate polices and investment to support the industry’s growth. Australia supplies around half of the world’s lithium as well as...
Fashion Retailer H&M’s Profit Tumbles As Costs Bite
Sweden's H&M reported on Friday a much larger than expected drop in September-November profit, hit by weak consumer confidence and soaring costs that it did not fully pass on to price tags, sending its shares down 7% in early trade. Operating profit in the...
Inflation Could Make Or Break Rebounding 60/40 Portfolio
An investing strategy designed to hedge against market declines is rebounding after a rough year, but its success may hinge on whether inflation continues to ebb in coming months. So-called 60/40 portfolios typically allocate 60% of their assets to stocks and the rest to...
Volkswagen to Invest $193 Billion Over 5 Years To Hit EV Target
Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) plans to invest 180 billion euros ($192.76 billion) over the next five years in areas including battery production and its North American operations, it said on Tuesday, with spending on combustion engines to fall from 2025. As it works toward a target...
Volvo Cars Plans Cost Cuts As First-Quarter Profit Drops
Sweden-based automaker Volvo Car Group reported a smaller-than-expected fall in first-quarter operating earnings on Thursday and said while overall demand remained healthy it may still cut costs as the global economy slows down. Volvo Cars, majority-owned by China’s Greely Holding, said operating earnings fell...