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Addressing the East Asia Summit in Cambodia, Kishida said ensuring peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was important for regional security, voicing "serious concern" over the human rights situation of the Uyghur people, according to a statement from Japan's foreign ministry. "There has been continued, increasing actions by China in the East China Sea that violate Japan's sovereignty. China also continues to take actions that heighten regional tension in the South China Sea," Kishida told the meeting, according to the statement. Kishida's remarks follow those of U.S. President Joe Biden, who stressed to Asian leaders the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait and ensuring freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Kishida is in Cambodia to attend the East Asian summit, which groups 18 countries accounting for half of the global economy including the three biggest economies - the United States, China and Japan - and Southeast Asian nations.

☆ Chinese premier says economy on 'upward trend', vows further support
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Nov 13 (Reuters) - China's economy has grown 3% over the past three quarters and is stabilising on an "upward trend", Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said, vowing to continue to support the economy with policy measures. Premier Li also said China was working hard to keep market operations, employment and prices stable, the statement said. read moreChina has created more than 10 million new urban jobs in the first 10 months of the year, Li said. China aims to keep the urban jobless rate below 5.5% and to create more than 11 million new urban jobs this year. "Countries should strengthen cooperation and macroeconomic policy coordination, so as to form synergy to maintain the stability of the world economy and prevent recession," Li said.

Either Democrats or Republicans can capture a Senate majority by sweeping contests in both states. In the fight for the House of Representatives, Republicans were inching closer to wresting control of the chamber from Biden's Democrats. House control would give Republicans veto power over Biden's legislative agenda and allow them to launch potentially damaging investigations into his administration. The Republican House leader, Kevin McCarthy, has already announced his intention to run for speaker if Republicans take over, an outcome he has described as inevitable. Even a narrow Republican House majority would be able to demand concessions in exchange for votes on key issue such as raising the nation's borrowing limit.

Either Democrats or Republicans can capture a Senate majority by sweeping the contests in both states. A split, however, would transform a Dec. 6 runoff Senate election in Georgia into a proxy battle for the chamber, which among other powers holds sway over President Joe Biden's judicial appointments. The Republican House leader, Kevin McCarthy, has already announced his intention to run for speaker if Republicans take over, an outcome he described as inevitable on Wednesday. The outcome of the Arizona and Nevada Senate races, where Democratic incumbents were trying to fend off Republican challengers, may not be known for days yet. Even a narrow Republican House majority would be able to demand concessions in exchange for votes on key issue such as raising the nation's borrowing limit.

☆ Malaysia Q3 GDP up 14.2% y/y, beats forecast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Malaysia's economy grew 14.2% from a year earlier in the third quarter, boosted by rising domestic demand and robust exports, Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said on Friday. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected gross domestic product to jump 11.7% in the July-September period, accelerating from the 8.9% annual growth seen in the second quarter. Reporting by Rozanna Latiff and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Growth came in above the 11.7% growth forecast in a Reuters poll and the 8.9% annual rise in the previous quarter, the central bank said. It surpassed third-quarter growth in many of its regional peers including Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. But BNM said the outlook was clouded by the risk of a global economic slowdown, forecasting economic growth to slow to 4.0%-5.0% next year. “We acknowledge there are still some spots in our economy that have yet to return to pre-pandemic condition," Nor Shamsiah said. Nor Shamsiah said the ringgit currency will adjust to reflect Malaysia's economic fundamentals once uncertainties caused by the U.S. rate moves recede, without elaborating further.

"We will definitely work all out to adjust our production capacity and output, so there is no impact on demand for these two holidays," Liu said. On Wednesday, Foxconn said it would continue production in Zhengzhou under a "closed loop" system, where staff live and work on-site in a bubble isolated from the wider world. "Of course there may be other factors that require the reconfiguration of production capacity, such as geopolitics," Liu said. Having said on Monday it would "revise down" its fourth quarter outlook given the situation in Zhengzhou, Foxconn said revenue in the final three months of this year would be flattish. read moreReuters last month reported that Foxconn's production of Apple's iPhones at the Zhengzhou factory could slump by as much as 30% in November due to tight COVID-19 restrictions.

