growth

April 16 (Asia Today) — China’s economy grew 5.0% in the first quarter, exceeding expectations despite concerns over the impact of the Iran conflict, official data showed Thursday.

The National Bureau of Statistics said gross domestic product rose 5.0% from a year earlier, topping the 4.8% forecast by economists surveyed by Reuters and Bloomberg.

The stronger-than-expected growth was driven by manufacturing and exports. Industrial production rose 5.7% in March from a year earlier, while retail sales increased just 1.7%, highlighting weak consumer recovery.

High-tech industries showed particularly strong momentum. Output in the sector rose 12.5% in the first quarter, with industrial robot production up 33% and integrated circuit output increasing 24%. Manufacturing accounted for about one-third of overall economic growth.

The impact of the Iran conflict has so far been limited. Bloomberg reported that China’s efforts to bolster energy security, along with prolonged deflationary pressures, helped cushion the shock from rising oil prices. However, some effects were visible, including a 2.2% decline in refined oil production in March.

Domestic demand remains a key concern. Real per capita consumption rose just 2.6%, while wage growth slowed. The urban unemployment rate reached 5.4%, the highest level in a year.

Investment indicators were also weak. Fixed-asset investment increased 1.7% in the first three months of the year, while real estate investment fell 11.2%. Private investment declined for the first time outside the pandemic period.

Analysts said China’s economy continues to show an “imbalanced structure,” with growth driven by exports and manufacturing while domestic demand lags. Falling sales of automobiles, home appliances and furniture further point to soft consumption.

Policy responses are expected to remain measured. With growth exceeding expectations, pressure for large-scale stimulus has eased, and the government has set a relatively modest annual growth target of 4.5% to 5%.

Still, targeted fiscal support and cost-cutting measures are likely to continue to address rising energy prices and external uncertainties. Some economists also see room for monetary easing, including a possible reduction in banks’ reserve requirement ratio.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260416010005290

Japan’s producer prices increased by 2.6% year-on-year in March 2026, up from a revised 2.1% in the previous month and exceeding the expected 2.4%. This marked the fastest annual growth since November, driven by high-cost pressures.

Monthly, producer prices rose by 0.8%, improving

April 9 (UPI) — The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis revised the rate of economic growth for the fourth quarter of 2025 down Thursday due largely to slower-than-expected investment.

The annual rate of growth for gross domestic product was revised downward from 0.7% to 0.5% to end 2025. The Commerce Department said the revision primarily reflects a downward revision to investment.

“Within investment, the downward revision was led by private inventory investment, particularly wholesale trade, based on updated U.S. Census Bureau inventory data,” Thursday’s GDP report said.

Thursday’s report is the third estimate of economic growth for the fourth quarter of 2025. It was slated to be published on March 27 but was delayed due to the government shutdown in October and November.

Gains in wholesale trade, information services and healthcare were offset by declines in the federal government and nondurable goods manufacturing. Private service-producing industries tallied a 2.3% gain in real value added to the GDP while the federal government’s contribution decreased by 7.8%.

Thirty-five states posted gains to GDP, led by North Dakota at 3.8%. The District of Columbia, where many federal employees are located, had a decrease of 8.3%.

North Dakota was also one of three states with a decrease in personal incomes, down 4%. Personal incomes also declined in South Dakota by 2% and Iowa by 1.5%.

Sony Pictures Entertainment plans to lay off a few hundred employees globally in a move to restructure its business.

The cuts, announced Tuesday afternoon, are set to affect employees who work across Sony’s film, TV and corporate divisions the company said, declining to specify how many would lose their jobs.

Sony said the cuts reflect a shift in business strategy under its new chief executive, Ravi Ahuja.

“As we lean into those priorities, we need to operate with greater focus, speed, and alignment to strengthen our differentiated capabilities,” said Ahuja in a statement. “To support our growth, we are aligning our organization with where the business is going — not where it has been. That requires changes to how we are structured and where we invest.”

Ahuja, who was promoted just over a year ago, added that the company is ”reducing roles in certain areas while increasing focus and investment in others that are most critical to our future.”

Sony plans to focus on franchise strategy and brand extension with game shows, as well as develop more anime, experiences and invest in content that will connect with a younger audience. This includes more game adaptations and growing its YouTube capabilities.

One of the studio’s biggest franchises is the “Spider-Man” universe, which includes both live-action films starring actors like Tom Holland and the Oscar-winning animated “Spider-Verse” movies. The studio is set to release the latest live-action installment, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” this summer. The previous movie “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was a major win for Sony as it generated $1.9B globally.

Sony Pictures operates under its Japanese parent company Sony Group Corp, alongside other subsidiaries like Sony Music Group and Sony Electronics. The film studio was established in 1987 and maintains a strong presence in Culver City.

Recently, the studio acquired the “Peanuts” comic in a $457-million deal, reupped the “Reading Rainbow” for a YouTube audience and is working on PlayStation adaptations for video games like “Helldivers” and “God of War.”

