Evening Briefing: Asia

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China’s factory prices fell at a slower pace in August, an encouraging development for an economy mired in deflation. Producer prices slid 2.9%, extending a years-long streak of negative readings, but still an improvement from July’s steeper drop.

It’s a tentative sign that Beijing’s campaign to rein in overcapacity in sectors ranging from solar to steel and cement might be having an impact. The so-called “anti-involution” campaign has picked up pace in recent months, spurring hopes that industrial oversupply, which had weighed on prices of commodities and factory inputs, may ease.

Wednesday’s price report also showed the uphill battle China faces in tackling deflation. Consumer prices fell 0.4% from a year earlier, worse than every estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.—Jiyeun Lee

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Donald Trump floated new tariffs on India and China as a way to pressure President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table with Ukraine. The US president told European officials he’s willing to impose sweeping new levies, but only if EU nations do so as well. He took a more conciliatory tone toward India in a social media post, saying the US and India were continuing negotiations to address trade barriers.

Container trucks parked at a port in Navi Mumbai, India. Photographer: Abeer Khan/Bloomberg

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook scored an early win in her fight against Trump’s dismissal attempt. A judge temporarily blocked her removal, meaning Cook can likely attend the Fed’s policy meeting on Sept. 16-17. The judge concluded that the alleged mortgage misconduct likely didn’t amount to “cause” to fire her under the Federal Reserve Act.

Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, said it will slash 9,000 jobs globally and cut its profit forecast for the third time this year. The Danish weight-loss drugmaker aims to save 8 billion kroner ($1.3 billion) by the end of 2026 as it fights to recover ground lost to its more efficient rival Eli Lilly. Novo’s fortunes started to shift last year when an even stronger experimental shot, CagriSema, fell short of expectations in a clinical trial.

The Novo Nordisk A/S logo on a wall at their pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Hillerod, Denmark. Photographer: Charlotte de la Fuente/Bloomberg

Larry Ellison is closing in on Elon Musk for the title of the world’s richest person. His fortune soared $70 billion after Oracle reported quarterly results that topped expectations and said there’s more growth to come. The gains lifted his total fortune to $364 billion, within striking distance of Musk who sits at $384 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Schroders became the latest global asset manager to be caught up in Hong Kong’s commercial property meltdown. In just a few months, two assets managed by its property investment arm have been seized by creditors. It now faces a new challenge relating to a loan for a three-floor commercial space at Harbourfront Landmark, which was not repaid on the original maturity date.

Anshul Sidher, global markets chief at ANZ Group Holdings, is leaving the troubled Australian lender to pursue other opportunities. ANZ has been battling with missteps in its markets unit, and Sidher’s abrupt exit comes as his division was under scrutiny for its role in a bond sale in 2023. ANZ is cutting 3,500 jobs over the next 12 months as part of his wide-ranging revamp.

The sudden reshuffle in Indonesia’s finance ministry leadership had left one big question unanswered: Was Sri Mulyani Indrawati fired, or did she step down? It appears to have been a mix of both. President Prabowo Subianto rejected Indrawati’s offer to resign after her house was ransacked by protesters, but changed his mind as advisers convinced him a reshuffle was necessary, according to people familiar with the situation.

Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia's outgoing finance minister, takes selfie photographs as she leaves a handover ceremony in Jakarta. Photographer: Rosa Panggabean/Bloomberg/Bloomberg

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Hamza Lemssouguer became a star at Credit Suisse by making massive trades on risky corporate debt until he and the Swiss bank ended up parting ways.

Now out on his own, his London-based hedge fund Arini Capital Management has become a dominant force in Europe's market for reworking the debt of ailing companies.

His latest blitz on Europe’s junk-debt market has paid dividends so far, with the firm posting a 17% return through August this year, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. And investors are throwing money his way. But his readiness to write fat checks and blow rivals out of the water is also prompting unease and envy in the tightknit world of distressed investing.

Hamza Lemssouguer, founder and chief investment officer of Arini. Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

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