China’s commerce minister Wang Wentao said talks held on Monday with Australian counterpart Don Farrell were a key step toward bringing bilateral economic and trade ties back on track, with relations improving after being strained in recent years.

The crisis engulfing the Adani group intensified on Monday as dozens of members India’s main opposition party were detained by police during protests, and parliament was suspended again due to disruptions over the saga.

Malaysia is confident of achieving positive growth and avoid a recession this year despite having to navigate through global headwinds.

Central banks aggressively hiked interest rates last year as inflation in many countries rose to the highest levels in decades. Now, falling energy prices are reducing headline inflation and fueling optimism that monetary policy may be eased later this year.

The economic confrontation between the United States and China has put Europe in the crossfire, with Washington’s plan to boost green industries threatening to cause collateral damage to a key ally.

Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara on Sunday stressed the need to achieve an economy where inflation rises stably and sustainably, when asked whether the next central bank governor should maintain ultra-easy monetary policy.

India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has begun a process to ban and block 138 betting apps and 94 loan lending apps with Chinese links, India’s ANI reported on Sunday, citing sources.

Bangladesh logged higher growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021-22 fiscal year compared to the previous year, but it was 15 basis points below the provisional estimate.

Sri Lanka is completing the pre-requisites to unlock a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and expects rapid approval from the global lender, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Saturday.

Robust growth in India’s services industry eased last month after touching a six-month high in December, with softening orders spurring caution in companies’ business outlooks for the year, a private business survey showed on Friday.

US job growth accelerated sharply in January while the unemployment rate hit more than a 53-1/2-year low of 3.4 per cent, pointing to a stubbornly tight labour market, and a potential headache for Federal Reserve officials as they fight inflation.

Oil prices fell to over three-week lows on Friday in a volatile session, after strong US jobs data raised concerns about higher interest rates and as investors sought more clarity on the imminent EU embargo on Russian refined products.

The European Central Bank is likely to raise interest rates again in May after an already signalled hike in March, two policymakers said on Friday, with one arguing that the peak or “terminal” rate is at least starting to appear on the horizon.

The immediate outlook for the new year is not as bad as had been predicted before. The Chinese economy is opening up, the industrialised West is adjusting and realigning their economies to the new realities, and a global economic recession does no longer seems inevitable.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation, which is visiting the country for discussions on the ninth review of a $7 billion loan programme, was giving a "very tough time" to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his team.

The Indian stock market regulator has put three Adani group companies, including Adani Enterprises, under short-term additional surveillance measure framework (ASM), according to the latest data available with the exchanges on Thursday.

Asia’s factory activity contracted in January as the boost from China’s Covid reopening had yet to offset headwinds from slowing US and European growth, surveys showed on Wednesday, underscoring the fragility of the region’s economic recovery.

The euro sat at a 10-month high against the dollar on Thursday, ahead of a European Central Bank meeting at which markets expect a half-percentage point rate increase, a day after the US Federal Reserve slowed the pace of its rises to 25 basis points.

Bangladesh Bank has sold US dollar at Tk 101 each to banks for the first time, giving indication that it is likely to devalue the local currency to reflect the market reality.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has disbursed $476.27 million to Bangladesh as the first instalments of $4.7 billion loan it approved early this week.