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Most markets rose Monday as investors steel themselves for a too-close-to-call US presidential election, while Chinese leaders meet to hammer out a stimulus package that experts say could be determined by the vote.The gains came after a positive lead from Wall Street and data showing far fewer US jobs were created last month than expected, boosting hopes for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut when it gathers this week.With Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump neck and neck ahead of Tuesday’s poll, traders are keeping a close eye on any hint of an advantage either way.The dollar slipped Monday as a fresh opinion poll in Iowa — which Trump won in 2016 and 2020 — showed Harris leading. A victory for Trump is seen as being positive for the dollar and pushing up Treasury yields owing to his pledges to cut taxes and impose hefty tariffs on imports.Elections for the Senate and House of Representatives are also being closely watched amid speculation the Republicans could take control of both.”It’s not just about who wins the presidency but also the composition of the House and Senate,” said Peter Esho, founder of Esho Capital.”If the Republicans sweep all three, that will open the door to significant fiscal changes, which is negative for bondholders and could spell higher yields until the dust settles.”The election comes days before the Fed is due to make its latest policy decision, with investors expecting 25-basis-point reduction after a bumper 50-point cut at its last gathering.The vote is of particular interest to China, where Beijing is this week meeting to hammer out an economic stimulus.The concrete measures are expected to be announced Friday, allowing time for officials to digest the result and make allowances for either.”We believe the US election results will have some impact on the size of Beijing’s stimulus package,” said Ting Lu, Nomura’s Chief China Economist, in a research note.Both candidates in the race have pledged to get tougher on Beijing, with Trump promising tariffs of 60 percent on all Chinese goods coming into the country.”We are expecting more details on the proposals to be passed,” said Heron Lim of Moody’s Analytics, including “how this extra funding would be allocated to address the near-term economic issues”.Nomura economists expect lawmakers this week to approve around a trillion yuan ($140 billion) in extra budget — mostly for indebted local governments.Observers also expect Beijing to approve a one-off one trillion yuan for banks, aimed at writing off non-performing loans over the past four years.Markets rose across Asia, with Shanghai up more than one percent, while Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington and Bangkok were also well up. Manila, Mumbai and Jakarta dropped.London opened higher but Paris and Frankfurt fell.Tokyo was closed for a holiday.Bitcoin was also down from the near record high hit Sunday as traders pared their bets on a win for Trump, who pledged during the campaign to make the United States “the world capital of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies”. The unit was sitting at $68,600 — still just shy of its all-time peak of 73,797.98 in March.Oil prices rallied around two percent after eight members of the OPEC+ group of producers said Sunday they would extend supply cuts until the end of next month.They had been delaying output hikes on worries about slowing demand in China and the United States.The commodity was also being supported by geopolitical tensions after Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned at the weekend that Israel and the United States “will definitely receive a tooth-breaking response” to Israeli attacks on October 26.That strike was in response to an October 1 barrage of about 200 missiles against its rival.- Key figures around 0815 GMT -Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 20,567.52 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 3,310.21 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,196.68Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for a holidayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.0893 from $1.0833 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2986 from $1.2917Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.01 yen from 153.01 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.88 from 83.86 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 2.0 percent at $70.90 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.9 percent at $74.48 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 42,052.19 (close)

China’s top lawmakers gathered Monday to hash out a major stimulus package that analysts say could grow even bigger if former US president Donald Trump wins the White House this week.Beijing has in recent months heeded calls to step up support for the economy after years of inaction, announcing a raft of measures including rate cuts and the easing of some home buying restrictions.But they have refrained from unveiling a figure for the long-awaited stimulus, disappointing investors after a market rally fizzled when officials repeatedly failed to commit to a top line.Analysts now hope this number could emerge from this week’s meeting of the Standing Committee of National People’s Congress, the top body of China’s rubber stamp parliament headed by number three official Zhao Leji.Nomura economists expect lawmakers this week to approve around one trillion yuan ($140 billion) in extra funds.The measures are expected to be announced when the meeting wraps up on Friday — in time