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☆ Nikkei leads Asia higher, China lags behind
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

China's factory activity slowed in June as the Caixin manufacturing survey showed a dip to 50.5, from 50.9 in May. China's central bank has promised more "forceful" action to support the economy and looks likely to soon get a new boss. Something major is needed given Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) shed 5% last quarter while much of the developed world rallied. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) gained 1.2%, though it was still lagging far behind Japan's market. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were steady ahead of the July 4 holiday, having gained more than 6% in June.

Persons: Tesla, May's, Michael Feroli, wouldn't, Brent, Wayne Cole, Christopher Cushing, Himani Sarkar Organizations: Nikkei, ANZ, Sino, Bank of Japan, FTSE, Nasdaq, BofA, Apple, Microsoft, JPMorgan, Fed, Thomson Locations: SYDNEY, Japan, Asia, Pacific, Saudi Arabia, Lincoln

☆ Yen weak, dollar drifts as traders weigh Fed rate hike path
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The yen weakened 0.09% to 144.45 to start the second half of the year, having lost 9% against the dollar in the first six months of the year. Against the euro, the yen was hovering at 157.66, just under the 15-year low of 158 it touched last week. It intervened again in October after the yen plunged to a 32-year low of 151.94. Markets are pricing in a 84% chance of the Fed hiking rates by 25 basis points in its July meeting, CME FedWatch tool showed. The Australian dollar rose 0.02% to $0.667, while the New Zealand dollar rose 0.42% at $0.615.

Persons: Shunichi Suzuki, Suzuki, Marc Chandler, Sterling, Ankur Banerjee, Christopher Cushing, Kim Coghill Organizations: Finance, Japan, Bannockburn Forex, Bank of Japan, U.S, U.S . Federal, Citi, Labor, Survey, NatWest, New Zealand, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Bannockburn, Japan, U.S ., U.S, United States, Singapore

☆ Nikkei leads Asia higher, China data underwhelms
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

China's factory activity slowed in June as the Caixin manufacturing survey showed a dip to 50.5, from 50.9 in May. China's central bank has promised more "forceful" action to support the economy and looks likely to soon get a new boss. Something major is needed given Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) shed 5% last quarter while much of the developed world rallied. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were steady ahead of the July 4 holiday, having gained more than 6% in June. Important U.S. data this week includes closely watched surveys on manufacturing and services, job openings and the June payrolls report.

Persons: Tesla, May's, Powell, Michael Feroli, Brent, Wayne Cole, Christopher Cushing, Himani Organizations: Nikkei, ANZ, Sino, Bank of Japan, FTSE, Nasdaq, BofA, Apple, Microsoft, JPMorgan, Thomson Locations: SYDNEY, Japan, Asia, Pacific, Saudi Arabia

☆ Morning Bid: Tesla delivers surprise, China goes slow
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

July 3 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole. Chinese blue chips are a touch firmer, perhaps in the hope a new chief at the central bank will bring stronger stimulus. It was notable last week that Japanese chip shares surged amid reports Washington would restrict sales of AI equipment to China. Key developments that could influence markets on Monday:- European Central Bank policymaker Joachim Nagel speaks at a financial conference- June U.S. ISM manufacturing survey, PMI and auto sales. Equity and bond markets close earlyBy Wayne Cole; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Wayne Cole, Janet Yellen, Central Bank policymaker Joachim Nagel, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Tesla's, P, People's Bank of, Treasury, Nikkei, European, Japan's, ISM, Central Bank, PMI, Equity, Thomson Locations: Wayne, People's Bank of China, News, China, U.S, Washington, Japan

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationTOKYO, July 3 (Reuters) - Japan is leaning toward softer rules governing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) than the European Union, said an official close to deliberations, as it looks to the technology to boost economic growth and make it a leader in advanced chips. A softer Japanese approach could dull EU efforts to establish its rules as a global benchmark, with requirements such as companies disclosing copyrighted material used to train AI systems that generate content like text and graphics. EU industry chief Thierry Breton is visiting Tokyo this week to promote the bloc's approach to AI rule-making as well as to deepen cooperation in semiconductors. The government official did not elaborate on areas where Japan's rules were likely to differ from those of the EU. For Japan, AI could help cope with the population decline that is causing a labour shortage.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Thierry Breton, Yutaka Matsuo, Matsuo, Breton, Japan's, Sam Nussey, Tim Kelly, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, European Union, EU, The University, Tokyo's, Learning, SoftBank, Microsoft, Japan, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan, European, U.S, Tokyo, China

A softer Japanese approach could dull EU efforts to establish its rules as a global benchmark, with requirements such as companies disclosing copyrighted material used to train AI systems that generate content like text and graphics. EU industry chief Thierry Breton is visiting Tokyo this week to promote the bloc's approach to AI rule-making as well as to deepen cooperation in semiconductors. The government official did not elaborate on areas where Japan's rules were likely to differ from those of the EU. For Japan, AI could help cope with the population decline that is causing a labour shortage. "If you increased the GPUs in Japan by 10 times, it would probably still be less than what OpenAI has available," said Prof. Matsuo.

