JAPAN on Friday kicked off the "World Assembly for Women" conference, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledging to shake up a corporate culture at home that discriminates against female workers.

The global stock market rout of the past week was sparked by concerns over a possible interest rate rise by the US Federal Reserve and not by the devaluation of China's yuan currency, a senior Chinese central bank official told the news agency.

The Reserve Bank of India remains focused on reining in consumer inflation to its target of 4 percent by March 2018, supporting an

Philippine economic growth quickened in the second quarter, the government said Thursday, placing the country in a better position to weather the global fallout from China's economic woes.

China's central bank on Thursday set its daily reference rate for the yuan currency at a four-year low against the US dollar, but it closed stronger than the previous day.

Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, one of the country's best-known businessmen, has said China needs to drop unrealistic official economic growth targets.

At the height of the 2008 financial crisis, as Wall Street slashed jobs, Beijing took advantage of the disarray to poach top Chinese financial talent from overseas to help reform its stock markets.

RESERVE Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said he was not in favour of depreciating the rupee and joining a global wave of monetary measures that have weakened currencies, according to a newspaper interview on Wednesday.

FACED with falling exports and deflation risks, it suited much of Asia to let their currencies drift lower, until China's abrupt devaluation triggered a tide of volatility that is upsetting not just their currency management but also their growth strategies.

Three members of the US Congress have assured that they will help Bangladesh get back the generalised system of preferences in the American market, according to a statement from the Bangladesh mission in Washington DC.

EUROPEAN markets joined Asia on a roller-coaster session Wednesday, as China's interest rate cut showed no sign of ending a crisis fuelled by fears over stalling growth in the world's number-two economy.

Chinese police are investigating four securities brokerage firms for possible stock manipulation amid market turmoil.

Chinese stocks continue to tumble, a day after "Black Monday" sent markets crashing across the globe.

China's economic slowdown and a sharp fall in its stock market herald not a crisis but a "necessary" adjustment for the world's second biggest economy, a senior International Monetary Fund official said on Saturday.

The world's emerging economies are allowing their currencies to slide in a quest to remain competitive, following China's devaluation of the yuan and the dollar's strength in anticipation of US rate hikes.

Gold prices could rise above $1,200 an ounce in the next few months as fears of a currency war following the devaluation of the yuan make equity markets choppy, boosting physical gold and ETF buying, leading industry analysts said at a conference.

Spain's economy will grow in the July to September period at a similar pace to previous quarters, boosted by a busy tourism season and consumer spending, the economy minister said in comments published on Sunday.

Etihad is offering discounts of up to 30 percent to their business and economy-class travellers to some 130 destinations from Dhaka, Sylhet and Chittagong.

Britain said on Sunday that it wanted to work with Iran's central bank to make it easier for UK banks to finance trade and investment in the country after a thaw in diplomatic relations.

GLOBAL stocks have been hit hard over concerns for the Chinese economy, with a gauge of the country's manufacturing activity on Friday providing the latest sign of a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.