for Beijing to take stock of results of presidential elections in the United States.Both candidates in the race have pledged to get tougher on Beijing, with Trump promising tariffs of 60 percent on all Chinese goods coming into the country.And Nomura economists expect Beijing to adjust the size of its stimulus depending on the outcome.”We believe the US election results will have some impact on the size of Beijing’s stimulus package,” said Ting Lu, Nomura’s chief China economist, in a research note.”In our view, the size of China’s fiscal stimulus package would be around 10 to 20 percent bigger under a Trump win than under the scenario of a (Kamala) Harris win,” Lu wrote.The standing committee reviews and approves all legislation, including allocating funds out of China’s budget.”We are expecting more details on (stimulus) proposals to be passed,” said Heron Lim of Moody’s Analytics.The session kicked off on Monday with discussion of laws on arbitration and science and technology, state news agency Xinhua said.Analysts also expect Beijing to approve a separate, one-off one trillion yuan for banks, aimed at writing off non-performing loans over the past four years.But Natixis economist Alicia Garcia Herrero cautioned that “a lot of money will go to cover losses”.”It’s not really a growth push,” she said.Yeap Jun Rong, an analyst at trading platform IG, agreed.”The measures appear to focus more on preventing further economic decline, rather than catalysing a stronger growth recovery,” he wrote.- ‘Major challenges’ -China is battling sluggish domestic consumption, a persistent crisis in the property sector and soaring government debt — all of which threaten Beijing’s official growth target of five percent for this year.”The major challenges for Beijing emanate from within rather than outside,” Nomura’s Lu said.The property sector was long a key driver of growth, but is now mired in a sea of debt.Average prices of new residential property ticked up slightly last month, according to a survey of 100 cities by independent researcher China Index Academy.But China’s cities and provinces are still on the hook for a trove of unfinished and unsold housing units, and repurchasing them could cost Beijing up to 3.3 trillion yuan, according to Natixis estimates.Prolonged housing woes continue to lead to weak consumer consumption, according to Lim of Moody’s Analytics.”The average Chinese consumer with existing mortgages does not feel their wealth is increasing,” he said.The issue of how local governments manage debt is also set to come under scrutiny at the NPC meeting this week.Authorities at and above the county level will be required to report their debt situation to the NPC each year, Huang Haihua, spokesman for the NPC standing committee’s legislative affairs commission, said at a briefing Friday.But China’s economic woes run deeper than local mismanagement and empty homes.”The overall economy is losing productivity out of basically misallocated savings,” said Garcia Herrero, referring to issues within China’s industrial policy spending, including extensive subsidies.”They need to really change all of that,” she said.

Asian markets rose Monday as investors steel themselves for a too-close-to-call US presidential election, while Chinese leaders meet to hammer out a stimulus package that experts say could be determined by the vote.The gains came after a positive lead from Wall Street and data showing far fewer US jobs were created last month than expected, boosting hopes for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut when it gathers this week.With Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump neck and neck ahead of Tuesday’s poll, traders are keeping a close eye on any hint of an advantage either way.The dollar slipped Monday as a fresh opinion poll in Iowa — which Trump won in 2016 and 2020 — showed Harris leading. A victory for Trump is seen as being positive for the dollar and pushing up Treasury yields owing to his pledges to cut taxes and impose hefty tariffs on imports.Elections for the Senate and House of Representatives are also being closely watched amid speculation the Republicans could take control of both.”It’s not just about who wins the presidency but also the composition of the House and Senate,” said Peter Esho, founder of Esho Capital.”If the Republicans sweep all three, that will open the door to significant fiscal changes, which is negative for bondholders and could spell higher yields until the dust settles.”The election comes days before the Fed is due to make its latest policy decision, with investors expecting 25-basis-point reduction after a bumper 50-point cut at its last gathering.The vote is of particular interest to China, where Beijing is this week meeting to hammer out an economic stimulus.The concrete measures are expected to be announced Friday, allowing time for officials to digest the result and make allowances for either.”We believe the US election results will have some impact on the size of Beijing’s stimulus package,” said Ting Lu, Nomura’s Chief China Economist, in a research note.Both candidates in the race have pledged to get tougher on Beijing, with Trump promising tariffs of 60 percent on all Chinese goods coming into the country.”We are expecting more details on the proposals to be passed,” said Heron Lim of Moody’s Analytics, including “how this extra funding would be allocated to address the near-term economic issues”.Nomura economists expect lawmakers this week to approve around a trillion yuan ($140 billion) in extra budget — mostly for indebted local governments.Observers also expect Beijing to approve