Two days of U.S.-China trade discussions ended in Beijing on Friday with an agreement to keep on talking, and little else.China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday afternoon that both sides reached a consensus on some trade issues, without providing details. They also acknowledged major disagreements on some matters and will continue communicating to work toward making more progress.The U.S.

The United Kingdom’s (UK) decision to exit the European Union (EU) or Brexit as it is commonly known, is weighing on the economy, even as growth accelerates across the rest of the globe. The membership referendum that was agreed upon by the UK and the EU on 23 June, 2016 has left the Brits with reduced purchasing power as a weaker pound has caused prices to increase across the board.

Jack Ma’s shopping spree is starting to weigh on Alibaba’s bottom line just as profit and revenue growth ease. And investors have shaved about $60 billion off its market value to voice their displeasure.Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is projected to post its first decline in profit in a year and a half – the result of folding in major loss-making businesses and heightened spending to fend off a charge by Tencent Holdings Ltd. into retail and payments – traditionally its turf.

Southeast Asia is catching the video streaming bug as video streaming services proliferate in the region. Gone are the days where people would go to video or DVD rental shops to get the latest movies. Even traditional TV is on the wane now as video streaming allows users to choose whatever they want to watch anytime as opposed to having to wait for a favourite programme to air at its allocated time slot.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has declared war on inflation, with a series of pre-emptive strikes designed to woo voters. The potential casualty: his zeal for economic reform.While price pressures are relatively benign in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Widodo is leaving nothing to chance as a long election campaign draws near. He’s slapped controls on fuel costs and ordered additional imports of various staples from salt to buffalo meat.

This August, Indonesia is set to host Asia’s biggest sporting event, the Asian Games. The multi-sport event is scheduled to be held from 18 August to 2 September, 2018. This will be the first time the Asian games will be hosted in two cities, Jakarta and Palembang. This is also Indonesia’s first time hosting the games since 1962.

From the bustling streets of Jakarta to the crowded roads of Hanoi, Southeast Asia as a whole is no stranger to traffic congestion. With a population spurt and rapid urbanisation, it is no surprise that such a situation can be seen on a daily basis. The introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) into the region has definitely caught the attention of many.

When pioneer of the ride-hailing business, Uber announced that it will exit the Southeast Asian market, consumers feared that this would effectively mean a Grab monopoly in the market. However, ever since Uber’s exit, many new startups have entered the ride-hailing business looking to fill the gap left by Uber. Throughout the region, new ride-hailing apps are mushrooming.

Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba has entered into a strategic partnership with the Thai government. It is representative of the growing collaboration between Alibaba and the Thai government. Two years prior, the duo signed a Letter of Intent, which established the foundation for joint efforts to boost the capacity of Thai entrepreneurs in gaining access to new markets and capitalising on digital innovations.

Indonesia’s worst equity rout in five years has got strategists asking the usual question after a slump: Are stocks cheap enough to buy?For Jahanzeb Naseer, the head of Indonesia research at Credit Suisse Group AG, investors should selectively pick shares now that the benchmark gauge is near at its lowest level since October. Foreign investor outflows have reached 1 percent of the market’s value, a past indicator that selling may taper, he said.