China Financial News

crude oil purchases from Venezuela as the South American nation no longer faces sanctions from the US, oil minister Hardeep Puri said on Friday. “We have always bought stuff from Venezuela. It was when Venezuela came under sanction that they were not able to supply.

On Thursday, the Maldivian government announced it would terminate a hydrography agreement signed with India in 2019. The decision came shortly after the newly elected administration of Mohamed Muizzu asked India to withdraw its troops from the island country–a day after he took charge. The two countries have mostly had cordial relations, with India providing administrative and infrastructure support.

Also Read: PBOC's bold move: Injects $112 billion lifeline amid economic challenges The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said it was keeping the rate on 1.45 trillion yuan ($203.97 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to some financial institutions unchanged at 2.50% from the previous operation. With 650 billion yuan worth of MLF loans set to expire this month, the operation resulted in a net 800 billion yuan fresh fund injection into the banking system in December, booking the biggest monthly increase on record, Reuters reported.

Asian shares have churned higher after the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to another record high

Sensex beyond the 71,000 mark and making 21,000 the new pincode for Nifty, FIIs (foreign institutional investors) have been pouring in over Rs 3,900 crore daily on an average in December, making the 30-pack index stronger by 4,000 points so far in the month. NSDL data shows that in the first 10 days of the month, FIIs invested Rs 39,260 crore on Dalal Street. And now with the US Fed hinting at 3 rate cuts in 2024, the market could once again see a flood of foreign money chasing Indian stocks in the new year. The sharp uptick in FII flows comes after November's Rs 9,000 crore inflow and non-stop selling in September and October months. «This market has made a high despite the fact that we have yet to see significant FII inflows.

Mayuresh Joshi, Head, Equity Research-India, William O'Neil, says “as metal demand comes back slowly and steadily as far as China is concerned, the expectations of a soft landing in the US, strong recovery signs that we are seeing in Europe and holding out of macros and the expectations of infra spend in India, is expected to keep volumes afloat as far as Indian companies are concerned. With a sharp recovery in LME prices, the large expectation is that operating leverage should start kicking in from the first of the next financial year. It is a pre-emptive move that we are probably seeing on a lot of these counters.” What do you think is aiding the move in metals and is it sustainable? Two-three factors are clearly aiding the kind of growth that is now coming through for the sector as a whole. One, yesterday, Powell statement which is clearly indicating that at some stage in the second half of the next calendar year rate cuts will be a given, that will give a huge boost to the global economy and commodities in general should see a huge comeback.

China's video games market returned to growth this year as domestic revenue rose 13% to 303 billion yuan ($42.6 billion), putting Beijing's 8-month crackdown two years ago in the rear-view mirror. Industry association CGIGC said at a conference in Guangzhou on Friday the industry's domestic revenue this year reached over 300 billion yuan for the first time. It also said the number of gamers in China grew 0.61% to a record 668 million, which is more than North America's entire population.

A top Russian politician says that Moscow and Beijing could begin using their CBDCs – the digital ruble and digital yuan – to make payments as early as 2024.

TOKYO (Reuters) — Japan's core consumer inflation was expected to ease in November, slowing down to the level seen in mid-2022, partly as energy price gains weakened, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.

Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies steadied after a recent rally on Friday, while the dollar languished at four-month lows as traders positioned for deeper-than-expected interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2024.

Meta and China's TikTok restricted a record number of social media posts and accounts in Malaysia in the first six months of 2023, data published by the firms showed, amid a jump in government requests to remove content. Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's administration, which came to power in November 2022 on a reformist platform, has faced accusations of backpedaling on its promises to protect freedom of speech amid increased scrutiny of online content in recent months.

By Laura Sanicola and Andrew Hayley

By Josh Ye

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose sharply on Friday, extending recent gains following dovish signals from the Federal Reserve, while some positive economic readings from China also aided sentiment.

By Jessie Pang and James Pomfret

Elon Musk's social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, took a step closer to offering payment features after receiving a money-transmitter license from a 13th U.S. state this week. The approval by Pennsylvania, which occurred on Monday according to a public licensing database, has not been previously reported. It grants X the ability to facilitate money transfers and paves the way for the company to allow users to send money to one another, similar to PayPal's Venmo.

Yellen said former President Donald Trump's policies toward China left America «more vulnerable and more isolated» in the global economy, a rare jab by her at the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. Yellen, at a US-China Business Council event Thursday night, said the Trump administration «failed to make investments at home in critical areas like infrastructure and advanced technology, while also neglecting relationships with our partners and allies that had been forged and strengthened over decades.» Her comments come as the US rebuilds its relationship with the Asian superpower, including a November meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco. The two nations agreed to curb the production of illicit fentanyl, a deadly component of drugs sold in the United States, and agreed to resume military-to-military communications.

Investing.com-- Chinese industrial production grew more than expected in November, indicating that manufacturing output remained steady even as local and overseas demand continued to trend lower. 

By James Pomfret, Greg Torode and Jessie Pang

By Maha El Dahan, David Stanway and Valerie Volcovici

BEIJING (Reuters) -China's new home prices fell for the fifth straight month in November, official data showed on Friday, as the sector still struggles to elbow its way out of a weak market in the face of dampened confidence in demand and investment.