a one-off one trillion yuan for banks, aimed at writing off non-performing loans over the past four years.Markets rose across Asia, with Hong Kong and Shanghai among the best performers, while Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington and Jakarta were also well up.Oil prices rose more than one percent after eight members of the OPEC+ group of producers said Sunday they would extend supply cuts until the end of next month.They had been delaying output hikes on worries about slowing demand in China and the United States.The commodity was also being supported by geopolitical tensions after Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned at the weekend that Israel and the United States “will definitely receive a tooth-breaking response” to Israeli attacks on October 26.That strike was in response to an October 1 barrage of about 200 missiles against its rival.- Key figures around 0230 GMT -Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 20,546.35 Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,282.42Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for a holidayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.0888 from $1.0833 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2975 from $1.2917Dollar/yen: DOWN at 151.79 yen from 153.01 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.92 from 83.86 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.5 percent at $70.50 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.4 percent at $74.09 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 42,052.19 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 8,177.15 (close)

In the bustling heart of Old Delhi, Indian bookseller Mohammed Mahfooz Alam sits forlorn in his quiet store, among the last few selling literature in a language beloved by poets for centuries.Urdu, spoken by many millions today, has a rich past that reflects how cultures melded to forge India’s complex history.But its literature has been subsumed by the cultural domination of Hindi, struggling against false perceptions that its elegant Perso-Arabic script makes it a foreign import and a language of Muslims in the Hindu-majority nation.”There was a time when, in a year, we would see 100 books being published,” said 52-year-old Alam, lamenting the loss of the language and its readership.The narrow streets of Urdu Bazaar, in the shadow of the 400-year-old Jama Masjid mosque, were once the core of the city’s Urdu literary community, a centre of printing, publishing and writing.Today, streets once crowded with Urdu bookstores abuzz with scholars debating literature are now thick with the aroma of sizzling kebabs from the restaurants that have replaced them.Only half a dozen bookstores are left.”Now, there are no takers,” Alam said, waving at the streets outside. “It is now a food market.”- Dying ‘day by day’ -Urdu, one of the 22 languages enshrined under India’s constitution, is the mother tongue of at least 50 million people in the world’s most populous country. Millions more speak it, as well as in neighbouring Pakistan.But while Urdu is largely understood by speakers of India’s most popular language Hindi, their scripts are entirely different.Alam says he can see Urdu literature dying “day by day”.The Maktaba Jamia bookshop he manages opened a century ago. Alam took over its running this year driven by his love for the language.”I have been sitting since morning, and barely four people have come,” he said gloomily. “And even those were college or school-going children who want their study books.”Urdu, sharing Hindi’s roots and mingled with words from Persian and Arabic, emerged as a hybrid speech between those who came to India through trade and conquest — and the people they settled down amongst.But Urdu has faced challenges in being viewed as connected to Islamic culture, a popular perception that has grown since the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in 2014.Hard-right Hindu nationalists seeking to diminish Islam’s place in India’s history have opposed its use: in the past decade, protests have ranged from the use of Urdu in clothing advertisements to even graffiti.”Urdu has been associated with Muslims, and that has hit the language too,” said Alam.”But it is not true. Everyone speaks Urdu. You go to villages, people speak Urdu. It is a very sweet language. There is peace in it.”- ‘Feel the beauty’ -For centuries, Urdu was a key language of governance.Sellers first set up stores in the Urdu Bazaar in the 1920s, selling stacks of books from literature to religion, politics and history — as well as texts in Arabic and Persian.By the 1980s, more lucrative fast-food restaurants slowly moved in, but the trade dropped dramatically in the past decade, with more than a dozen bookshops shutting down.”With the advent of the internet, everything became easily available on the mobile phone,” said Sikander Mirza Changezi, who co-founded a library to promote Urdu in Old Delhi in 1993.”People started thinking buying books is useless, and this hit the income of booksellers and publishers, and they switched to other businesses.”The Hazrat Shah Waliullah Public Library, which Changezi helped create, houses thousands of books including rare manuscripts and dictionaries.It is aimed at promoting the Urdu language.Student Adeeba Tanveer, 27, who has a masters degree in Urdu, said the library provided a space for those wanting to learn.”The love for Urdu is slowly coming back,” Tanveer told AFP, adding that her non-Muslim friends were also keen to learn.”It is such a beautiful language,” she said. “You feel the beauty when you speak it.”

