China’s central bank kept a key policy rate steady in November and drained billions in liquidity from the financial system via a medium-term liquidity management tool, the Wall Street Journal reported. The People’s Bank of China on Monday injected 900 billion yuan of liquidity, or about $124.26 billion, into the banking system via its one-year medium-term lending facility at an unchanged rate of 2.00%. That compared with a total of 1.45 trillion yuan of such loans due this month, representing a net drain of 550 billion yuan in November.

Japan’s cabinet on Friday approved an economic stimulus package worth more than $140 billion, in Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s latest push to tackle inflation and boost growth after his coalition suffered a bruising electoral defeat last month, the Wall Street Journal reported. The package totaling 21.9 trillion yen, equivalent to $141.71 billion, is aimed at easing rising living costs and promoting business innovation and investment.

Anglo American Plc agreed to sell its steelmaking coal business to Peabody Energy Corp. for a fee that could rise to as much as $3.78 billion, as the miner’s restructuring gathers pace, Bloomberg News reported. Anglo is looking to dramatically simplify — and shrink — its business in a move that was announced during a successful rebuttal of a $49 billion approach from BHP Group earlier this year. For Peabody, the deal will significantly shift its product mix as the U.S. miner seeks to focus on metallurgical coal.

Thailand's banking system has large excess liquidity and the central bank has not tightened its lending supervision, an assistant governor said on Monday, reflecting banks' reluctance to lend, Reuters reported. Banks' lending decisions will depend on debtors' ability to repay debts, Sakkapop Panyanukul said in an article, opens new tab published on the Bank of Thailand's website. The banking system has had a lot of excess liquidity over the past 10 years, as reflected by deposits and investments of commercial banks at the BOT in the past, he said.

When China’s top leaders pledged this summer to act more aggressively to stimulate economic growth, they rounded off their remedies with a political order: Slash red tape, the Wall Street Journal reported. There were promises to revitalize the world’s second-largest economy by boosting household incomes, consumption and bank lending to businesses. But plans will be hobbled, the Communist Party’s elite Politburo warned in July, if front-line officials remain bogged down by busywork.

The founder of bankrupt Indian tech firm Byju’s tried to use loan proceeds that he allegedly hid from US lenders to secretly buy back a software company that was taken over by an American trustee, according to a new court filing, Bloomberg News reported. Byju Raveendran has been trying to regain control his capsizing education technology empire, which is under court supervision in both India, where the parent is based, and the US, where some of its valuable units are located, according to a court declaration filed by Nebraska businessman William R. Hailer.

China's commerce ministry on Thursday announced a series of policy measures aimed at boosting the country's foreign trade, including pledging to strengthen financing support to firms and expand exports of agricultural products, Reuters reported. With U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs in excess of 60% on all Chinese goods, which has rattled Chinese manufacturers and accelerated factory relocation to Southeast Asia and other regions, exporters in the world's second-biggest economy are bracing for any trade disruptions.

On his first day in office, leader Xi Jinping inherited an ambitious road map to build 10,000 miles of high-speed rail to link China’s biggest cities. He took those plans and supersized them. What has emerged 12 years later is one of the biggest public works in history, soon to exceed 30,000 miles of high-speed rail, the Wall Street Journal reported. For many of its citizens, the vast network is one of the clearest signs of China’s progress, especially compared with the U.S., which has struggled to get any high-speed rail going.

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by U.S. prosecutors for his alleged role in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials, plunging his conglomerate deep into crisis for the second time in two years, Reuters reported. Multiple counts of fraud - which U.S. authorities say involved a firm that was listed in New York and affected American investors - were levelled against Adani, who is one of the world's richest people, as well as seven other defendants.

India's top electric scooter maker Ola Electric plans to cut about 500 jobs as it seeks to prioritise profitability, local business news publication Moneycontrol reported on Thursday, citing sources, according to Reuters. Ola Electric had 4,011 on-roll employees as of March 2024, according to its latest IPO document from August. The company declined to comment on the reports. The company's stock ended 3% lower at its lowest-ever closing price of 67.23 rupees. The SoftBank-backed firm has yet to turn a profit due to high costs and reductions in EV subsidies.