Business & Finance News
Asian shares rose on Friday after global stock indexes and Wall Street posted more records, and as China’s economic growth matched expectations in spite of U.S. trade pressures.
China’s property investment hit a two-year low in December even as it grew at a solid pace in 2019, adding to recent signs of a slackening in the sector and suggested Beijing might need to offer more stimulus to stabilize a cooling economy.
China’s economic growth slowed to its weakest in nearly 30 years in 2019 amid a bruising trade war with the United States and sputtering investment, and more stimulus steps are expected this year to help avert a sharper slowdown.
China’s economy grew 6.0% in the fourth quarter of 2019 from a year earlier, official data showed on Friday, in line with expectations and steadying from the previous quarter’s pace.
China’s birth rate fell to its lowest last year since the founding of the People’s Republic of China 70 years ago, posing a long-term challenge for its government.
China produced 42.55 million tonnes of pork in 2019, down 21.3% from a year earlier, official data showed on Friday, after the fatal hog disease African swine fever killed millions of pigs in the world’s top producer.
Crude steel production in China climbed to a record just shy of 1 billion tonnes in 2019, boosted by a resilient property market and robust demand as Beijing beefed up infrastructure spending in a bid to weather a slowdown in economic growth.
China’s economy grew 6.0% in the fourth quarter of 2019 from a year earlier, official data showed on Friday, in line with expectations and unchanged from the previous quarter’s pace.
Oil prices were steady on Friday as investors braced for data expected to show China’s economic growth last year slid to its slowest pace in 29 years, holding on to gains for now after Washington and Beijing inked a long-awaited trade deal.
Asian shares inched higher on Friday after global stock indexes and Wall Street posted more records, with strong corporate earnings and upbeat U.S. economic data adding to optimism after China and the U.S. signed a partial trade deal.
The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a revamp of the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement that includes tougher rules on labor and automotive content but leaves $1.2 trillion in annual U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade flows largely unchanged.
Four companies sued Facebook in U.S. federal court on Thursday for alleged anticompetitive conduct, saying the social network inappropriately revoked developer access to its platform in order to harm prospective competitors.
NBCUniversal’s new Peacock streaming service will offer free and $5-per-month options with advertising to try to win customers for its belated entry into the online video wars, the company announced on Thursday.
China is expected to report on Friday that economic growth slowed to its weakest in nearly three decades in 2019 amid a bruising trade war with the United States, and more stimulus steps are expected this year to help avert sharper slowdown.
Comcast Corp-owned NBCUniversal’s new Peacock service will offer free and $5-per-month options that include advertising to try to win customers for its belated entry into the streaming video wars, the company announced on Thursday.
Copyright 1997-2019 Wall Street Reporter / Octagon Media Corp.