The economy would likely grow above the government's 6.5%-7.5% growth target for 2022, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told a media briefing. On a quarterly basis, gross domestic product (GDP) rose 2.9% versus a 0.1% contraction in April-June and an expected 1% rise, the data showed. "While these developments are remarkable, I want to underscore that our nation still faces a considerable burden in the form of high inflation," Balisacan said. Balisacan said the government remained committed to fighting inflation to protect people's purchasing power, including by tightening monetary policy. "In the face of surging prices, that's a big upside surprise," said ING economist Nicholas Mapa.

☆ Cathay Pacific's new chief Lam to spearhead COVID recovery, two-brand plan
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Jamie Freed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Now that the Asian financial hub has scrapped onerous hotel quarantine rules, the airline is looking to build up passenger numbers. "Cathay has a mountain to climb to replace the staff, particularly pilots, that have left and continue to leave," he said. Lam, 50, joined Cathay in 1996, and was previously its chief customer and commercial officer. The two men took the top jobs in August 2019, after the resignation of then chief executive Rupert Hogg and Paul Loo, chief customer and commercial officer, amid mounting Chinese regulatory scrutiny of employees' involvement in the protests. Cathay's new chief customer and commercial officer is Lavinia Lau, 52, who moves from the role of director of customer travel, into a strong position to become its first female chief executive.

☆ Morning Bid: Bank man fried
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We are in the best of hands," FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried said on Twitter, after announcing a bailout that has not quite soothed market jitters. Bitcoin was falling in Asia on Wednesday, so was FTX's collapsing token and Binance's token had the wobbles. As Spectra Markets' Brent Donnelly and others have previously noted, naming rights are a reasonable signal of irrational exuberance. FTX's 19-year deal for naming rights at the Miami Heat basketball team's home arena looks to face a similar fate, as does its sponsorship of the Mercedes F1 team. China's factory gate prices dropped for the first time since December 2020, and consumer inflation moderated, underlining faltering domestic demand.

The U.S. congressional elections posed a fresh test for social media companies, which for years have struggled to balance free expression against amplifying potentially harmful commentary. Voices on the right sought on social media on Tuesday to falsely blame Democrats for voting glitches reported in some places. Common Cause also noted a "big slowdown" in Twitter's response time since Friday, when layoffs gutted many of the company's teams responsible for elevating credible information. Before Tuesday, both Musk and Twitter's head of safety and integrity Yoel Roth tweeted that the company would uphold and enforce its election integrity policies through the midterms. The falsehoods appeared to originate on messaging app Telegram before spreading to more mainstream social media services, according to Common Cause.

☆ Tesla Shanghai adds to inventory at highest rate ever in October - brokerage data
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

That was the biggest gap between production and sales since Tesla opened its Shanghai Gigfactory in late 2019, CMBI data showed. Reuters GraphicsWhile Tesla's inventory numbers remain low relative to established automakers, building inventory has been a down-cycle indicator for the industry, forcing markdowns in past recessions of the kind Tesla has not yet faced. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said last month China, Tesla’s second largest market, was in a “recession of sorts". Tesla cut prices for its Model 3 and Model Y cars in China last month to boost sales. Unlike traditional automakers, Tesla distributes through its own stores, rather than dealers, and so is left to hold and finance any inventory that has not been delivered to buyers.