☆ South Korea's robust economic activity in May paints brighter quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Jihoon Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

By product, output of automobiles jumped 8.7% and semiconductors rose 4.4% over the month, whereas communication devices slumped 16.9%. The finance ministry said the data showed the economy was on a recovery path after a slight correction the previous month. Factory output will rebound in the second quarter after four consecutive quarters of loss as exports bottom out, the ministry said. South Korea's heavily trade-reliant economy barely averted a recession with growth of 0.3% in the first quarter, after contracting in late 2022 for the first time in 2-1/2 years. Retail sales rose 0.4% in May, after dropping 2.6% in April - which was the worst in five months - while facility investment jumped 3.5%, the most since August.

Persons: Kang Min Joo, Kang, Jihoon Lee, Jacqueline Wong, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Statistics, ING Economics, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, Statistics Korea

☆ Morning Bid: Markets await euro zone inflation; wary of yen
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A general view of a fruit and vegetable stand on a weekly market in Berlin, Germany, March 14, 2020. Economists polled by Reuters expect the euro zone inflation rate to fall to 5.6% in June from 6.1% in May. The hawkish rhetoric was shared by other major central banks including U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who signalled the U.S. central bank was ready to resume its rate-hike campaign. Meanwhile, the yen broke beyond 145 a dollar, a proverbial 'line in the sand', resulting in fresh warning from Japan's finance minister. The intervention launched in September, when the yen weakened past 145 per dollar, was the first in 24 years.

Persons: Ankur Banerjee, Christine Lagarde, Jerome Powell, Shunichi Suzuki, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, Ankur, Reuters, Union, ING, European Central Bank, U.S . Federal, U.S, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, Spain, Italy, U.S, North America, Singapore

☆ Australian shoppers tempted by special offers in May
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, June 29 (Reuters) - Australian retail spending rebounded in May as consumers were tempted by online sales events and promotional discounting, a sign of resilience in consumption that might add to the case for another rise in interest rates. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday showed nominal retail sales rose 0.7% in May from April, when they were flat, handily beating forecasts of 0.1%. The ABS noted an early start to some end of financial year sales events boosted turnover, along with Mother’s Day and a popular "Click Frenzy Mayhem" event. However, service sector inflation remained uncomfortably high and could easily be used to justify a tightening if the RBA board felt it necessary. ($1 = 1.5103 Australian dollars)Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ben Dorber, Stephen Wu, Wayne Cole, Christopher Cushing, Robert Birsel Organizations: SYDNEY, Australian Bureau of Statistics, ABS, Mother’s, Reserve Bank of Australia, CPI, CBA, Thomson

☆ India gears up for multibillion-dollar battery subsidies - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The draft proposal for a production-linked incentive subsidy scheme would offer 216 billion rupees ($2.63 billion) from this year through to 2030 for companies to set up manufacturing capacity for battery cells in India, the FT reported. The draft plan seen by the FT acknowledged there was a limit to how much more coal power India could build. Apart from energy transition, domestic battery cell manufacturing is also essential to reducing the country's dependence on rival China for battery imports, the draft plan said. "If India does not take urgent steps to set up local manufacturing capacity of battery energy storage systems, imperatives of our energy transition would lead to huge imports from China," the proposal document seen by FT said. ($1 = 81.9830 Indian rupees)Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Akanksha, Christopher Cushing, Jamie Freed Organizations: Financial Times, FT, Thomson Locations: India, China, Bengaluru

TOKYO, June 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar held firm against major currencies on Tuesday as tension simmered in Russia and traders looked ahead to U.S. data that may determine the timing of further interest rate hikes. The Russian rouble weakened 0.41% versus the dollar at 84.75 after hitting its weakest level since March 2022. Japan intervened to boost the yen last year when it weakened past the 145 per dollar level. U.S. data this week include new orders for durable goods, housing figures, and consumer surveys from The Conference Board and University of Michigan. If the U.S. economic data comes out on the strong side, then further pricing in for the two rate hikes will push up the dollar," Yamamoto said.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Shunichi Suzuki, Masafumi Yamamoto, Yamamoto, Christine Lagarde, Sterling, Rocky Swift, Christopher Cushing, Barbara Lewis Organizations: U.S, Japanese Finance, Conference Board, University of Michigan, Federal Reserve, Mizuho Securities, European Central Bank, ECB, Central Banking, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Russia, Russian, U.S, Sintra , Portugal, China, China's

The MLPerf benchmark is based on GPT-3, an AI model used to train ChatGPT, the viral chatbot developed by OpenAI and backed by Microsoft (MSFT.O). Habana Labs, an AI chip company acquired by Intel, ran the benchmark in 311.945 minutes with a much smaller system equipped with 384 Gaudi2 chips. "You will get a 1.5X to 2X speed up on the Habana results. So that's when we see Habana Gaudi2 being really competitive and lower priced than H100," Plawner told Reuters. Plawner declined to say how much a Gaudi2 chip costs, but said the industry needs a second supplier of chips for AI training, and the MLPerf results show Intel can fill that need.

Persons: David Kanter, Kanter, Intel's Jordan Plawner, Habana, Plawner, Jane Lanhee Lee, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Nvidia, Microsoft, Reuters, Habana Labs, Intel, Products, Habana, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, Habana

OAKLAND, California June 27 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence and quantum computing startup SandboxAQ on Tuesday said it has won a U.S. government contract for military cyber security in a deal that includes Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Deloitte & Touche (DLTE.UL) as subcontractors. The contract is with the Defense Information Systems Agency which provides global communications infrastructure for the Department of Defense, the Silicon Valley firm said. Earlier this year, SandboxAQ won a contract with the U.S. Air Force to research quantum navigation technology which could serve as an alternative to the Global Positioning System (GPS), which can be jammed. Quantum navigation uses sensors based on quantum physics to monitor slight local changes in the Earth's magnetic field, making navigation systems much more precise, Hidary said. Reporting by Jane Lanhee Lee; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jack Hidary, Hidary, SandboxAQ, Jane Lanhee Lee, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Microsoft, Deloitte, Touche, Defense Information Systems Agency, Department of Defense, Reuters, U.S . Air Force, Global, Thomson Locations: OAKLAND, California

KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) believes market fundamentals remain "sound" for the second half as demand from emerging markets led by China and India will offset recession risk in developed markets, CEO Amin Nasser told an industry gathering on Monday. "Overall, we believe that oil market fundamentals remain generally sound for the rest of the year," said Nasser, who heads the world's largest oil company. "Despite the recession risks in several OECD countries, the economies of developing countries – especially China and India – are driving healthy oil demand growth of more than 2 million barrels per day this year," he told the conference. Although China faces economic headwinds, the transport and petrochemical sectors are still showing signs of demand growth, he added. Looking ahead, Vitol said oil demand could peak around 2030.

Persons: Amin Nasser, Nasser, Daniel Yergin, Russell Hardy, Sazali Hamzah, Petronas, Vitol, Hardy, Muyu Xu, Florence Tan, Christopher Cushing, Himani Sarkar, Conor Humphries Organizations: Saudi Aramco, Energy Asia, Petronas, Brent, Organization of, Petroleum, P Global, Vitol, EV, Thomson Locations: KUALA LUMPUR, Saudi, China, India, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia

☆ Global oil market fundamentals sound for rest of 2023 - Aramco CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Muyu Xu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Saudi Arabian Oil Co FollowKUALA LUMPUR, June 26 (Reuters) - Global oil market fundamentals are expected to remain sound for the rest of the year, underpinned by healthy demand in developing countries, especially in China and India, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said on Monday. "Overall, we believe that oil market fundamentals remain generally sound for the rest of the year," Nasser told the Energy Asia conference, hosted by Malaysia's state oil firm Petronas. "Despite the recession risks in several OECD countries, the economies of developing countries – especially China and India – are driving healthy oil demand growth of more than 2 million barrels per day this year," he said. Although China is facing some economic headwinds, the transport and petrochemical sectors are still showing signs of demand growth, he added. Reporting by Muyu Xu; Writing by Florence Tan; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Amin Nasser, Nasser, Muyu Xu, Florence Tan, Christopher Cushing, Himani Organizations: Saudi Arabian Oil, Energy Asia, Petronas, Brent, Organization of, Petroleum, Thomson Locations: KUALA LUMPUR, China, India, Saudi Aramco, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia

