South East Asia

BOCA RATON, Fla McCormick & Company Inc is looking to hike prices on its spices and hot sauces at retailers like Walmart Inc and Kroger Co but is getting "pushback" on the increases, CEO Lawrence Kurzius said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesda...

BENGALURU The Reserve Bank of India will increase its main interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.75 percent in April and then pause until the end of 2023, according to a Reuters poll of economists who also said risks were for the terminal rate to go even ...

SINGAPORE A sudden surge of foreign interest in Indonesian bonds may be reaching a peak, as investors see local interest rates holding steady while the outlook for U.S. rates again rises. Also, analysts say, many investors have already bought the larger h...

Oil prices were steady on Wednesday as investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve's comments after recent data pointed to the possibility of more interest rates hikes, which may lower economic growth and limit global fuel demand. Brent crude futures for...

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball is out for the remainder of the season with continued soreness and discomfort in his surgically repaired left knee."Despite making significant increases in strength and function over the past several months, Bulls guard ...

HONG KONG Asian share markets followed Wall Street into the red on Wednesday as surprising strength in global surveys of services stoked fears that central banks would have to lift interest rates yet further and keep them up for longer. MSCI's broades...

The Atlanta Hawks fired head coach Nate McMillan on Tuesday.The Hawks own a 29-30 record to reside in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.Joe Prunty, 54, will serve as the interim head coach of the Hawks. He was 21-16 as the interim coach of the Milwau...

TOKYO -The Bank of Japan (BOJ) must maintain its ultra-loose monetary policy for now to allow time to see whether the recent rise in inflation will be accompanied by higher wages, its board member Naoki Tamura said on Wednesday. A former commercial banker...

MANILA, Philippines---Jordan Heading's rift with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, without a doubt, is water under the bridge now.No less than the Filipino-Aussie revealed that he was being eyed to backstop Gilas Pilipinas anew in the November leg ...

WELLINGTON New Zealand's central bank raised interest rates by 50 basis points to a more than 14-year high of 4.75 percent on Wednesday, and said it expects to keep tightening further to ensure inflation returns to within its target range over the med...

LONDON -A four-day working week is more productive for most staff and companies than the traditional five days, one of the biggest trials of its kind conducted in the UK reported on Tuesday. More than 60 firms in Britain took part in the six-month experim...

Some informants of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) prefer to be rewarded in kind—specifically a cut of the illegal drugs that were seized based on their tip—instead of in cash, PDEA Director General Virgilio Moro Lazo told a Hous...

LONDON -Some UK supermarkets have introduced limits on customer purchases of some fruit and vegetables due to "sourcing challenges" blamed on weather conditions in southern Europe and north Africa, the industry said Tuesday. The country has been e...

BRUSSELS, Belgium -Microsoft insisted Tuesday its planned $69-billion takeover of videogame giant Activision Blizzard would be good for consumers, dismissing concerns it would harm competition, after EU regulators held an anti-trust hearing. Xbox-owner Mi...

The Biden Administration will not overrule a U.S. International Trade Commission decision that could block imports of Apple Inc's Apple Watches for infringing AliveCor Inc patents related to heart monitoring, the office of the U.S. Trade Representativ...

The government should rethink a proposal to allow the importation of molasses as inventories are more than enough to meet the requirement for producing bioethanol, the Philippine Sugar Millers Association Inc. (PSMA) said. "We have sufficient supply. ...

TOKYO Japan's Nikkei 225 share index will hit the psychological 30,000 level by end-2023 on a better domestic corporate and global economic outlook in the latter part of the year, according to strategists in a Reuters poll. Strategists expect Japanese...

Douglas MacArthur may have been one of the most famous generals in military history, but when he fell in love, he turned to mush. We know that MacArthur married twice: First, to Louise Cromwell in 1922, and after they divorced in 1929, he married Jean Mar...

SEOUL South Korea launched a task force on Wednesday to study ways to improve business practices and pay schemes at banks, days after the country's president called on lenders to help curb the cost-of-living burden on vulnerable people. The panel is h...

LONDON British employers offered the biggest annual pay rises in 32 years during the three months to the end of January, but these increases are still a long way behind double-digit inflation, industry data showed on Wednesday. Human resources data compan...

Consulting giant McKinsey & Co is planning to cut about 2,000 jobs, in one of its biggest round of layoffs, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The report said the move is expected to focus on support staff who ...

NEW YORK -Global equity markets fell while U.S. Treasury yields hit new highs on Tuesday as investors weighed the prospects of a longer-than-anticipated stiff monetary policy stance by the Federal Reserve following continued strong economic data. Market s...

TOKYO Big manufacturers in Japan remained gloomy in February and the service-sector mood slid for a second straight month, a Reuters' poll showed, a sign that the global slowdown is holding back the country's recovery from COVID-induced economic d...

Google unveiled an upcoming feature for YouTube Music users that lets them create custom stations based on their favorite artists. Also, they get to decide what songs the feature will play. The company calls it "Radio Builder," and you may access ...