☆ Russian c.bank: No need to ease capital controls further for now
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The rouble has become the world's best-performing currency this year, boosted by capital controls that include curbs on foreign currency withdrawals. Nabiullina warned against underestimating the impact of sanctions imposed against Russia over its actions in Ukraine, but said Russia's economy and banking sector have stood up well to the challenge. "Sanctions are very powerful and their influence on the Russian and global economy should not be downplayed," Nabiullina said. As the West shuns Russia and Moscow seeks to develop trading routes, potential partners are afraid of secondary sanctions, Nabiullina said. Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Alexander Marrow; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HONG KONG, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Tuesday as U.S. stocks increased overnight before midterm elections and investors clung on to hopes that China would eventually relax its strict pandemic curbs even after the government reaffirmed its commitment to the zero-COVID policy. Wall Street ended sharply higher Monday as investors focused on Tuesday's midterm elections that will determine control of Congress, while shares of Meta Platforms jumped on a report of job cuts at the Facebook parent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index (.HSI) and China's benchmark CSI300 Index (.CSI300) were up 0.3% and 0.14%, respectively. Investors are hoping China will gradually ease its zero-COVID policy and reopen to the world, even after health officials reiterated their commitment to the policy on Saturday at a press conference. Analysts said U.S. mid-term elections on Tuesday could impact markets.

☆ BOJ debated impact of future exit from easy policy amid rising prices
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

While there is no need to immediately tweak monetary policy, the BOJ must pay attention to the side-effects of prolonged easing, according to another opinion quoted in the summary. The remarks highlight the emerging divergence between Kuroda's calls to keep monetary policy ultra-loose, and the opinions of some other board members, who are more open to the idea of debating a future exit from ultra-low interest rates. Some market players bet the BOJ will tweak its yield curve control policy when Kuroda's term ends in April next year. At the Oct. 27-28 meeting, the BOJ kept ultra-low rates and maintained its dovish guidance, cementing its status as an outlier among global central banks tightening monetary policy. Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Christian Schmollinger and Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Elon Musk's Twitter girds for surge in U.S. midterm election misinformation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nov 8 (Reuters) - Days after Twitter Inc fired half its staff and new owner Elon Musk tweeted a recommendation to vote for Republican candidates, election experts are anxiously bracing for a surge in online misinformation as Americans head to the polls on Tuesday. Researchers who study election misinformation say threats, offensive language and false rumors of election fraud have been circulating widely ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress for the next two years. Musk tweeted last week that Twitter would uphold and enforce its election integrity policies, after meeting with activist groups that have pressured advertisers to pull their Twitter ads. Musk tweeted a link to Twitter's content rules on Monday that caused confusion because it appeared to leave out rules for misleading content. Asked if Twitter had stopped enforcing against misinformation, Roth later tweeted "no".

☆ Asian stocks mixed as caution reigns ahead of U.S. midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Kane Wu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MSCI's gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) narrowed gains to rise 0.12% at 0517 GMT. "The thing to watch ... will be the U.S. midterms today and the CPI data tomorrow," said Redmond Wong, Saxo Markets' market strategist for Greater China, in a note on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 (.N225) gained as much as 1.44%, hitting an eight-week high, as investors scooped up chips and other technology stocks. Analysts said U.S. mid-term elections on Tuesday could impact markets. Brent crude fell 0.32% to $97.61 a barrel by 0526 GMT, while U.S. crude fell 0.38% to $91.44 a barrel.

☆ Taiwan exports likely contracted again in October- Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/econ-polls?RIC=TWCPIY%3DECIExports median forecast -6% y/y (prior month -5.3%)Imports median forecast -3.5% y/y (prior month -2.4%)Balance median forecast $4.905 bln (prior month $5.02 bln)CPI median forecast +2.7% y/y (prior month +2.75%)TAIPEI, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Taiwan's exports likely contracted in October for the second month in a row, amid fears of a global recession, uncertainties due to the war in Ukraine, and COVID-19 flare-ups in China, according to a Reuters poll. Taiwan, a global hub for chip production and a key supplier to Apple Inc (AAPL.O), is one of Asia's leading exporters of technology goods. Exports last month were estimated to have dropped 6% from a year earlier, a Reuters poll of 22 analysts showed on Monday, slightly faster than the 5.3% contraction in September. Taiwan's finance ministry had predicted October exports could contract in a range of 3% to 6% from a year earlier. Poll compiled by Anant Chandak and Carol Lee; Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China Evergrande says Hong Kong land plot sold by receivers for $637 mln
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, Nov 6 (Reuters) - China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) said on Sunday its plot of undeveloped land for residential development in Hong Kong's Yuen Long district has been sold by its receivers for $636.94 million. The land project is expected to result in a loss of about $770 million, the Chinese property developer said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse. The sale proceeds will be used to repay the financial obligations tied to the land plot, it said. Evergrande bought the rural land plot from local developer Henderson Land for $600 million in 2019, and spent around $532 million to convert it into buildable land, according to local media. Saddled with more than $300 billion in total liabilities, the defaulted Chinese property developer has already seen many of its assets, both in mainland China and Hong Kong, seized by creditors.

☆ China coal imports slip from 10-month high in Oct as COVID curbs crimp demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Muyu Xu | Clyde Russell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Nov 7 (Reuters) - China's coal imports slipped in October after hitting a 10-month high in September, as Beijing's ultra-strict COVID-19 restrictions dampened demand for the power generation fuel. Coal arrivals in October totalled 29.18 million tonnes, up 8.3% from a year earlier, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday. Coal imports hit 33.05 million tonnes in the prior month. Coal-fired power and heating plants typically start to build inventory in October. But a stronger dollar is making imported coal more expensive for Chinese buyers and eating into profit margins at power plants.

☆ Japan's Honda launches new EV model in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Honda Motor Co (7267.T) unveiled the second model of its new China-only electric vehicle (EV) lineup on Saturday, targeting the fast-growing, battery-driven car segment in the world's largest auto market. It began selling the first model in China in April. "Honda is transforming itself into an electric brand in China with a series of unique and diverse electric mobility products that only Honda can offer," said Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe in a statement. Honda laid out a target to roll out 30 EV models globally and produce some 2 million EVs a year by 2030 earlier this year. Last year, it said it would introduce only electrified vehicle models in China after 2030, including battery electric, hydrogen fuel-cell or petrol-electric automobiles.

☆ Honda launches new EV model in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

☆ Morning Bid: Laboring markets get China fillip
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan. With one eye on the U.S. employment report at the end of a dour week of rising interest rates, world markets were spurred by another slightly mysterious Chinese stock surge. None of these reports have yet been confirmed, but some former officials appeared to encourage the speculation on Friday. The Shanghai Composite (.SSEC) rose 2.7% and was headed for a 5.6% weekly gain, the largest in more than two years. U.S. stock futures were up marginally ahead of the open, however, after another round of heavy index losses on rising interest rate fears on Thursday.

☆ Yuan jumps, dollar pauses, sterling claws back some ground
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The offshore yuan jumped more than 1% in the Asia session to a one-week peak of 7.2441 per dollar, and last traded 7.2621. But traders said the most potent boost to the yuan came from speculation that China could relax anti-COVID restrictions,which have been hobbling economic activity. And as is typically the case, this type of 'risk on' move indicated by the yuan will have a magnetic attraction across Asia markets." The Australian dollar rose 0.86% to $0.6342, further buoyed by the positive sentiment on China, as the Aussie is often used as a liquid proxy for the yuan. DOLLAR DOMINANCEFed rate futures now point to a terminal rate of about 5.15% by mid-2023, after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point this week.

☆ Dollar eyes weekly gain; sterling wobbles on lower rate bets, bleak outlook
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Rae Wee | Michael S. Derby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar index fell 0.23% to 112.71, away from a near two-week peak of 113.15 hit overnight. Nonetheless, it was on track for a weekly gain of nearly 2% -- its largest since September. Fed rate futures now point to a terminal rate of about 5.15% by mid-2023, after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point this week. It was headed for a weekly loss of more than 3%, the largest since September's market turmoil triggered by an economic plan that alarmed investors. Reporting by Rae Wee; Editing by Kim Coghill and Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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