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July 11, 2026
 

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ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Loaded trucks on a road in India. The country's state-dominated refining sector has kept fuel prices steady despite surging crude costs.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 5, 2026
Asia absorbs rising, uneven cost of energy crisis caused by war on Iran
The disruption has spurred the Asian Development Bank to cut its growth forecast for developing Asia and the Pacific to 4.7% this year, down from 5.1% previously.
People walk past the Taipei 101 skyscraper. Taiwan’s economy grew at its fastest since 1987, with its gross domestic product expanding almost 13.7% in the first quarter from a year earlier.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 1, 2026
Taiwan blows past forecasts with economic growth at 39-year high
Gross domestic product expanded almost 13.7% in the first quarter from a year earlier, compared with about 12.7% in the previous three months.
The consumer price index excluding fresh food rose 1.5% in April from a year earlier in Tokyo, the smallest gain since March 2022, according to the internal affairs ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 1, 2026
Tokyo inflation cools on childcare support, backing BOJ caution
The consumer price index excluding fresh food rose 1.5% in April from a year earlier in the capital, the smallest gain since March 2022.
A worker cultivates rice plants at a farm in Bangkok. Rice supply is expected to fall this year due to impacts of the Iran war and an emerging El Nino weather phenomenon that is set to usher in hotter, drier conditions.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2026
From surplus to strain: Iran war and El Nino threaten global rice supply
Rice is central to global food security, and even small supply disruptions can ripple through countries, raising prices and straining household budgets.
People shop in a store in Tehran on Tuesday. Despite an oil-export squeeze, Iran has plentiful internal supplies, steady trade with neighbors and only limited signs of immediate stress from state-revenue losses caused by the U.S. blockade.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 1, 2026
Iranian economic collapse may come too late for Trump
If U.S. President ​Donald Trump expects Iran to blink first in their game of economic chicken, he may be waiting a while.
Japan's industrial production dropped 0.5% in March from the previous month, as the war in Iran clouded prospects for global demand.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 30, 2026
Japan’s factory output fell in March as Iran war clouded demand outlook
The data reflects a period in flux, with business prospects for manufacturers starting to dim as the impact of the Middle East conflict rippled through the global economy.
Prediction markets are touted on social media as a lucrative side hustle, but in reality, most traders are losing money.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 28, 2026
Most prediction market traders are losing money while bots rack up gains
Among the winners, a majority of the profits were raked in by a tiny slice of what look to be automated bots.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Expectations of a rate increase cooled over the past few weeks in part due to the absence of clear signals from BOJ officials.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 28, 2026
Three dissents at BOJ policy board meeting suggest hawkishness ahead
The war in Iran was a factor in keeping the policy rate at 0.75% at the April meeting.
A view of Duomo Cathedral and Porta Garibaldi business district in Milan on Wednesday
WORLD
Apr 24, 2026
Greece to be overtaken by Italy as eurozone’s most indebted country in 2026, sources say
Since 2020, Greece’s public debt — the highest in the eurozone over the last two decades — has shrunk by more than ​45 percentage ​points.
Residential buildings in the Kachidoki area of Tokyo. Used condominium prices in central Tokyo fell for a second month in March, raising concerns that Japan’s property boom may be losing momentum.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 23, 2026
Tokyo condo prices fall two months in row in sign boom may fade
Average prices of previously occupied apartments in the six central wards of Tokyo fell 0.2% in March from the previous month to ¥187.3 million.
Japan’s export growth beat analysts’ forecast in March as demand in China rebounded, while the impact from the Middle East conflict has yet to surface.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2026
Japan’s export growth quickened as China returned from holidays
The value of overall exports rose 11.7% in March from a year earlier, accelerating from a revised 4% pace in February.
Newly appointed Bank of Korea Gov. Shin Hyun Song arrives at the central bank in Seoul on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 21, 2026
Taking Bank of Korea helm, crisis-era veteran pursues ambitious won overhaul
As Shin Hyun Song takes the helm of the Bank of Korea, the economist is taking on an ambitious task: making the won a global currency without jolting capital flows.
Waterfront residential buildings in Tokyo. New condominium prices in the capital hit a record high in the year that ended in March.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 21, 2026
Tokyo condo prices hit record high in fiscal 2025
Condo prices may climb even further as tensions in the Middle East are making it difficult to procure oil-derived products.
Rengo's tally showed that the average wage gain secured by labor unions stayed above the group's 5% target for a third straight year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 17, 2026
Japan’s wage growth holds momentum after small firms reach deals
The development comes even after results from smaller firms were factored into the tally, an outcome that will keep the Bank of Japan on track for a near-term interest rate hike.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand. With the fragile U.S.-Iran ​ceasefire in mind, analysts and investors warn Thailand faces another difficult year.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Apr 16, 2026
Foreign investors flee Thailand as Iran war dashes hope for economic revival
The conflict has sent global oil prices up to near $100 a barrel, sharpening the focus on Asia’s reliance on energy supplies from the Gulf.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks with other participants at the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 16, 2026
Markets are too nonchalant about Iran war’s economic toll, policymakers warn
While oil prices have soared, the full extent of the pain from what the IEA has called the biggest energy shock the world has ever seen has yet to be felt.
Tourists take photos of blooming cherry blossoms in Kyoto on March 28.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2026
Japan tourism hits record despite China spat and Iran war
The number of international visitors was 3.6 million, up 3.5% year-on-year, a new record for March.
The Bank of Japan’s board will likely discuss lifting its key price projection for this fiscal year after oil prices surged roughly 50% since the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2026
BOJ could raise price outlook sharply on oil shock, central bank watchers say
Uncertainty over the Middle East conflict will also likely lead officials to consider lowering the economic growth forecast.
An explosion during an Israeli strike in Beirut on March 31
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2026
IMF cuts growth outlook and warns world drifting toward ‘adverse scenario’
Under the IMF’s worst-case outlook, the global economy teeters on the brink of recession, with oil prices averaging $110 a barrel ​in 2026 and $125 in 2027.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring meetings signage outside the IMF headquarters in Washington on April 9.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 12, 2026
World finance chiefs head to IMF with a sense of deja vu
Ahead of the meetings IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warned that the international community is becoming less able to respond to shocks.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Japan’s southwestern islands on high alert as Typhoon Bavi approaches
A woman walks out of a shop with duct-taped windows to prevent damage from Typhoon Bavi as it approaches, in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, on Thursday.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

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