Filipino act Power Duo brought the "America's Got Talent: All-Stars" judges and audiences to their feet with their breathtaking performance during the show's grand finals. The contemporary dance acrobatic group, consisting of sweethearts J...

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued a circular decreasing the bail for indigents facing criminal cases to a maximum of P10,000. Department Circular No. 11, dated February 20 requires all prosecutors to take into considerat...

CEBU CITY, Philippines When Catholics in Cebu bear the cross of ashes on their forehead, that only means one thing the Lenten Season has officially started. Today, February 22, thousands of devotees will begin their penitential in preparation for Easter S...

MANILA, Philippines — A shipment of sugar from Thailand arrived in the country a week before the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) approved the importation of 440,000 metric tons (MT) of the agricultural commodity, Sen. Risa Hontiveros bared on ...

MANILA, Philippines — Allies of former President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday supported moves in the Senate to block attempts for the resumption of the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed und...

MANILA, Philippines — An expert in geology and environmental science has warned those planning to purchase reclaimed land, including on any of the multibillion-peso reclamation projects in Manila Bay, to be wary of the dangers that might come with t...

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education has revoked the accreditation of Manila Teachers' Savings and Loan Association Inc. (MTSLAI), citing an order from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) even as it drew an outcry from teachers wh...

MANILA, Philippines — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched on Tuesday "Task Force Fleming" as part of a program to facilitate the approval and evaluation of COVID-19 drugs for commercial use "without compromising efficacy, qua...

The P12-billion Kaliwa Dam intended to provide water for Mega Manila residents has split Sierra Madre's indigenous peoples (IPs) into two factions, with both groups staking their claim to ancestral lands on which it would be built. On one side are the...

President Marcos has appointed Isidro Purisima as acting presidential adviser on peace, reconciliation and unity (Opapru), Malacaang said on Tuesday. Purisima replaced Carlito Galvez Jr. who was appointed defense secretary in January this year. Prior to h...

Some informants of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) prefer to be rewarded in kind—specifically a cut of the illegal drugs that were seized based on their tip—instead of in cash, PDEA Director General Virgilio Moro Lazo told a Hous...

For this year's Ash Wednesday, Catholic churches around the country will return to the traditional practice of the priest marking churchgoers with ash on their foreheads. In the Archdiocese of Manila, churches are resuming the Ash Wednesday rite for t...

Senators on Tuesday pressed officials of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to impose tighter security measures on its processing of VIPs before they are allowed to fly out of the country, fearing that the current system has bred corruption...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has lowered the amount of bail for indigent Filipinos accused in bailable criminal cases filed before the courts. Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the bail reform was part of the government's efforts to ease...

A Saudi Arabian national allegedly involved in a human organ trafficking scheme and wanted by the Saudi government for 14 years was arrested by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) this week. Badreldin Elzaki Ibrahim El Habbib, 44, was arrested in Makati City o...

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Tuesday welcomed the revival of the case of the Spanish businessman killed in a drug bust three years ago, hoping that more cases of alleged extrajudicial killings during the previous administration would be process...

The Philippines and several of its tourist destinations have been nominated anew for major awards in the 30th World Travel Awards (WTA). The awards have nominated the Philippines for the Asian category of Leading Beach Destination, which it also won in th...

Dindin Santiago-Manabat knew a win was coming for Akari.It wasn't really because the Chargers were facing an Army-Black Mamba squad that has struggled to get a win in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL)."We already felt [we would win] because in e...

Aside from home court edge and the debuting Justin Brownlee, national coach Chot Reyes is counting on the players' familiarity with his system and whatever cohesion they have manufactured thus far when Gilas Pilipinas plunges into two Fiba (Internatio...

A talented import that simply didn't fit which led to a four-game losing streak to open their PBA Governors' Cup campaign made Rain or Shine look destined for yet another disappointing campaign.But the Elasto Painters have tabbed two victories rec...

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) bounced from a key support level on Tuesday while volumes were little-changed from low levels in the previous session. By the closing bell, the PSEi rose 0.84 percent, or 56.84 points, to 6,800.96 while...

Before business tycoon Roberto V. Ongpin a.k.a RVO passed away, we heard that he was working on the stock market debut of Balesin Island and had already approached certain banks for potential underwriting. It was to be his legacy, said sources privy to th...

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Tuesday made a full award of its 10-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) even as the market demanded for higher yields, raising a total of P35 billion from the oversubscribed offering of these long-term securities. The BTr'...

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is targeting to bid out another package of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project this year as the first phase is about to start construction. Mark Steven Pastor, DOTr undersecretary for road transport and infrast...

Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) is boosting investments in 2023 to take advantage of a recovering economy while maintaining a cautious stance on the residential sector, which was hit by a sharp increase in cancellations as home buyers wavered amid rising interest r...

Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) extended P261.7 billion in loans to the beleaguered agriculture sector in 2022, 5.5 percent more than the loans granted the previous year, as part the state-run financial institution's efforts to help more food produ...