A private survey that focuses on small and medium-sized firms in China showed that manufacturing activity picked up at a slower pace in November. The Caixin/Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index came in at 50.8 for last month — the lowest level in five months, Caixin and IHS Markit said in a joint press release. Economists […]

North Korea’s 33-year-old dictator Kim Jong Un loves television. Under his rule, state-produced TV content has become one of Pyongyang’s primary tools for propaganda, replacing the feature-length films preferred by his father Kim Jong Il, according to Jean H. Lee, global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. In new research, Lee described […]

Asia markets were set to open higher on Friday, after U.S. stocks rallied overnight at the increasing likelihood that the Senate might pass a bill aimed at overhauling the U.S. tax code. The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 24,000 for the first time. Australia’s SPI futures traded at 6,008, rising from the ASX 200’s […]

Japan’s Softbank Group offered to buy an undisclosed number of shares in Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart at a reduced valuation in the range of $9 billion to $10 billion, the Mint daily reported on Thursday. Softbank offered to buy Flipkart shares from investors and former and existing employees for $85 to $89 per share, Mint […]

Just days ahead of a Beijing visit, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has yet to decide on whether to launch talks on a free trade deal that China has long pressed for and could face a cool reception over his government’s decision to snub Chinese interest in Bombardier. China wants a free trade pact similar […]

China reported on Thursday that factory activity expanded at a quicker pace in November , with the official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index at 51.8 — topping expectations. Economists in a Reuters poll expected official PMI in the world’s second-largest economy to come in at 51.4 this month. That is slower than 51.6 in October. China’s […]

Asian markets tracked lower on Thursday as oil prices steadied after falling in the last session. Investors in the region will also keep an eye on several key data releases due later in the day. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was off 0.06 percent as major tech names traded lower. Sony fell 1.69 percent and Nintendo was […]

China’s Foreign Ministry has expressed what it called “grave concern and opposition” to North Korea’s latest missile launch in an unusual rebuke of its neighbor and ally. Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the country hoped “all parties would act cautiously to preserve peace and stability,” Reuters reported on Wednesday morning. The ministry’s spokesman added that […]

North Korean state media confirmed on Wednesday that the rogue nation’s latest rocket launch was a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile called the Hwasong-15 that is capable of reaching the U.S. The ICBM launch, ordered by leader Kim Jong Un, was a success and is the most powerful missile so far, state media said. […]

China’s deep-rooted relationship with Zimbabwe, formed under recently deposed leader Robert Mugabe, has weakened in recent years. But under the watch of new President Emmerson Mnangagwa, seen as a friendlier face to Beijing’s commercial interests, bilateral ties could strengthen. In fact, many speculate that it was China’s concerns over its investments that resulted in the […]