Markets

Asian shares started cautiously on Monday ahead of a week packed with a quintet of central bank meetings and data on U.S. inflation that could make or break market hopes for an early and rapid fire round of rate cuts next year.

In recent months, Chinese authorities have fanned hopes among some economists that the internal passport system that has largely tethered people's destinies to their place of origin since the 1950s may be in its dying days. A distressed property market and sluggish consumption have injected new urgency into a drive to loosen restrictions and grant more people the opportunities that urban registration affords.

The National Treasury offered at an auction Wednesday P20 billion of treasury bond, which were originally issued at as 7-year bonds due in October 2029 at a coupon rate of 7 percent.

The Communist Party of the Philippines, along with its political arm the National Democratic Front and its armed wing the New People’s Army, agreed with the Marcos administration to explore the possibility of negotiating a deal that would end the world’s longest-running insurgency.

Japan's government on Wednesday slashed its view on the economy for November in its first such downgrade in 10 months, as weak demand weighed on capital spending and consumer expenditure.