Tag - trade

 
 

TRADE

Graffiti painted on a wall of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Sanaa depicts a Houthi fighter stopping an Israeli ship off the coast of Yemen. The group has been targeting ships in the Red Sea since November.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 20, 2024
Houthi strikes force crew to abandon ship for first time
The militant group made unverified claims that the attack on the British vessel resulted in its complete sinking.
In the U.S., proof that inflation remains sticky and the labor market sound has convinced traders to embrace the Federal Reserve’s pushback against market bets on near-term easing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 19, 2024
Cracks start to emerge in global central bank synchronicity
The synchronization among central banks might be about to weaken as domestic drivers take over from global trends in determining price outlooks.
A model of the next-generation fighter jet set to be built by Japan, Britain and Italy is seen at the DSEI defense event in London last September.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 18, 2024
Japan looks to limit third-country defense exports to next-gen fighter jet
Tokyo plans to limit — at least for now — exports of finished defense equipment co-developed with others to the jet being built with Italy and Britain.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva (right) speaks during the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 13, 2024
IMF and World Bank warn Gaza and Red Sea chaos imperils global economy
The Israel-Hamas war and its knock-on effects could impact the world the longer the fighting drags on, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said.
Copies of the Apple Daily newspaper, published by Next Digital Ltd., at the company's printing facility in Hong Kong on Nov. 5, 2020.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2024
In Trump-Biden rematch, the only sure loser is China
Trump’s rhetoric may pressure Biden to take harsher measures in the run-up to election day — bad news for China’s economy and slumping stock market.
Polish soldiers near a K2 tank, delivered in the first batch of arms from South Korea under contracts signed in recent months, in Wierzbiny near Orzysz, Poland, in March last year
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 8, 2024
Financing uncertainty clouds South Korea's push for massive arms deals
Both parties in South Korea have introduced bills to boost the state bank as the country seeks to expedite a $22 billion weapons purchase from Poland.
Shipments from China to the U.S. are increasingly making a pit stop in third countries such as Vietnam and Mexico.
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2024
Biden wins U.S.-China trade war by Trump’s pet metric, but does it count?
Figures due Wednesday are set to show the U.S. deficit in goods trade with China in 2023 at its lowest annual level since 2010.
Cars and homes destroyed by a Russian missile that fell between a residential building and a public preschool in Kyiv on Dec. 13, 2023. In January, the White House said it had evidence that North Korea had provided ballistic missiles used by Russia.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 6, 2024
A Russian bank account may offer clues to North Korean arms deal
Russia has allowed the release of $9 million in frozen North Korean assets from a Russian financial institution, according to intelligence officials.
Vietnam is sitting on around 17% of the world’s known rare-earth reserves, second only to China. 
COMMENTARY
Feb 6, 2024
Vietnam should seize a 'rare' opportunity to take on China
Vietnamese officials have approved plans to supercharge rare-earths production, aiming to process as much as 62,500 tons of the minerals by 2030.
Prolonged factory deflation is threatening the survival of smaller Chinese exporters, who are locked in relentless price wars for shrinking business as higher interest rates abroad and rising trade protectionism squeeze demand.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Feb 5, 2024
China's small exporters threatened amid price wars and low demand
Producer prices have been falling for 15 straight months, crushing profit margins to the point where industrial output and jobs are now at risk.
A decision by Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) could yet take time to implement, but if carried through, is set to disrupt the region's trade and services flows, worth nearly $150 billion a year.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2024
West Africa's 'Brexit' moment spells trouble for the region
The latest crisis highlights the growing rift between the Western-allied governments and military-run countries increasingly relying on Russia and China.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House in Washington in January 2023. Some Japanese businesses are keenly waiting for the results of the U.S. presidential election in November.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 1, 2024
Japanese firms seek political stability and stronger alliance: survey
A possible Taiwan contingency is just one of the issues on the minds of companies in the country.
Cars ready to be loaded onto a ship for export at the port in Yantai, in China's eastern Shandong province, on Jan. 2
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 31, 2024
China seized Japan's crown for vehicle exports in 2023, data shows
The Chinese auto sector has boomed in recent years largely because of massive investments in electric cars, while Japanese firms have been more cautious.
Given that developing countries’ domestic markets are much smaller than that of the U.S., liberal trade policies play a larger role in driving their economic growth.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 31, 2024
Developing countries should reject American-style protectionism
America’s current industrial policy poses an existential threat to the multilateral trading system it worked so hard to build
Garments at a Shein Group pop-up store inside a Forever-21 store in the Times Square neighborhood of New York on Nov. 10, 2023
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 31, 2024
Cars and online retailers outperform as China exports disappoint
The sectors represented the fastest expansion among China's economy, with an export value of at least $10 billion.
Marine product shipments to China saw a steep drop of 29.9%, with scallops, which had shown strong growth in recent years, dropping 43.6%.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2024
Japan farm and fisheries exports hit record ¥1.45 trillion in 2023
Increased shipment to the United States and Hong Kong is making up for a decline in sales to mainland China, government data showed.
Nishikigoi, or ornamental carp, swim in an exhibition facility in Ojiya, Niigata Prefecture, on Nov. 1. The same month, China announced a ban on the import of the fish from Japan.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2024
Nishikigoi breeders hope for early resumption of exports to China
The government has been pushing China to resume trade involving ornamental carp, but Beijing has yet to respond, officials say.
Iranian sources said Beijing had made it clear it would be very disappointed with Tehran if any vessels linked to China were hit, or the country's interests were affected in any way.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 26, 2024
China presses Iran to rein in Houthi attacks in Red Sea, sources say
But amid regional alliances and priorities, it is uncertain whether Tehran will take action following the discussions with Beijing.
The U.S. push to undermine Beijing’s semiconductor ambitions has increasingly singled out ASML, drawing the ire of the Dutch company's outgoing head Peter Wennink and some local lawmakers.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 26, 2024
ASML’s China sales surged despite secret Dutch deal with U.S.
The deal, which hasn’t been reported before, stumbled as ASML turned to Beijing to compensate for weak demand elsewhere.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meet in Beijing in April last year.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 25, 2024
With China in mind, EU aims to toughen rules on foreign trade and investment
The package includes requiring member states to potentially prevent foreign direct investments that may pose a risk to the bloc’s security.

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Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces