India’s embassy in Washington has hired a lobbying firm with close ties to the Trump administration and a history of advocating for foreign entities targeted by the U.S., just before 50% tariffs take effect on exports from the South Asian country, Bloomberg News reported. The embassy is paying $75,000 per month to Mercury Public Affairs LLC to provide government relations, media relations and other services, according to an Aug. 18 filing detailing the agreement. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is a former co-chair of Mercury.

Embattled Chinese property developer Country Garden on Friday warned of a bigger loss for the first half of fiscal 2025, after deliveries of housing projects halved from 2024 and asset impairments rose, Reuters reported. The company delivered about 74,000 housing units in the first half, compared with over 150,000 in the same period last year. The primary concern remains resolving issues around debt, Country Garden said.

The pace of Japan’s consumer inflation stayed well above the Bank of Japan’s target in July even as price growth moderated, supporting market speculation that the central bank will hike its benchmark interest rate again this year, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3.1% from a year earlier last month, slowing from a 3.3% gain in June, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications reported Friday. The median estimate of economists was for a gain of 3%, with expectations there would be a drag from energy prices after they spiked a year earlier.

Binance is under the microscope in Australia, DLNews reported. Austrac, the country’s financial crimes regulator, has ordered the crypto exchange to appoint an external auditor after allegedly finding shortcomings in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing systems. “Big global operators may appear well resourced … but if they don’t understand local money laundering and terrorism financing risks, they are failing to meet their AML/CTF obligations in Australia,” the country’s top regulator Brendan Thomas said.

The hit to New Zealand confidence caused by global uncertainty will fade as businesses get used to a time of heightened economic policy unpredictability, the chief economist at the country’s central bank said on Friday, Reuters reported. Paul Conway, chief economist at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, said the confidence shock will pass and business will “just get on with it.” "I fully expect uncertainty to persist into the future but to some extent, we get used to it,” Conway told Reuters in an interview. "We can't sort of wait and see what's going to happen…forever," he said.

Singapore will launch an arbitration framework next week for resolving restructuring, debt and insolvency disputes, offering businesses and creditors an alternative to traditional court processes, Bloomberg News reported. “The SIAC Restructuring and Insolvency Arbitration Protocol is a first, for an international arbitration institution, in proposing the use of arbitration to resolve” such disputes, Murali Pillai, senior minister of state for law, said Thursday. The initiative is the latest in Singapore’s efforts to enhance the city-state’s appeal as a hub for restructuring in Asia.

China is considering allowing the usage of yuan-backed stablecoins for the first time to boost wider adoption of its currency globally in a major reversal of its stance towards digital assets, Reuters reported. The State Council - China's cabinet – will review and possibly approve a roadmap later this month for the greater usage of the currency globally, including catching up with a U.S. push on stablecoins.

Japan’s exports sustained their steepest drop in more than four years in July as U.S. tariffs continued to weigh on global commerce, clouding the outlook for economic growth at a time when personal spending remains unsteady, Bloomberg News reported. Exports fell 2.6% in value from a year earlier, sliding more than the median forecast of a 2.1% decline, the Finance Ministry reported on Wednesday. The downturn, led by cars, auto parts and steel, was the biggest since February 2021. Export volumes rose by 1.2%, suggesting exporters are continuing to absorb U.S.

Indonesia’s central bank continued its rate-cutting cycle as steady inflation provides room to loosen policy further to support growth, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bank Indonesia cut its benchmark seven-day reverse repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.00% on Wednesday. The decision had been expected to be a close call: Four of seven economists polled by The Wall Street Journal forecast no change, while three expected a 25-basis-point cut. The central bank also lowered its overnight deposit facility rate to 4.25% and its lending facility rate to 5.75%.