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Philippines’ Duterte speeds through $80 billion 2020 budget, spending up 12%

MANILA (Reuters) – Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday signed a record 4.1 trillion peso ($79.97 billion) budget for this year, ensuring timely funding for an infrastructure overhaul in one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. Horse-trading in Congress delayed last year’s budget approval by four months, weighing down the Southeast Asian nation’s economic […]

Shares lose footing, oil marches on

LONDON (Reuters) – Equity markets slipped on Thursday on concerns about the long-term impact of the new coronavirus and simmering U.S.-China tensions, though those worries couldn’t stop oil prices from marching to a 2-1/2 month high. The London .FTSE, Frankfurt .GDAX and Paris .FCHI bourses and Wall Street futures were all 0.7%-1% lower in early […]

Small Hong Kong businesses count the cost of coronavirus

HONG KONG (Reuters) – As the spread of coronavirus sends jitters across Hong Kong, usually bustling shopping malls, restaurants and retailers are deserted, leaving some small business owners contemplating their future in the global financial hub. While Hong Kong’s retail sales extended their free-fall in December as months of sometimes violent anti-government protests took a […]