Day: September 12, 2025

Asian stocks near record high

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. A key gauge of Asian stocks is closing in on a record high as the region’s markets outperform global peers by the widest margin since 2017, driven by expectations of a US interest rate cut and continued weakness in the dollar. The MSCI Asia-Pacific index neared a record high on Friday, boosted by rallies in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The index is outperforming the MSCI World gauge, which…

Hull numbers on PLA fleet of barges mean they are now in service: analyst

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A fleet of large barges in the People’s Liberation Army has been assigned hull numbers, suggesting they have entered service in what would be Beijing’s latest move to deter Taiwan militarily. Advertisement Three advanced specialised island-landing vessels that form part of the ‘Dong Gong’ were spotted by internet users docked at a beach in mainland China in June, each one bearing a hull number in the sequence 401, 402 and 403. The markings mean the ships serve in the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command, according to Song Zhongping, a former Chinese…

Mexico acting ‘under coercion to constrain’ China with 50% tariff on cars, says Beijing

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China’s government has vowed to “firmly protect” its interests against Mexico’s plan to increase tariffs on Chinese cars to 50%, a move Beijing said was made “under coercion to constrain China”. On Wednesday Mexico said it intended to raise tariffs on car imports from China and other Asian countries from 20% to 50%, the maximum level allowed, in order to protect tens of thousands of manufacturing and industry jobs. However analysts suggested it was also designed to placate Donald Trump, who has been pressuring Mexico not to act as a…

EU and India zeroing in on a trade deal despite Trump’s tariff demands

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This article is an on-site version of our Europe Express newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every weekday and fortnightly on Saturday morning. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newsletters Good morning. News to start: G7 finance ministers will meet virtually today to hear a demand from the US for the entire group to hit India and China with sharply higher tariffs as punishment for buying Russian oil, in an attempt to force Moscow into peace talks with Ukraine.…

China bets big on Thai industrial cluster with US$8.4 billion investment

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China has become the leading source of foreign investment in a growing, state-fostered Thai industrial cluster, backed by commitments to help build a light-rail line, design an “aerotropolis” and possibly develop property in the area, an official from the Southeast Asian country said. Advertisement From 2019 to 2024, Chinese investors have received go-ahead certificates for projects worth US$8.4 billion – 16 per cent of all investment in the Eastern Economic Corridor cluster, which covers three provinces – according to Korthong Thongtham na Ayutthaya, acting director for a division of the…