The Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady on Wednesday and warned of heightening global economic uncertainty, suggesting the timing of further rate hikes will depend largely on the fallout from potentially higher U.S. tariffs, Reuters reported. But Governor Kazuo Ueda also said rising food costs and stronger-than-expected wage growth could push up underlying inflation, highlighting the central bank's attention to mounting domestic price pressures. "Japan's wage and price conditions are on track, possibly stronger than expected. But the uncertain U.S.

Indonesia’s central bank held interest rates steady again as volatility in local markets and the rupiah make the case for policymakers to tread cautiously, even as they continue to leave the door open to cuts, the Wall Street Journal reported. Domestic unease and heightened uncertainty abroad had economists divided on what Bank Indonesia would do ahead of its decision to keep the benchmark seven-day reverse repo rate at 5.75% on Wednesday.

The U.S. mission told China and Canada it was ready to confer with its officials in Geneva after those two countries filed trade disputes in response to new tariffs, World Trade Organization documents showed on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Canada requested consultations - the first step in a WTO trade dispute - earlier this month in response to "unjustified tariffs" imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month. China launched a dispute after Trump tariffs on Chinese goods in February.

Political pressure is mounting over a plan by a Hong Kong conglomerate to sell its Panama ports to BlackRock, the American investor, raising questions about the future of the $19 billion deal, the New York Times reported.

Food delivery giant Zomato is facing an insolvency plea from uniform supplier Nona Lifestyle, alleging unpaid dues of Rs 1.64 crore, as reported by Bar and Bench on March 17, the Economic Times of India reported. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has adjourned the case to April 3, requesting the petitioner to clarify its next steps.

The Australian-based Village Roadshow Group is not impacted by the US-based Village Roadshow Entertainment Group’s (VREG) bankruptcy filing and has set plans to terminate its association with the company, Deadline.com reported. Village Roadshow Group released a statement this morning following news of bankruptcy at Village Roadshow Entertainment Group. VREG is an entirely separate operation from Village Roadshow Group, which was formed in 1954 and includes Village Roadshow Theme Parks, Roadshow Distributors, Roadshow Productions, Village Roadshow Studios, and Village Cinemas.

Property developer Sunac China said on Monday it expects to report a wider loss for the year ended December 2024, Reuters reported. Beijing-based Sunac, once among China's largest real estate developers, attributed the higher net loss forecast to the absence of gains that it had logged last year after the completion of its offshore debt restructuring. In late 2023, Sunac completed a comprehensive overhaul of its $9 billion offshore debt, exchanging its existing debt for a combination of notes, among others.

India's central bank-regulated entities can leverage artificial intelligence internal controls to address consumer complaints on mis-selling and aggressive practices, central bank governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Monday, Reuters reported. Ninety-five commercial banks in India received over 10 million customer complaints in the 2023-2024 financial year, Malhotra said. "With the rapidly growing customer base and expanding suite of products, this may grow if we do not get our act together," he added.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is set to initiate a pilot program for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), named "Hangang," involving 100,000 participants, CoinMarketCap.com reported. Scheduled to run from April to June this year, the pilot will allow citizens to convert their bank deposits into tokenized deposits for use in local transactions, according to reports from local media.