As optimism grows that the United States and China are nearing a trade deal, Japan kicks off its own negotiations with Washington from Monday, hoping to resolve some of the issues "very quickly."
China's economy cooled further in the first quarter, according to an AFP survey of analysts, as Beijing resorted to tried-and-tested measures to combat tepid global demand and a bruising US trade war.
Trade frictions are seen as a the main source of uncertainty for a slowing global economy, but there are more glimmers of hope for a US-China agreement.
Government respect for the independence of central banks has served them well in their mission, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said Saturday.
With US-Japan trade talks set to begin Monday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday any agreement will include a requirement to refrain from manipulating currencies to gain an advantage in international trade.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday a U.S.-China trade agreement would go "way beyond" previous efforts to open China's markets to U.S. companies and hoped that the two sides were "close to the final round" of negotiations.
Japan's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by lawyers for Carlos Ghosn against his detention, local media said Saturday, dashing the former Nissan boss's hopes for an early release.
Richard Liu, the founder of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc, has weighed in on an ongoing debate about the Chinese tech industry's grueling overtime work culture, lamenting that years of growth had increased the number of "slackers" in his firm who are not his "brothers."
India's working population can propel the economy if they can find productive employment with decent incomes, say Asit K Biswas and Cecilia Tortajada.
Investors betting on industrial stocks this year have been rewarded, with the group among the best-performing sectors so far, but that strength will be tested in the coming weeks as companies report results.
