Asia Economy

• Australia raises rates for first time since late 2023 as inflation hits six-quarter high - This comes as the country sees its highest level of inflation in six quarters.
• Asia markets rise on U.S.-India trade deal optimism; gold and silver rebound - Asia-Pacific markets rose after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington and India had struck a trade deal.
• Trump says U.S. and India reached trade deal, will lower tariffs immediately - The U.S. and India have reached a trade deal, President Donald Trump announced.
• India courts Big Tech with long‑term tax breaks as it doubles down on AI ambitions - India woos global cloud service companies with tax holiday for 20 years.
• South Korea stocks fall more than 4%, triggering temporary halt in trading - Asia-Pacific markets saw a mixed trading session as investors assessed China's factory activity for January.
• China's factory activity grows at fastest pace since October, private survey shows, beating official reading - The RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI, rose to 50.3 in January from 50.1 the previous month, in line with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll.
• India's finance minister projects modest fiscal consolidation in budget - Nirmala Sitharaman sees small improvements in fiscal deficit and debt-to-GDP ratio
• Is 'America First' starting to backfire as Washington's allies go it alone? - Trump's volatility and unpredictability, as well as tariffs and territorial threats, have spooked erstwhile allies.
• Scenic trains, cruises and concerts: China’s new plan to get consumers spending again - China rolled out a new work plan to boost services consumption as stimulus measures to boost households spending on goods have so far done little to lift demand.
• Indonesian stock exchange CEO resigns after $84 billion market wipe out - The rout was triggered by an announcement on Tuesday by index provider MSCI, warning of a potential downgrade of the country to "frontier" market status.