Rohit Bal, one of India’s most acclaimed fashion designers, has died, his colleagues said Friday.Media reports said he died at the age of 63 after a long illness.”We mourn the passing of legendary designer Rohit Bal,” the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) said in a statement on Instagram.”Known for his unique blend of traditional patterns with modern sensibilities, Bal’s work redefined Indian fashion, and inspired generations.”According to his website, Bal graduated from St. Stephen’s College in New Delhi with a degree in history.He then worked in his family’s export business for a few years before launching his label and designer line in 1990.In his work Bal”draws from influences, wide and varied,” says a promotional statement on his site.”From the village crafts and traditional methods of design that India is so rich in, to the transient phenomenon of the subcontinent’s urban landscape, the designer brings them all to life.”FDCI chairman Sunil Sethi said on Instagram that the passing of Pal, popularly called Gudda, “will leave a void in the fashion design space forever.””Everyone admired him for his attention to detail, how beautifully his lotus bloomed on modern shapes and his understanding of what modern women desired,” Sethi said.

Kansai International Airport in Japan can’t be held responsible for the less superlative performance of airlines or other stops on a traveller’s journey, but it claims its handlers never lose a bag.In 30 years of operation, the airport serving the region around Osaka and Kyoto says it has never lost a suitcase, a set of golf clubs, a stroller or anything in fact — a feat its employees humbly shrug off as nothing special.”We just follow the work processes and rules and do what we have to do,” Tsuyoshi Habuta, supervisor at CKTS, one of the handling companies at Kansai, told AFP.There is no “special training” but Habuta and his teams handle more than 3,000 pieces of luggage every day with attention to detail.”We carefully handle suitcases to avoid shocks. Suitcase handles are aligned in a direction that is easy for customers to pick up,” Habuta said.”We hand fragile items, strollers, surfboards and skis directly to passengers,” he said.Luggage is on the carousel inside in the terminal building “within 15 minutes of the aircraft’s arrival to minimise stress of customers,” he added.One of Japan’s busiest international airports, Kansai was ranked the World’s Best Airport for Baggage Delivery by UK-based airport rating organisation SKYTRAX in April.”Everyone at the Kansai Airport is proud of this,” co-CEO of the airport Benoit Rulleau told AFP.Rulleau acknowledged that it is easier to achieve zero lost bags at an airport such as Kansai, which serves relatively few connecting passengers.But he said the achievement reflects the “incredible devotion” of the airport’s staff. The number of lost or delayed bags has sharply decreased globally in the past decade thanks to technology, said Nicole Hogg, baggage portfolio director at SITA, a Geneve-based IT services provider in the air transport industry.”If you think about the passenger volumes that we have, 6.9 bags being mishandled (per 1,000 passengers) is a very low figure,” Hogg told AFP.”A decade ago, we were in double figures,” she said, adding “the industry investing in technology is definitely paying off.”She explained that baggage is rarely mishandled when passengers have no connections.”The complexity really comes in the transfer process where passengers have short connection times and they’re trying to get from one flight to another,” she said.Kansai recently returned to its pre-pandemic level of 25 million international passengers a year.Ahead of the Osaka Expo 2025 it has gone through a renovation with a new security checkpoint that allows for an even smoother experience.Rulleau said the airport will be able to accommodate up to 40 million passengers a year — and probably none of them will lose their bag.

Indonesia has banned the sale of Google Pixel phones over the tech giant’s failure to meet investment regulations, its industry ministry said, days after blocking sales of Apple’s iPhone 16.Jakarta is seeking to boost investment from foreign tech companies with restrictive measures that require their phones to be 40 percent sourced from parts in Indonesia.”We declared that as long as those products don’t… meet the scheme we have required, they cannot be sold in Indonesia,” industry ministry spokesperson Febri Hendri Antoni Arif told a press briefing Thursday.”For Google Pixel, they have not obtained the TKDN certificate,” he added, using the acronym of the scheme that imposes the 40 percent rule.Google Indonesia did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.Southeast Asia’s biggest economy has a young, tech-savvy population with more than 100 million people under the age of 30 that tech companies are seeking to capitalise on.Around 22,000 Google Pixel phones had entered Indonesia this year, according to industry ministry data.Indonesia’s smartphone market shipment share in the second quarter of the year was dominated by China’s Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, as well as South Korea’s Samsung, according to Counterpoint Research.The ministry said last week phones blocked from commercial sale could still be carried into Indonesia as long as they were not being traded.It said iPhone 16 phones had also not met the 40 percent local part requirement.Apple does not have an official store in Indonesia, but chief executive Tim Cook visited in April as the firm explores ways to invest in the country.

