India said on Friday its officials held “constructive” talks with U.S. counterparts during a visit to Washington this week, and both sides agreed to continue discussions aimed at concluding a mutually beneficial trade deal soon, Reuters reported. "Both sides exchanged views on possible contours of the deal," the commerce ministry said in a statement. Read more.

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.

China's Premier Li Qiang and European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen stressed cooperation during their meeting in New York, as the world's No.2 and No.3 economies looked to defuse trade tensions while squeezed by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, Reuters reported.

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.

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.

Australian consumer prices rose at the fastest annual pace in a year in August after a hot July, suggesting some upside to inflation that prompted markets to pare back the chances of imminent policy easing, Reuters reported. The Australian dollar rose 0.3% to $0.6619, while three-year government bond futures fell 7 ticks to 96.45, the lowest in three weeks. Investors doubled down on bets that the Reserve Bank of Australia will skip a move in interest rates next week given the recent flow of data has been on the strong side.

Chinese automakers are expanding in Europe, betting on their competitive pricing and advanced technology to break into a market traditionally dominated by European and American brands, amid a global shift towards electric vehicles, Reuters reported. This expansion has stoked trade tensions between Brussels and Beijing, including a row over EU tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, imposed to protect European producers. Read more