A key gauge of Japan's service-sector inflation rose 2.7% in February from a ​year earlier, data showed on Thursday, reinforcing the ‌central bank's view that a tight labour market is pushing firms to pass rising costs on to consumers, Reuters reported. The ​Bank of Japan has stressed the need ​to see inflation durably hit its 2% ⁠target driven by rising wages and services ​prices, rather than higher raw material costs, to proceed ​with further interest rate hikes.

The Kingdom of Bhutan transferred another 519.707 BTC worth $36.75 million to external addresses on Wednesday, accelerating a sovereign Bitcoin liquidation that has seen its BTC holdings plummet 66% from late 2024 peaks, Decrypt.com reported. The Royal Government of Bhutan now holds 4,453 BTC worth approximately $315 million, down from nearly 13,000 BTC in late 2024, according to on-chain data. The latest transfer continues a drawdown that began after October 2024, with total year-to-date outflows exceeding $150 million.

The Supreme Court on 15.01.2026, clarified the scope of admission of insolvency proceedings under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), holding that once the existence of financial debt and default is established, the Adjudicating Authority must admit the application and cannot refuse admission on considerations such as project viability, stage of completion, or the possible impact on homebuyers, The Times of India reported. A Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R.

China said on Wednesday that Mexico's trade measures against it, including tariff increases, ​constitute trade and investment barriers and that it had ‌the right to take countermeasures, Reuters reported. The import duty hikes affect more than $30 billion worth of Chinese exports to Mexico, and could lead to estimated losses ​of about $9.4 billion to China's mechanical and electrical sectors, ​the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in its conclusion ⁠of an investigation into the measures.

Many Japanese banks in the countryside are struggling due to a shrinking population, but at a tiny credit union in the northernmost tip of the country, the situation is extreme, the Japan Times reported. Wakkanai Shinkin Bank serves customers in the city of the same name in northern Hokkaido. Once a bustling fishing hub, it has seen the number of residents roughly halve from its peak in 1964.

The Reserve Bank of Australia's latest Financial Stability Review indicates that total company insolvencies as a share of operating companies have stabilised over the past year, returning to their long-run averages, AccountingTimes.com.au reported. The RBA report said that easing cash flow pressures and recovering domestic demand have supported company viability. It noted that insolvencies saw a sharp increase in the years following the pandemic due to a catch-up effect from the exceptionally low number of insolvencies during the COVID-19 period, when temporary support measures were in place.

Australia and the European Union signed a free trade agreement on Tuesday after eight years of negotiations, removing tariffs on almost all goods and potentially easing EU access to Australian critical minerals, Reuters reported. However, some Australian agricultural exports, including beef and ‌sheep meat, will face quotas. Australian farmers criticised the pact for offering what they called "subpar" access to the bloc, while French farmers argued the ‌quotas were too generous. The deal follows intensified talks amid sharply higher U.S.

Japan's core consumer inflation slowed below the central bank's ​2% target in February for the first time in nearly four years, data showed, as government fuel subsidies offset rising import costs ‌from a weak yen and surging oil prices from the Iran war, Reuters reported. While the reading is unlikely to upend the Bank of Japan's monetary tightening plan, the downward price pressure from government intervention will make the bank's communication more difficult as it seeks to raise still-low borrowing costs.

A unit of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison said on Tuesday it had widened its claims in ‌an international arbitration case against Panama, saying damages had now risen to more ‌than $2 billion, Reuters reported. Panama Ports Company, which for nearly three decades operated the Balboa and Cristobal terminals near the ​Panama Canal, said it had supplemented its claims in proceedings under the International Chamber of Commerce's arbitration rules, a month after what it described as the state's illegal takeover of two port terminals and company property.