Source: AFP Japan swung back to a current account surplus in February after suffering a record deficit in the previous month, according to official data. The surplus in the current account, the broadest measure of trade with the rest of the world, stood at JPY1.18 trillion (US$14.4 billion), the finance ministry said. The latest reading...

Source: AFP Asian markets were hit by renewed eurozone fears on Thursday after a weak Spanish auction raised the prospect that it could be the next country to be hammered by a debt crisis. The news out of Madrid, as well as another batch of poor data from the eurozone, compounded downbeat sentiment after the...

Source: AFP Hong Kong property tycoon brothers Thomas and Raymond Kwok on Tuesday professed their innocence after they were arrested as part of the Asian financial hub’s biggest corruption probe. “I have not done anything wrong and I believe Thomas has not done anything wrong either. I hope the investigation will prove my innocence,” Raymond...

Source: Reuters Search giant Google Inc engaged in “misleading and deceptive” conduct by allowing misleading paid advertisements to be shown with Internet search results, an Australian court ruled on Tuesday. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the ruling meant that not only Google, but other Internet search engines, would now be held responsible...

Source: AFP An Indian plan to retroactively tax business deals has prompted a widespread review of whether to invest in the country, according to seven industry bodies from the United States to Japan. The Indian move is seen as targeting British mobile giant Vodafone, which in January won a court battle against a bid to...

Source: AFP   India’s manufacturing sector grew at the slowest pace in three months in March, hit by power and raw material shortages, a business survey showed on Monday. The HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a key measure of factory production, eased to 54.7 in March from 56.6 in February. A reading above...

Source: AFP   A South Korean-Japanese consortium said Friday it will pay about US$3.67 billion for a 30.0 per cent stake in Australia’s Roy Hill Iron Ore project, one of the world’s biggest iron ore mines. South Korean steelmaker POSCO, Japanese trading firm Marubeni and Korean conglomerate STX Corp. said the A$3.53-billion deal would see...

Source: Reuters More than US$5 billion was wiped off the market value of Sun Hung Kai Properties on Friday, after the billionaire owners of Asia’s largest real estate developer were arrested on suspicion of corruption. Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) arrested Raymond and Thomas Kwok in the agency’s biggest investigation since it was...

Source: AFP Taiwan has revived controversial plans to introduce a capital gains tax on stock traders, finance ministry officials said on Thursday, sending shudders through the local securities market. A special committee set up to discuss tax reforms as the government tries to narrow the island’s wealth gap held its first meeting on Wednesday and...

Source: Bloomberg   Sheldon Adelson is adding a fourth casino in Macau, the world’s largest gambling hub, drawing almost six times the revenue of the Las Vegas Strip. The billionaire’s rivals are cheering him on. Sands China Ltd, the Asian arm of Adelson’s Las Vegas company, next month will open the Cotai Central resort with...

Source: Reuters Apple Inc will e-mail all buyers of its new iPad in Australia to offer them a refund, a lawyer for the company said on Wednesday, after the nation’s consumer watchdog accused it of misleading advertising over one key aspect of the product. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has taken legal action to...

Source: Reuters The president of Tokyo-based money manager AIJ Investment Advisors admitted to Japanese lawmakers on Tuesday to covering up losses of US$1.3 billion in clients’ pension money, but said he had no intention of cheating his clients. In his first public comment since the scandal broke in February, Kazuhiko Asakawa apologised to clients and...