Despite the buzz around electric vehicles, the chairman of Japanese car maker Toyota is skeptical that consumers will embrace such cars immediately, given current limitations in battery technology. The remarks by Takeshi Uchiyamada, told to CNBC in an exclusive interview, mark a departure from the sentiment of several players in an industry that’s trying to […]

The United States and its allies have ratcheted up sanctions against North Korea in a bid to pressure the country to give up its nuclear ambitions. That might prove a losing strategy. In fact, economic sanctions could actually be bolstering Pyongyang’s business competitiveness as firms develop better methods of evading trade restrictions. That, in turn, […]

Chinese President Xi Jinping told an international summit on Tuesday that although the global economy had improved, risk factors had also increased. Addressing the “Dialogue of Emerging Market and Developing Countries,” Xi appeared to rebuke the United States’ recent resistance to international agreements — including the Paris climate accord. He said emerging and developing markets […]

Chinese entrepreneur Li Hejun, who briefly held the title of China’s richest man, was just banned from Hong Kong’s business world A Hong Kong court ruled to disqualify Li from being a director or being involved with the management of any Hong Kong listed or unlisted company for eight years. That came as the court […]

Australia’s central bank left its cash rate at 1.5 percent on Tuesday, a widely expected decision given policy makers have signaled a steady outlook for some time to come. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) made the announcement following its monthly policy meeting. A Reuters poll of 42 analysts had found all but one expected […]

South Korea said on Tuesday an agreement with the United States to scrap a weight limit on its warheads would help it respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat after Pyongyang conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test two days ago. South Korean officials believe more provocation from the reclusive state is possible, despite […]

China is poised to further tighten rules on virtual currencies after regulators on Monday banned virtual coin fundraising schemes, Chinese financial news outlet Yicai reported, citing sources. China banned and deemed illegal the practice of raising funds through launches of token-based digital currencies, targeting so-called initial coin offerings (ICO) in a market that has exploded […]

China’s services sector expanded at a faster clip in August as new business orders picked up, a private business survey showed on Tuesday, pointing to renewed strength in a key part of the world’s second-largest economy. The findings were in line with an official gauge of the non-manufacturing sector published last week which also showed […]

The Japanese government is drawing up plans to evacuate its citizens from South Korea in the event of a war, the Nikkei Asian Review reported on Tuesday. That’s no small feat, as there are about 38,000 long-term Japanese residents and another 19,000 tourists and short-terms travelers in South Korea, Nikkei added. North Korea conducted its […]

Geopolitical tensions looked set to remain in the spotlight on Tuesday after stocks stumbled and investors turned to safe haven assets on the back of North Korea’s most recent nuclear test. The U.S. on Monday called for the “strongest possible” sanctions to be imposed on North Korea a day after North Korea said it had […]