Economy

120 business leaders back UK's Labour in election
120 business leaders back UK's Labour in election

The UK's Labour party won the backing on Tuesday of 120 business leaders, in a timely boost as it bids to oust the ruling Conservatives in the upcoming general election. Labour leader Keir Starmer and its finance spokesperson Rachel Reeves -- who is set to become finance minister if the party wins power -- have spent years wooing back business figures.

Shanghai lifts home-buying curbs to boost property sector
Shanghai lifts home-buying curbs to boost property sector

Shanghai has relaxed rules on buying property in the city, as local governments across China aim to ease an agonising real estate crisis that is dragging on the economy. This month, Beijing cut the minimum down payment rate for first-time homebuyers to its lowest level in history and suggested the government could buy up unused commercial real estate.

Brazil's new Petrobras chief calls to speed up oil exploration
Brazil's new Petrobras chief calls to speed up oil exploration

The new boss of Brazil's Petrobras said Monday it was crucial that the state-run company "accelerate" oil exploration, including in a controversial offshore basin near the mouth of the Amazon River. The Equatorial Margin is a basin near the mouth of the Amazon River, that is considered Brazil's most promising frontier for oil exploration, with studies suggesting it holds massive crude deposits.

Debt, suicide, fraud: South Koreans hit by real estate scams
Debt, suicide, fraud: South Koreans hit by real estate scams

For a decade, Park Hyeon-su lived in a windowless micro-apartment in Seoul, working double shifts and saving every penny for a deposit on a nice home. To repay his original bank loan, Choi took out high-interest credit card loans and sold off his stocks, working gruelling shifts in restaurants and living on cheap food to save cash.

Most Asian markets rise as traders eye US inflation
Most Asian markets rise as traders eye US inflation

Most Asian markets rose Monday, tracking a bounce on Wall Street at the end of a painful week for investors, with eyes now on the upcoming release of key US inflation data. Focus is now turning to the release on Friday of the US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, which is the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation.