Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may strategically use North Korea’s interminable nuclear drama to boost his chances at next month’s lower house elections. Abe’s popularity plummeted between April and July amid a series of political scandals, but has recently rebounded as he advocated for more pressure on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Approval levels […]

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told China there was a need for “meaningful action” on key trade issues, according to a Commerce Department statement issued on Tuesday. Ross also reiterated to Chinese officials in Beijing about U.S. businesses’ concerns over forced technology transfers and data localization requirements in China. Source: cnbc china US Commerce Secretary […]

A shooting incident took place on Tuesday close to the Manila residence of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, a spokesman for his security detail said, but an official from the presidential palace said Duterte was not there at the time. The incident took place in Malacanang Park, the base of Duterte’s guard unit and close to […]

Eighty days, 2,000 kilometers — or 1,242 miles — 400 golf balls, and more than 20,000 shots across the plains of Mongolia are usually not exactly par for the course. But it is when you’re talking about the longest golf hole completed in history. Adam Rolston, a 28-year-old former rugby player, and Ron Rutland, his […]

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said on Tuesday it invested an additional 5.3 billion yuan, or $807 million, to increase its stake in logistics firm Cainiao Smart Logistics to 51 percent. Prior to the deal, Alibaba held 47 percent of Cainiao, it said in a press release. The deal would give Alibaba an additional seat on […]

Far Eastern Group, one of Taiwan‘s largest conglomerates, is weighing acquisition deals in China, as prices for assets in overcapacity sectors have become “competitive,” the company’s chairman said on Tuesday. But Far Eastern Group Chairman Douglas Hsu said his company wasn’t necessarily rushing into deals. Price wasn’t the only issue, Hsu told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” […]

Baidu Inc.’s video streaming service, iQiyi, is looking for an initial public offering in the United States as early as next year, which could value it at more than $8 billion, Bloomberg reported. The Chinese firm is about to kick off negotiations with banks and deal arrangers and is aiming for a valuation of as […]

Chinese authorities said on Monday that they have handed down maximum fines to the operators of three major social-media platforms in the country for failing to deal with pornography, violence and other banned content on their sites. The affected platforms are Baidu’s online forum Tieba, microblogging site Weibo and Tencent’s massively popular social app WeChat. […]

White House aides regularly used personal devices for official business, while at least six close advisers to President Donald Trump occasionally used private email addresses, both Politico and the New York Times reported on Monday, citing sources. Former chief of staff Reince Priebus tried to stop the “rampant” use of personal devices for official business, […]

Bank of Japan policymakers said they should stick with their current policy framework and had reason to be optimistic about consumer prices because measures of inflation expectations have stopped falling, minutes of the central bank’s July 19-20 meeting showed on Tuesday. The BOJ kept monetary policy on hold at the meeting in July but pushed […]