China's investors borrowed a record $322 billion to buy stocks this year, but sharp corrections this week and heightened regulatory scrutiny to cool overheated markets are now making them jittery about the leveraged bets, Reuters reported. While risks for China's broader financial system have been elevated for months due to deflation in the economy and a persistent property debt crisis, the stock investors' recent actions could add more pressure. Outstanding margin financing in China, a key gauge of sentiment and leverage level, hit a record 2.3 trillion yuan ($321.55 billion) this week.

President Donald Trump gave Japanese automakers some relief by cutting his high U.S. tariffs on their vehicles, but the reduced levies still mean big pain for Japan's smaller car companies, which will stay under pressure in the crucial market, Reuters reported. After months of diplomacy, Trump signed an order on Thursday cutting U.S. tariffs on imported Japanese autos to 15% from 27.5%, a rare bit of good news for Japan's critical industry, which relies on the United States as its top market.

Japan and the United States are in the final stages of talks to implement lower tariffs on Japanese automobile imports within 10-14 days after the issuance of a U.S. presidential executive order, a Japanese government source told Reuters on Thursday. That means that a reduced U.S. tariff rate on Japanese cars, from the current 27.5% to 15%, is set to take effect by the end of this month, said the source, who declined to be identified as the matter is confidential.

India is seeking to boost drug exports to semi-regulated markets in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia to reduce its dependence on the U.S., where tariff concerns pose risks, officials from a government-backed trade body told Reuters on Thursday. The Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) also plans to push for sales of finished goods to China to bridge the trade deficit, the officials said. The Indian industry imports more than 60% of its raw materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients from China.

Malaysia’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged as expected, with tariff-related uncertainties looming, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bank Negara Malaysia on Thursday kept the overnight policy rate at 2.75% after July’s first cut in five years. The central bank “considers the monetary policy stance to be appropriate and supportive of the economy amid price stability,” it said in a statement. Malaysia’s economy grew 4.4% in the first half of 2025 and remains on track to meet the central bank’s full-year growth target of between 4% and 4.8%, it said.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday that her government is considering imposing tariffs on imports from countries that do not have trade agreements with Mexico, including China, Reuters reported. The tariffs would be part of "Plan Mexico", an initiative to boost domestic industry amid tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on some imports from Mexico.

North Korean hackers are saturating the cryptocurrency industry with credible-sounding job offers as part of their campaign to steal digital cash, according to new research, raw data, and interviews, Reuters reported. The problem is becoming so common that job applicants now regularly screen recruiters for signs they might be acting on Pyongyang's behalf. Twenty-five experts, victims, and corporate representatives that Reuters spoke to agreed that the problem was ubiquitous.