The Biden administration will request a 1% increase in defense spending, to $849.8 billion, for fiscal year 2025, officials familiar with the matter said, scaling back plans for a bigger boost as it grapples with caps imposed by last year’s debt-limit deal. The cuts reflect a decision to seek less money for procurement and research … Read more
China’s defense spending will grow by 7.2% in 2024 — the most in five years — an increase that comes amid signs corruption is undermining a military revamp. Military expenditure by the central government is expected to rise to 1.67 trillion yuan ($231 billion) this year, according to a Finance Ministry report released on Tuesday. … Read more
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said the US dollar is likely to keep its preeminent status globally despite recent threats from cryptocurrencies, the rise of the euro and China’s promotion of its own yuan. “I do not expect to see the US dollar lose its status as the world’s reserve currency anytime soon,” Waller said … Read more
For most of us, weight loss is a positive. For an economy, not so much. New analysis showing that China’s global heft has declined for the first time since 1994 illustrates why its chances of overtaking the US economy are increasingly in doubt. While the International Monetary Fund and others regularly cite China as the … Read more
Chinese artificial intelligence chip firm Shanghai Biren Intelligent Technology Co. has recently secured a pledge of 2 billion yuan ($280 million) from Guangzhou government-backed investors after the company was blacklisted by Washington in October, according to people familiar with the matter. The startup has also talked to officials in Hong Kong in recent weeks for … Read more
Hello, this is Colum Murphy in Beijing. An embarrassing string of unexplained disappearances by some of China’s highest profile leaders is stoking questions about President Xi Jinping’s management style — along with the wisdom of centering all power in the country around him alone. Source link
Dividend Surge: The Bloomberg Close, Asia Edition Bloomberg Source link
For currency speculators around the world, the trade has long been a no-brainer: simply borrow yen, which costs nothing because of sub-zero interest rates in Japan, and then park the money anywhere yields are higher, earning a tidy profit from the difference. But now, a surprising low-cost alternative to the Japanese currency has started to … Read more
When Xi Jinping’s clampdown on corruption in China’s health-care system reached a top-tier hospital in Fujian province last month, the message was inescapable. Doctors and other staff were ordered to disclose any illicit income they’d received, reveal its source and surrender the cash to a dedicated bank account, according to a person familiar with the … Read more
A private survey of China’s services sector showed activity expanded at the slowest rate this year in August, as the economy’s darkened outlook and ongoing property turmoil hold people back from spending. The Caixin services purchasing managers’ index fell to 51.8 last month from 54.1 in July, Caixin and S&P Global said in a statement … Read more