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European shares fell on Wednesday on profit booking after a recent rally, while traders assessed corporate earnings and US-China trade talk developments ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate decision later in the day. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.3% as of 0857 GMT. Other regional indexes also traded lower. Germany fell 0.1%, France declined 0.4%, Spain was down 0.5%, and the UK dropped 0.3%. European retail stocks led sectoral losses with a 1.7% decline, while healthcare shares fell nearly 1%. Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and chief trade negotiator Jamieson Greer will meet China’s top economic official…

The property-management unit of defaulted Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings agreed to loan 1 billion yuan (U$138 million) to entities controlled by chairwoman Yang Huiyan, which will then lend to the home builder to fund housing deliveries, according to an exchange filing on Wednesday.Country Garden Services signed an agreement to provide Concrete Win and Fortune Warrior with a five-year revolving loan facility at 5 per cent interest, secured against 543 million shares in the property-management unit, the filing said. The shares represented a 16.3 per cent stake worth HK$3.61 billion (US$465 million) on Wednesday. Yang, once Asia’s richest woman in…

Alibaba Group Holding is expanding the reach of its primary online marketplaces, Taobao and Tmall, through a collaboration with popular Chinese social media platform RedNote, known on the mainland as Xiaohongshu, which translates to “little red book”.The cross-platform collaboration will enable merchants on the two Chinese e-commerce sites to embed product links directly in social-media posts, according to a joint announcement on Wednesday by Taobao and Tmall Group (TTG), Alibaba’s domestic e-commerce business unit, and Shanghai-based RedNote. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.RedNote users can simply tap on the embedded product links to quickly get redirected to the Taobao…

The tit-for-tat tariff war between the United States and China has induced a notable decline in the economic outlook perceived by German firms in China, but their investment plans in the country remain largely unimpeded, according to a business advocacy group.A recent business survey by the German Chamber of Commerce in China indicates that its members have claimed to be most affected by Washington’s tariffs on goods from the country, followed by Beijing’s retaliatory tariffs on American goods.But the impact is more indirect, transmitted through the adverse effects of the soaring tariffs on China’s economy, rather than directly harming their…

U.S. Treasury yields were slightly higher on Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and welcomed upcoming trade discussions between the U.S. and China.At 4:28 a.m. ET, the 10-year Treasury yield was just over one basis point higher to 4.335%, and the 2-year Treasury yield was up over 3 basis points at 3.826%.One basis point is equal to 0.01% and yields and prices move in opposite directions.Investors are anticipating the Fed’s monetary policy decision on Wednesday, which will be announced at 2 p.m. ET. There are concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans could elevate inflation, complicating the path…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Chinese economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.China has said it will cut its benchmark interest rate and reduce the amount of money banks need to hold as reserves, offering support for the economy in the face of a trade war with the US.China will lower banks’ reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage points and cut several key interest rates to release Rmb1tn ($138bn) of long-term liquidity into the banking system, said Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China. Pan, speaking at a news conference on Wednesday…

India launched missile strikes on targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir early Wednesday, marking the most serious military escalation in years between the nuclear-armed rivals and raising fears of a broader conflict – one that analysts say may serve New Delhi’s domestic political aims but risks triggering unpredictable retaliation from Islamabad.The strikes – which Indian authorities dubbed “Operation Sindoor” – came in retaliation for an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that left 26 Indian tourists dead. New Delhi has blamed Pakistan-based militants for the assault, a claim Islamabad has denied.The Indian Defence Ministry said “precision strikes at terrorist camps”…

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb convened an emergency meeting on Wednesday to assess the current financial landscape in light of escalating regional tensions, “following the recent belligerent Indian aggression”. According to a statement released by the Finance Division, the meeting was attended by the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Secretary Finance, and senior officials from the Finance Division. “In a comprehensive and strategic discussion revolving around the situation and functioning of equity, debt, FX and interbank markets, participants conducted a rapid risk assessment and evaluated the current threat…

The yen fell on Wednesday in Asian trade away from a week high against the dollar, and on track for the first loss in four days amid improving risk appetite in the markets following the launch of initial US-China trade talks in Switzerland.   Later today, the important Federal Reserve’s policy meeting is expected to provide clues on the path ahead for US interest rates.   The Price   The USD/JPY price rose 0.6% today to 143.31, with a session-low at 142.41.   The yen rose 0.9% on Tuesday, the third profit in a row, hitting a week high at…

The government has temporarily put on hold the implementation of SRO 760(I)/2013, which is the “Import and Export of Precious Metals, Jewelry and Gemstones Order, 2013”, for 60 days. “The Federal Government is pleased to suspend the – Import and Export of Precious Metals, Jewelry and Gemstones Order, 2013, for a period of 60 days, with immediate effect,” read the notice, released on Wednesday. SRO 760 (I)/2013 sets rules, procedures, and conditions for businesses in Pakistan involved in importing and exporting of precious metals (like gold, silver, platinum), gemstones and jewellery. Under the SRO, the exporters of jewellery and gemstones…