Synlait Milk reported a much narrower annual net loss on Monday and announced the sale of its North Island assets for NZ$307 million ($177.2 million) to U.S.-based Abbott Laboratories sending its shares surging, Reuters reported. The New Zealand-based dairy firm's shares rose as much as 20.7% to trade at NZ$0.845, posting their biggest intraday gain since February 17, while the broader market was flat. The shares hit their highest level since March 25.
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The pace of price growth in the Tokyo metropolitan area unexpectedly held steady in September, but upward pressure remains, keeping an interest-rate hike in play, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer inflation in Tokyo, excluding volatile fresh food prices, climbed 2.5% from a year earlier, government data showed Friday. That matched the pace recorded in August and was below a 2.8% rise expected in a poll of economists by data provider Quick. The yen weakened to 149.94 against the dollar after the data. Tokyo figures are considered an early indicator of nationwide trends.
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The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) warned investors it has not approved any stablecoin issuers, labeling the marketing of such products as illegal, the SCMP reports, CoinDesk.com reported. The statement came after Hong Kong-based AnchorX announced the introduction of AxCNH, a stablecoin pegged to the offshore Chinese yuan. The company said it held a license from Kazakhstan’s Astana Financial Services Authority and that the coin would support cross-border payments and tokenized real-world assets, according to the SCMP.
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Treasury is warning that New Zealand's government debt will hit 200% of GDP by 2065 ‒ or $246,500 per person ‒ if major policies are not changed, The Post reported. The agency is not recommending any specific policy but notes that with an ageing population the costs of superannuation and healthcare will spiral upwards, without enough working age people to keep paying the taxes for such policies. It noted that New Zealand had seven working age Kiwis for every retiree in 1960, four for every retiree now, and but would hit just two working Kiwis for every retired Kiwi by 2065.
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