Global stocks slid Thursday as investors fretted over results from tech giants and remained risk-averse ahead of a coin-toss US election.Data showing the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure cooled further last month — and now sits just above its long-term target — failed to boost sentiment, despite being a positive sign for future interest-rate cuts.All three major US indices fell, with the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index falling nearly three percent.Both Microsoft and Meta topped earnings estimates, but saw their share prices tumble after signaling plans to ratchet up AI investments. Microsoft ended down 6.1 percent while Meta lost 4.1 percent.”Earnings expectations have been high and they’re meeting, but they’re not meeting to the same degree they were,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset Capital Management.Analysts have also been monitoring the rise in US Treasury bond yields amid expectations the Federal Reserve may back off significant interest rate cuts, amid US economic data that has generally been solid. “With the US election just around the corner, many investors are adopting a more cautious stance, sparking speculation of a much-anticipated correction in the S&P 500,” said City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.The uncertainty of whether Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will emerge victorious in Tuesday’s election buoyed safe haven gold, which touched a fresh high of $2,790.10 an ounce on Thursday. In Europe, both Frankfurt and Paris ended the day lower around one percent after official data showed the eurozone’s annual inflation rebounded more than expected in October due to rising food costs.Shares in French bank Societe Generale jumped over 11 percent after it reported better-than-expected results. Meanwhile its rival BNP Paribas saw its shares slump nearly five percent after results fell short of expectations.London shed 0.6 percent after the new center-left government unveiled major tax hikes, mainly targeted at businesses, in its maiden budget. “This was one of the largest increases in tax, spending and borrowing in the UK’s budget history,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.”For a government that planned to boost growth, they have fallen spectacularly at the first hurdle,” she added.Tokyo fell by half a percent, weighed down by a stronger yen and a drop in stocks linked to the semiconductor industry, which also dipped on Wall Street.The Bank of Japan decided to leave its main interest rate unchanged, saying in an outlook report that there were “high uncertainties surrounding Japan’s economic activities and prices.”Mainland Chinese markets, however, made healthy gains following a forecast-beating manufacturing report — in a piece of rare good news for leaders struggling to boost activity in the world’s second-largest economy.Oil prices continued their rebound, fueled by good news on demand from the United States, as well as by press reports that OPEC countries are considering postponing an increase in crude supply.- Key figures around 2030 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.9 percent at 41,763.46 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 1.9 percent at 5,705.45 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 2.8 percent at 18,095.15 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 8,110.10 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 1.1 percent at 7,350.37 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.9 percent at 19,077.54 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 39,081.25 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 20,317.33 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,279.82 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0883 from $1.0856 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2896 from $1.2981Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.00 yen from 153.42 yenEuro/pound: UP at 84.38 from 83.63 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.8 percent at $73.16 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.0 percent at $69.26 per barrelburs-jmb/nro

Global stocks slid Thursday as investors digested disappointing tech results and remained risk-adverse ahead of a coin-toss US election.Data showing the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure cooled further last month and now sits just above its long-term target — a positive sign for future interest-rate cuts — failed to boost sentiment.Microsoft and Facebook-parent Meta reported expectations-beating results Wednesday following the closing bell, but saw their share prices fall.”Both Microsoft and Meta topped earnings expectations, yet the stocks are being victimized by high expectations, valuation angst, and festering concerns about the timing and scope of returns on their massive AI investment activity,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.Microsoft shares fell five percent after the opening bell. Meta shares slid 1.6 percent.”The response to their reports has tempered investor enthusiasm for the reports from Apple and Amazon.com after today’s close,” he added.Wall Street’s three main indices slid at the start of trading, with O’Hare also pointing to an increase in US government bond yields as also weighing upon equities.Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said traders were “wary of taking on new risk as the US election countdown begins”.Uncertainty over the outcome of the upcoming US elections, meanwhile, buoyed safe haven gold, which touched a fresh high of $2,790.10 an ounce on Thursday. In Europe, both Frankfurt and Paris were lower after official data showed the eurozone’s annual inflation rebounded more than expected in October due to rising food costs.Shares in French bank Societe Generale jumped over 10 percent after it reported better-than-expected results. Meanwhile its rival BNP Paribas saw its shares slump over four percent after results fell short of expectations.London shed 0.8 percent after the new centre-left government unveiled major tax hikes, mainly targeted at businesses, in its maiden budget. “This was one of the largest increases in tax, spending and borrowing in the UK’s budget history”, said Kathleen Brooks, research director at traders XTB.”For a government that planned to boost growth, they have fallen spectacularly at the first hurdle,” she added.Tokyo fell by half a percent, weighed down by a stronger yen and a drop in stocks linked to the semiconductor industry, which also dipped on Wall Street.The Bank of Japan decided to leave its main interest rate unchanged, saying in an outlook report that there were “high uncertainties surrounding Japan’s economic activities and prices”.Mainland Chinese markets, however, made healthy gains following a forecast-beating manufacturing report — in a piece of rare good news for leaders struggling to boost activity in the world’s second-largest economy.Oil prices continued their rebound, fuelled by good news on demand from the United States, as well as by press reports that OPEC countries are considering postponing an increase in crude supply.- Key figures around 1330 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.8 percent at 41,938.08 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.8 percent at 5,768.215New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.8 percent at 18263.77London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.8 percent at 8,092.36Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.7 percent at 7,376.98Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 19,171.51Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 39,081.25 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 20,317.33 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,279.82 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0883 from $1.0861 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2989 from $1.2969Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.69 yen from 153.35 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.80 from 83.75 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.2 percent at $72.99 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.3 percent at $69.47 per barrelburs-rl/cw

The EU on Thursday hit Chinese-founded shopping platform Temu with a probe over concerns the site is doing too little to stop the sale of illegal products, in an investigation that could lead to large fines.Extremely popular in the European Union despite having entered the continent’s market only last year, Temu has on average around 92 million monthly active users in the bloc.The investigation will also look at dangers from the platform’s use of gamification and “potentially addictive design” that could hurt users’ “physical and mental well-being,” said the European Commission, the EU’s powerful digital watchdog.The probe is being launched under a mammoth law known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) that forces the world’s largest tech firms to do more to protect European consumers online.”We want to ensure that Temu is complying with the Digital Services Act. Particularly in ensuring that products sold on their platform meet EU standards and do not harm consumers,” EU tech chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.The EU wants to know more about the systems Temu has in place to “limit the sale” and how it avoids the “reappearance” of illegal products — once removed — such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and toys as well as counterfeit goods.The company said it “takes its obligations under the DSA seriously”.”We will cooperate fully with regulators to support our shared goal of a safe, trusted marketplace for consumers,” a Temu spokesperson said in a statement.Temu is in talks about joining a European agreement facilitated by the commission that brings shopping platforms and others together to stop the sale of fake products online.- ‘Promising step’ -The company will also have to explain what measures it is taking to address any risks from its service, including game-like reward programmes.The probe comes after Temu submitted a risk assessment report to the EU, as well as replies to several demands for information, the latest issued on October 11.The firm can avoid fines if it makes commitments during the investigation that the EU believes alleviates its concerns.European consumer groups have previously warned that Temu breaches EU law.They lodged a complaint in May with the commission, accusing Temu of using “manipulative techniques” to make users spend more and other violations.Europe’s BEUC umbrella consumer rights group on Thursday welcomed the probe.”This decision by the commission is a promising step, but only the first. Now, it’s important the commission keeps up the pressure on Temu and pushes the company to comply with the law as soon as possible,” said BEUC’s Fernando Hortal Foronda.- Multiple probes -The EU probe will also look at Temu’s systems and how they recommend content and products to users and analyse the platform’s data access to researchers.Temu will also have to provide more details about the “parameters” of its recommender systems, which are used by platforms to push more personalised content.The EU stressed that the “opening of formal proceedings does not prejudge its outcome” and there is no deadline for the probe’s completion.Temu is among 25 “very large” online platforms that must comply with the DSA or risk fines that could reach as high as six percent of their global turnover, or even a ban for serious and repeated violations.Other shopping platforms that must comply with the DSA include Chinese online retailer AliExpress, US giant Amazon and Chinese-founded Shein.Other DSA investigations have targeted AliExpress, social media platform X, which is owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk and used to be called Twitter, as well as Facebook and Instagram owned by Meta.