Australia

Scott Morrison during a press conference on Apr. 7: his team does not have anything concrete to say about weaning Australia off its addiction to China.
Opinion

Coronavirus hit means Australia is about to run out of luck

Collapse of Chinese demand puts first recession in 30 years within sight

13 April 2020
Japanese hotel operator Apa Group is in talks to open some of its properties in Japan to quarantine coronavirus patients. (Photo by Yuki Kohara) 
Coronavirus

Hotels open doors to health care workers and coronavirus patients

In Asia-Pacific, Airbnb also takes part but public safety is a concern

12 April 2020
Singaporean freelance photographer Nicholas Yeo says he has lost around $4,200 from canceled gigs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Economy

'Gig economy' workers fall on hard times in Singapore and Australia

Freelancers say coronavirus has taken $215m bite out of incomes so far

8 April 2020
A lot of Asian news organizations still rely on print editions to bring in the revenue they need to pay reporters, but the coronavirus has made it all but impossible to put newspapers into readers' hands.
Media & Entertainment

Coronavirus hammers Asian newspapers

Media companies in Australia, Philippines and Vietnam stop the presses

7 April 2020
An eerily quiet shopping boulevard in Wuhan
Your Week in Asia

Wuhan lockdown ends, Japanese retailer earnings, and Samsung results

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political news

5 April 2020
German politicians have been on guard against Chinese acquisitions of local companies with advanced technologies since Midea Group’s 4.5 billion euro buyout of robot producer Kuka in 2017.
Business deals

Germany bolsters corporate defenses against Chinese 'predators'

European officials worry coronavirus-weakened companies could be acquisition targets

3 April 2020
An empty harbor in Sydney on March 24: Australia has shut down nonessential businesses in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Economy

Australia faces end of world's longest boom with recession coming

After 29 years, coronavirus puts stop to economic run

1 April 2020
Australian supermarket chain Woolworths is hiring up to 20,000 new workers as shoppers stockpile daily essentials.
Retail

Australia supermarket to hire 20,000, including from Qantas

Woolworths will also take in staff from movie theaters and virus-hit industries

28 March 2020
While avoiding using cash may reduce personal contact, there is no evidence that banknotes or coins carry disease.
Coronavirus

Merchants shun cash as coronavirus infection fears widen

Global health crisis speeds up cashless payments in Asia

26 March 2020
Takanami, a destroyer of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, is seen at port in Yokosuka Japan. Two of Japan's vessels were denied entry to the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia in February after the island nations imposed entry bans from Japan.
International relations

Asia's web of defense ties falls prey to coronavirus

Efforts by US and Japan to enlist partners fray as exercises and meetings are canceled

24 March 2020
A member of the Indonesian Red Cross looks through goggles as she and her team disinfect in a Jakarta school on Monday. 
Economy

Four Asian central banks cut rates as virus rips markets

Indonesia, Australia, Philippines and Taiwan all move even as currencies slide

19 March 2020
Australia-based Qantas Airways announced Tuesday that it will cut its total group international capacity by around 90% until at least the end of May.
Transportation

Asian airlines dragged deeper into virus's maelstrom

Pandemic-triggered shutdowns wipe out carriers' cash flows

18 March 2020
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the White House on March 11.
Markets

Asian markets slide after Trump bans European travelers over virus

Circuit breakers triggered in Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines

12 March 2020
A crude oil import terminal in Qingdao, China, pictured in August 2019: the combination of easy money and cheap oil could worsen deflationary pressures.
Opinion

Oil price crash will not offer help that Asian economies need

Long-term uncertainty has grown, overturning budgets and demanding cool heads

12 March 2020
Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, pictured on Feb. 5: the coronavirus outbreak is nothing short of a human credit squeeze. 
Opinion

Asia has little hope of economic recovery in 2020

Coronavirus, oil shock, weakened central banks all bode ill for struggling region

11 March 2020
 Austal's proposed vessel for the Philippine Navy (Illustration courtesy of Austal)
Business deals

Australia shipbuilder closes in on $600m Philippine defense deal

Manila resumes financial aid talks with countries that backed UN drug war probe

6 March 2020
The coronavirus outbreak is fueling sales of masks in Malaysia but threatens to derail economies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Economy

Malaysia and Australia cut rates to counter coronavirus threat

Preventive measures spread among Asia-Pacific central banks

3 March 2020
Elementary, junior and senior high schools will close across Japan on March 2, with the class suspensions expected to run through at least early April.
Your Week in Asia

Japan's schools close, China trade data, and Foxconn outlook call

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

1 March 2020
A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, New York.
29 February 2020
ANZ has acknowledged "failings" in its due diligence regarding a $40 million loan to a Cambodian sugar plantation operator. 
Companies

Australia's ANZ to compensate Cambodian families over land loss

Bank admits due diligence 'failings' in loan to sugar company that bulldozed villages

28 February 2020
The Suntory Yamazaki Distillery in western Japan has become a magnet for the world's whisky aficionados. (Photo by Tomoki Mera)
Business Spotlight

Suntory, Asahi and Kirin face sober reality in Japan

Big three brewers move abroad as domestic alcohol consumption dries up

28 February 2020
AI is creating unfamiliar possibilities.
Opinion

It is time for G-20 to give way to tech-driven AI-20

Multilateral body based on harnessing artificial intelligence is way forward

28 February 2020
 Listed companies are taking a continued beating from the novel coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by Shihoko Nakaoka) 
Coronavirus

Coronavirus disruption cuts into corporate dividends

Chip machine makers, auto part companies and fashion brands to hold onto their cash as uncertainty grows

27 February 2020
Wild camels in South Australia: Driven from the desert by a prolonged drought, camels are descending on towns in search of water, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and endangering residents in the process.
Life

Australia's wild camel dilemma: to cull or cultivate?

Mass shooting after fires prompts calls for more feral animals to be farmed

26 February 2020
People wait at a crosswalk along the Dongseong-ro shopping street in Daegu, South Korea. The country reported 142 new coronavirus cases on Saturday.
Coronavirus: Free to read

Coronavirus: Week of Feb. 16 to Feb. 22, South Korea cases soar again, to 433

US confirms 34 additional infections and expects more from cruise ship

22 February 2020