• Reuters

    Blinken to visit Middle East this week as US pushes for ceasefire in Gaza

    Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt and will meet with senior leaders in both countries, the State Department said. Providing more humanitarian aid into Gaza as well as discussing post-war planning for the enclave will be among the topics he will discuss with Saudi and Egyptian official.

  • Reuters

    China seen leaving benchmark lending rates unchanged in March

    China is widely expected to leave benchmark lending rates unchanged on Wednesday, a Reuters survey showed, as the central bank kept a key policy rate steady last week at a time when the broad economy is starting to show some signs of improvement. The loan prime rate (LPR) normally charged to banks' best clients is calculated each month after 20 designated commercial banks submit proposed rates to the People's Bank of China (PBOC). Most new and outstanding loans in the world's second-largest economy are based on the one-year LPR, which stands at 3.45%.

  • The Canadian Press

    Stock market today: Asian shares are mixed after Bank of Japan ups key rate for 1st time in 17 years

    BANGKOK (AP) — Shares are mixed in Asia after the Bank of Japan hiked its benchmark interest rate for the first time in 17 years, ending a longstanding negative rate policy. In a widely anticipated move, the BOJ raised its overnight call rate to a range of 0 to 0.1%, up from minus 0.1%. It said that wage increases and other indicators suggested that inflation had stabilized above the BOJ's 2% target, but noted “extremely high uncertainties,” including weakness in industrial production, exports,