China may need more monetary and fiscal easing to halt an economic slowdown in the wake of torrential rains and flooding, and authorities’ tough response to outbreaks of the highly-transmissible coronavirus Delta variant, economists say. 

Sony Corp raised its earnings outlook on Wednesday after a record first-quarter operating profit helped by pandemic stay-at-home demand for PlayStation 5 consoles, TVs, music and movies.

Fresh outbreaks of the Delta coronavirus variant in South-east Asia have crippled its factory sector, disrupting global supplies of goods such as rubber gloves, semiconductors and sports utility vehicles and threatening the region’s recovery. 

Asian markets fell on Tuesday while oil held most of the previous day’s losses as the impact of the fast-spreading Delta Covid variant on the global recovery fuelled concerns the outlook might not be as rosy as initially hoped.

The Delta variant poses new risks for the world’s second-biggest economy as it spreads from the coast to China’s inland cities and presents fresh challenges to authorities who have for months managed to avert any widespread outbreak of the coronavirus.

Oil prices fell on Monday as worries over China’s economy resurfaced after a survey showing growth in factory activity slipped sharply in the world’s second-largest oil consumer, with concerns compounded by higher crude output from OPEC producers.

Asia’s stocks fell to a fresh seven-month troughs on Tuesday led by a third straight session of heavy selling by the Chinese internet giant, while bond and money markets remained in tight range ahead of Federal Reserve policy meeting. 

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday cut this year’s economic growth forecast for emerging Asia, as a spike in coronavirus cases from new variants and slow vaccinations cloud the region’s recovery prospects.

China’s sweeping new rules in private tutoring has left private education firms facing a significant business impact as Beijing steps up regulatory oversight of a $120 billion industry that investors had bet billions of dollars on in recent years. 

China said on Monday the European Union’s plan to impose the world’s first carbon border tax will expand climate issues into trade in violation of international principles and hurt prospects for economic growth.

The Taliban say they don’t want to monopolize power, but they insist there won’t be peace in Afghanistan until there is a new negotiated government in Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani is removed.

Businesses in Kolkata's New Market, other shopping outlets and budget hotels have been struggling to survive through the pandemic as Coronavirus-induced lockdown and ban on flights, passenger train and bus movement have kept the Bangladeshi shoppers at bay ahead of the Eid festivals.

Russia yesterday blamed the “hasty withdrawal” of US and Nato troops for a rapid deterioration in Afghanistan’s security and warned of instability spreading to neighbouring countries. 

The US Senate passed legislation on Wednesday to ban the import of products from China’s Xinjiang region, the latest effort in Washington to punish Beijing for what US officials say is an ongoing genocide against Uyghurs and other Muslim groups. 

Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) has launched a tender for the sale of six Airbus A380-800 aircraft or their components, the company said in a post on LinkedIn on Thursday.

China’s economy grew slightly more slowly than expected in the second quarter, weighed down by higher raw material costs and new Covid-19 outbreaks, as expectations build that policymakers may have to do more to support the recovery. 

Chinese banks are facing the threat of rising bad loans in the future as the current economic recovery is unbalanced and lacks a solid foundation, the country’s top banking and insurance watchdog said on Wednesday.

Singapore’s economy contracted in the second quarter after battling new outbreaks of Covid-19 but economists expect it to get back on track quickly as global growth picks up and vaccination rates rise. 

Japan’s economy will grow at a slower pace than initially expected in the third quarter, as fresh coronavirus emergency curbs in Tokyo, extending through the Olympic Games, weigh on consumption, a Reuters poll found. 

China will base the pace and intensity of monetary policy on the domestic economy and inflation trends in the second half of the year, a central bank official said on Tuesday, following a surprise cut in bank reserves to bolster the economic recovery.