Insurance Regulator and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has told insurers to communicate their cashless approvals for COVID-19 claims within an hour of submission of the request by the hospital and ensure that patients get discharged soon, The Times of India reported. In its order, the Delhi HC had told Irdai to issue immediate instructions to insurance companies to ensure that they communicate their approvals to hospitals within 30 to 60 minutes, in order to ensure that patient discharge is not delayed.

World shares advanced Thursday ahead of the release of U.S. economic growth data and following a speech by President Joe Biden outlining ambitious plans for beefing up early education and other family oriented policies, the Associated Press reported. London’s FTSE 100 jumped 0.7% to 7,013.40. In Paris, the CAC40 climbed 0.6% to 6,344.17. Germany’s DAX slipped 0.2% to 15,262.39 as a report showed weakening consumer confidence. The future for the Dow industrials rose 0.4% and that for the S&P 500 surged 0.6%. U.S.

Fears of a selloff in China’s sovereign bond market have proved wrong, with traders now bracing for the pressure to build through May, Bloomberg reported. Instead of surging higher this month, benchmark 10-year yields are comfortably below their half-year average and little changed from late March, thanks to a slowdown in debt issuance by municipal authorities. Traders had been bracing for a seasonal increase in local bonds at a time when China’s commercial banks — the biggest buyers in the market — typically funnel funds to clients to meet tax payments.

The emergence of China as an economic and financial powerhouse has been much quicker than often anticipated, according to an opinion in Nikkei Asia. Whether in terms of technological advances, industrial development, global trade or involvement in the capital markets, China's rise has been rapid and highly disruptive. There is, however, one glaring omission from this panoramic picture of strength: the internationalization of its currency, which has been far slower than earlier anticipated.

Samsung’s ruling Lee family unveiled plans to pay one of the world’s largest-ever inheritance tax bills, unloading rare Picasso and Monet paintings while trumpeting its extra donations to South Korean society, the Wall Street Journal reported. South Korea’s wealthiest family faces more than $10 billion in estate taxes, following the October death of Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee. The inheritance tax rate is 50% in South Korea and that can inch higher for the transfer of company shares.

Restaurants, pubs, malls and retailers in India are once again staring into a dark abyss as more metros go into lockdowns, The Times of India reported. Many restaurants shut down last year after the painful two-and-a-half months of lockdown. More are expected to now follow suit, unable to bear losses for a second year on the trot. Restaurants across the country had seen sales pick up since opening before the festive season, and by December, footfalls were robust with weekends reporting near full capacity.

Give Asia's central bankers their credit. By taking swift and determined action, they have kept financial systems on an even keel during the pandemic, and their policies have cushioned the economic blow, Nikkei Asia reported. As the emergency begins to pass, however, there is a risk that overly loose monetary policy will breed distortions. If left unheeded, these could eventually trigger another crisis: a bursting asset bubble. Central bankers will need to reach deeper into their tool kit to maintain the right balance between supporting the recovery and avoiding calamity later on.

Toyota Motor Corp. will acquire Lyft Inc.’s self-driving technology unit for $550 million, as the Japanese firm steps up its automation ambitions with the newly created Woven Planet division, Reuters reported. The acquisition of Level 5 automation will also provide Toyota access to the U.S. ride-hailing firm's more than 300 employees of the essentially complete autonomy technology. For Lyft, the deal will allow it to become profitable sooner and takes away the burden and risk of developing a costly technology that has yet to enter the mainstream.

The Chinese government has said that it would raise the mandatory retirement age, which is currently 60 for men, the New York Times reported. China said last month that it would “gradually delay the legal retirement age” over the next five years, in an attempt to address one of the country’s most pressing issues. Its rapidly aging population means a shrinking labor force. State pension funds are at risk of running out. And China has some of the lowest retirement ages in the world: 50 for blue-collar female workers, 55 for white-collar female workers, and 60 for most men.

A consortium of Indian banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) was back for a High Court hearing in London on Friday in pursuit of a bankruptcy order against embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, as they attempt recovery of debt from loans paid out to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, Outlook India rep