☆ Suncor Energy says it experienced a cybersecurity incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Suncor Energy Inc FollowJune 25 (Reuters) - Canadian energy firm Suncor (SU.TO) on Sunday said it experienced a cybersecurity incident, adding that some transactions with customers and suppliers could be impacted while they investigate and resolve the situation. "At this time, we are not aware of any evidence that customer, supplier or employee data has been compromised or misused as a result of this situation," the company said in a statement. Suncor's operations include oil sands development, production, offshore oil and gas, petroleum refining in Canada and the U.S, including the company's Petro Canada retail and wholesale distribution networks. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security had earlier said it was aware of reports of an incident affecting Petro Canada but said it did not generally comment on "specific cybersecurity incidents." Reporting by Seher Dareen and Swati Verma in Bengaluru and Raphael Satter Editing by Christopher Cushing and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Seher Dareen, Swati Verma, Raphael Satter, Christopher Cushing, Louise Heavens Organizations: Suncor Energy, company's Petro Canada, Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, Petro Canada, Thomson Locations: Canada, Petro, Bengaluru

☆ Hong Kong to fine-tune mortgage limits for first-time homebuyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, June 25 (Reuters) - Hong Kong plans to "fine-tune" the maximum size of mortgages available to first-time homebuyers, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in a radio interview on Sunday. Chan told Commercial Radio Hong Kong that residents want to upgrade homes after starting families so the government is discussing with the de facto central bank to adjust mortgages to sizes that balance buyer interest and financial security. Currently buyers can borrow up to 50% of the cost of mid-sized-to-large homes priced over HK$12 million ($1.53 million). The government relaxed rules in February 2022 to allow first-time buyers to borrow up to 80% for homes costing HK$12 million or less, and 90% for homes priced HK$10 million or less. ($1 = 7.8298 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Paul Chan, Chan, Clare Jim, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Financial, Commercial Radio, HK, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Commercial Radio Hong Kong

☆ Marquez withdraws from Dutch GP after being declared unfit
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 25 (Reuters) - Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez on Sunday said he will miss the Dutch Grand Prix after failing to recover from injuries suffered at last weekend's German Grand Prix. The 30-year-old Spaniard pulled out of the German Grand Prix after crashing five times before the race at the Sachsenring - a track where he has won eight times in his MotoGP career. The Honda driver has yet to finish a race this season and languishes in 19th place in the standings, in a season so far dominated by Ducati. "I have not arrived at Assen (race track) at 100% physically. In addition to the sprain and the finger fracture, there is a fractured rib that has been causing me a lot of pain," Marquez said in a statement.

Persons: Marc Marquez, Marquez, Pearl Josephine Nazare, Christopher Cushing Organizations: MotoGP, Honda, Ducati, Thomson Locations: Assen, Bengaluru

SYDNEY, June 25 (Reuters) - PwC Australia on Sunday entered an exclusivity agreement with private equity firm Allegro Funds to sell its government practice for A$1 as it brought in an executive from Singapore to lead its local firm through the fallout from a national scandal. Amid a growing backlash from key government clients, PwC said it had entered an exclusivity agreement to divest its federal and state government business to Allegro Funds for A$1 ($0.67) as first reported on Friday. A spokesperson for Allegro Funds declined to comment. NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVEGlobal PwC Chair Bob Moritz publicly apologised in a statement and said PwC Australia had failed to meet the firm's standards and values under past leadership. "PwC Australia has significant work to do and I am confident that the steps they are taking ... will result in a stronger firm," Moritz said.

Persons: PwC, Justin Carroll, Deborah O'Neill, Bob Moritz, Kevin Burrowes, Kristin Stubbins, Burrowes, Moritz, Lewis Jackson, Sam McKeith, Christopher Cushing, Tom Hogue Organizations: SYDNEY, Sunday, Funds, Allegro Funds, PwC, Labor, Global, & Industries, Thomson Locations: Australia, Singapore, Sydney

☆ Russian diplomat flies to Beijing as Putin faces heat at home
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The rebellion has been closely followed by Chinese media which has refrained from comment ahead of any official remarks, whereas many Chinese citizens have spoken up in support of Putin on social media. many Chinese citizens wrote in social media posts. China's Embassy in Russia told Chinese media outlet Southern Metropolis Daily on Saturday that the region around Moscow was calm. "Prigozhin realises that it is difficult to achieve the desired results through this rebellion," Song said. Reporting by Ryan Woo and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Tom Hogue and Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andrei Rudenko, Vladimir Putin's, Qin Gang, Rudenko, Putin, Joe Biden, Song Zhongping, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin's, Wagner, Prigozhin, Ryan Woo, Tom Hogue, Christopher Cushing Organizations: China's Foreign, Qin, U.S, Reuters, China's, Southern, Daily, Global Times, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Beijing, China, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian

June 22 (Reuters) - Victor Wembanyama was selected first overall by the San Antonio Spurs at the NBA Draft in New York on Thursday, making the highly touted phenom the highest drafted French player in league history. Wembanyama shed tears of joy after he heard his name called by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. "I've accomplished something that I've been dreaming of my whole life," he said. He is dangerous shooting the ball from distance and athletic enough to rebound and dunk his own misses if necessary. Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Victor Wembanyama, LeBron James, Adam Silver, I've, Wembanyama, Rory Carroll, Christopher Cushing Organizations: San Antonio Spurs, NBA, Thomson Locations: New York, Los Angeles

☆ Tech companies including Google gripe about unfair cloud practices
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 21 (Reuters) - Technology trade groups as well as Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google have griped to the Federal Trade Commission about allegedly unfair business practices in the cloud, including by the industry's No. 2 by market share Microsoft (MSFT.O). They also follow scrutiny worldwide, including a recent probe by Europe's antitrust authority into Microsoft's licensing agreements that allegedly discouraged rival cloud usage. In one example of the public comments Tuesday, trade group NetChoice took aim at Microsoft and Oracle (ORCL.N). Google echoed the sentiment in its own filing, saying that "licensing terms enforced by Microsoft, Oracle, and other legacy on-premises software providers distort competition in the cloud."

Persons: NetChoice, Urvi Dugar, Jeffrey Dastin, Jaspreet Singh, Krishna Chandra Eluri, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Technology, Google, Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft, U.S, Oracle, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, Palo Alto, Calif

☆ Russia gas flows through Ukraine could stop next year - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The chances of Kyiv and Moscow agreeing to a renewal of the five-year transit contract first signed in 2019 were slim, even though the route through Ukraine accounts for almost 5% of Europe's total gas imports, the newspaper reported. Russian gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) warned in April that Europe's ability to maintain ample gas stocks in the 2023/2024 winter hinges on Asia's demand given "critically low" supplies from Russia. European gas prices rose last year on Gazprom's threat to cut flows to Moldova, as the supply route, which goes through Ukraine, is the last functioning Russian gas corridor to Europe. The European Union last year invested heavily in LNG imports and adopted regulation to boost storage to fend off any shortage after Russian gas supplies to Europe shrank following Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine. Reporting by Baranjot Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Galushchenko, Baranjot Kaur, Christopher Cushing, Sonali Paul Organizations: Gazprom PAO, Gazprom, Financial Times, German, European Union, Thomson Locations: Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Kyiv, Moscow, Moldova, Bengaluru

WASHINGTON, June 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives approved a Republican effort on Wednesday to censure Representative Adam Schiff, a rare move intended to punish the Democrat for his leading role in investigating the conduct of Donald Trump when he was president. In practice, the measure, which was passed 213-209 along party lines, will result in a probe into Schiff by the Ethics Committee. Trump was impeached a second time by the House over his actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. The House had defeated a separate censure effort against Schiff last week, when 20 Republicans joined 205 Democrats in opposition. The earlier censure effort came with a $16 million fine, since stripped out.

Persons: Adam Schiff, Donald Trump, Anna Paulina Luna, Schiff, Kevin McCarthy, Trump, Paul Gosar, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Gram Slattery, Moira Warburton, Christopher Cushing Organizations: U.S . House, Republican, Schiff, House, U.S . Capitol, Republicans, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Ukraine

The total tax breaks will amount to 520 billion yuan, Vice Minister of Finance Xu Hongcai said at a press conference. The announcement follows a June 2 Cabinet meeting during which authorities said they would extend and optimise the tax exemption and study policies to promote NEV development. Analysts said the cap on the purchase tax exemption would help drive growth of cheaper models that are mainly produced by domestic firms rather than premium vehicles from foreign makers. NEV sales rose 10.5% in May from a month earlier, showed data from the China Passenger Car Association. The tax break was announced in 2014 and extended in 2017, 2020 and 2022.

Persons: Finance Xu Hongcai, Cui Dongshu, Li Auto, Warren, Berkshire Hathaway, Susan Zou, Qiaoyi Li, Liz Lee, Siyi Liu, Donny Kwok, Miyoung Kim, Christopher Cushing Organizations: China, Auto, Ministry of Finance, Finance, China Passenger Car Association, EV, HK, Reuters, Berkshire, Volkswagen, Analysts, Tesla, Rystad Energy, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, SHANGHAI, China, BYD, Beijing, Hong Kong

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