Japan's government and the central bank on Monday held a fresh round of discussions on the role each should play in achieving sustained wage hikes aimed at eliminating the risk of the country returning to deflation, Reuters reported. The meeting of the government's top economic council focused on whether recent rises in inflation and wage growth suggest Japan is approaching a sustained exit from deflation. "While there have been some positive signs in recent data, we must ensure they are stable and sustainable so that Japan won't revert to deflation," the Cabinet Office told the meeting.

Japan's wholesale inflation slowed for a fourth straight month in April as rises in raw material costs moderated, data showed on Monday, suggesting that consumer inflation will begin to ease back towards the central bank's 2% target, Reuters reported. The data may diminish market expectations that broadening inflationary pressure will prod the Bank of Japan to seek an early exit from ultra-low interest rates.

Fierce competition for new mortgage customers is driving banks in Hong Kong to offer the highest cash rebates in nearly two decades, Bloomberg News reported. The deals — offered as a percentage of the principal loan amount — ramped up from about 1.3% last year to as much as 2.6% currently, the highest in over 17 years, according to Centaline Mortgage Broker data.

The Philippine central bank could pause interest rate hikes at its monetary policy meeting this week, its governor said on Monday, after inflation in April eased for a third straight month, Reuters reported. "If you're sure this is a permanent trend, clearly we must pause because there will be no need for another one," Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla told reporters on the sidelines of a financial stability conference.

China's clampdown on its consultancy and due diligence sector has driven companies to review their operations after some tested the limits of the laws and Beijing's patience to meet surging demand as China emerged from its COVID-lockdowns, Reuters reported. These consultancies thrived by providing investors - from global hedge funds to private equity firms - access to industry experts and investigators who could obtain valuable corporate information.

Pratt & Whitney on Thursday opposed Go Airlines (India) Ltd's push to enforce an arbitration ruling in an engine dispute, with the U.S. company arguing in a Delaware court that the Indian airline's bankruptcy filing has raised risks for it, Reuters reported. The Indian airline, widely known as Go First, approached the Delaware court to enforce an arbitration order in Singapore against Pratt & Whitney, which it blames for its financial troubles by arguing the U.S. firm failed to supply engines on time.

Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet Ltd said on Thursday it had no plans to file for insolvency, days after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) issued a notice to the Ajay Singh-promoted private carrier on a petition filed by an aircraft lessor seeking initiation of insolvency resolution proceedings against it, the Economic Times of India reported.

China's consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in more than two years in April, while factory gate deflation deepened, data showed on Thursday, suggesting more stimulus may be needed to boost a patchy post-COVID economic recovery, Reuters reported. The weak consumer price rise reinforces the signals from this week's trade data suggesting domestic demand remains lacklustre, while the deflationary impulse in producer prices underlines the strains on factories - a double-whammy for the world's second-biggest economy as it tries to shake off the COVID-induced damage.

China's securities watchdog on Thursday said that it was willing to work with its counterparts in the United States to promote regulatory cooperation on audits and safeguard the rights and interests of global investors, Reuters reported. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) was commenting a day after a U.S. accounting watchdog said that it found unacceptable deficiencies in audits of U.S.-listed Chinese companies. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) was commenting a day after a U.S.

Go Airlines (India) Ltd was granted bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, bolstering the country's fourth largest carrier's chances of getting back on its feet, but lessors have started mounting legal challenges to repossess planes, Reuters reported. The low-cost carrier, recently rebranded as Go First, was plunged into financial crisis this year, sparked by what it called "faulty" Pratt & Whitney engines that grounded about half its 54 Airbus A320neos. The U.S. engine maker, part of Raytheon Technologies, in a statement said Go First's allegations were "without merit".