The company has also combined its game-show group with its nonfiction TV department and is slowing down areas of its business that have low growth, like the VFX and virtual production studio, Pixomondo.

The layoffs are the latest to hit Hollywood, which has been hard hit by the exodus of film and TV jobs to other states and countries, a cutback in the number of films being released and media consolidation. Last year, Paramount cut 10% of its workforce after it was acquired by David Ellison’s Skydance Media.

Global streaming revenue surged to $150 billion last year, driven largely by an increase in prices by Netflix and other streamers, according to a new report.

In 2025, global streaming subscription revenue grew by 14%, reaching a total of over $157 billion, the report from Ampere Analysis found. In the last five years, revenue has tripled from the $50 billion seen in 2020.

Streamers continue to dominate the digital distribution market with rising monthly subscription fees , more consumers choosing subscriptions with ads, and platforms expanding their global reach.

“As the streaming market matures, the emphasis is no longer on pure subscriber growth but on extracting greater value from existing audiences,” said Lauren Liversedge, a senior analyst at Ampere Analysis. She noted that the growth is happening “particularly in the most competitive markets.”

Over the next five years, Ampere Analysis estimates subscription revenue will grow by another 29%, potentially reaching over $200 billion worldwide by 2030.

The U.S. is the largest driver of this revenue growth, as the country accounts for 50% of 2025’s global streaming subscription revenue, per Ampere Analysis. Netflix accounted for the largest revenue share in the U.S. at 14%. Last week, the company also announced a price hike, where its premium tier costs $27 a month. This marks the second time in a little over a year that the streaming service raised its fees.

“Our approach remains the same: We continue offering a range of prices and plans to meet a variety of needs, and as we deliver more value to our members we are updating our prices to enable us to reinvest in quality entertainment and improve their experience by updating our prices,” said a Netflix spokesperson in a statement.

It’s not the only streaming service to increase its prices, as Disney+, HBO Max and Apple TV made similar moves last year.

Recent data from Deloitte highlights some of the price sensitivity U.S. streaming audiences are experiencing. More than two-thirds of streaming subscribers are now opting for ads, marking a 20% increase from 2024.

That cost-conscious sentimentexpands beyond North America, reaching Western Europe, according to Ampere Analysis. The total revenue from ad tiers has risen rapidly across these markets over the past five years, up from less than 5% in 2020 to 28% in 2025.

But even as consumers demonstrate their willingness to pay less and watch ads, streaming platforms still benefit, making money from both subscription fees and advertising. When accounting for that ad revenue, streaming services generated closer to $177 billion in global revenue last year. Advertising is expected to become an even more important revenue stream for these companies, as ads alone could add $42 billion in annual revenue by 2030, per Ampere Analysis.

March 26 (Asia Today) — The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut South Korea’s 2026 growth forecast to 1.7% from 2.1%, citing the economic fallout from rising energy prices and supply disruptions linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

The OECD released the revised outlook Thursday in its interim economic report, which said the conflict has disrupted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, pushed up energy costs and added uncertainty to global demand.

South Korea’s downgrade of 0.4 percentage points was one of the largest among Group of 20 economies, according to the report. The OECD kept its 2027 growth forecast for South Korea unchanged at 2.1%.

The OECD also raised its forecast for South Korea’s inflation this year to 2.7%, up 0.9 percentage points from its previous projection. It said inflation is expected to ease to 2.0% next year as energy price pressures fade.

The report said countries that depend heavily on imported energy are especially vulnerable if the Middle East conflict drags on, as higher fuel costs can weigh on output and feed broader price pressures.

Despite the downgrade, the OECD said South Korea’s medium-term outlook remains relatively stable, with growth expected to recover next year if current energy disruptions prove temporary. The organization said its projections assume energy prices begin easing in mid-2026.

South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance said it would maintain emergency readiness, warning that the economic impact could widen if the Middle East war continues longer than expected.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260326010008288

The National People’s Congress signals firm stance against corruption as China’s 15th five-year plan is approved.

China’s annual legislative meeting is wrapping up after setting the country’s lowest economic growth target in nearly 30 years, excluding during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Nearly 3,000 delegates participating in the National People’s Congress (NPC) were due on Thursday to formally approve an economic growth target of “4.5 to 5 percent”, as set out in China’s latest five-year plan.

The 15th iteration of the five-year plan, an economic roadmap for 2026 to 2030, also set targets for inflation, the fiscal deficit ratio and urban unemployment.

China has set the longterm goal of becoming a “moderately developed” country by 2035 and raising gross domestic product (GDP) per capita to $20,000. The figure was $13,303 in 2024, according to the World Bank.

Planners in Beijing also continue to grapple with deep economic problems driven by the collapse of the property sector, low consumer confidence and a prolonged period of deflation.

China’s targets for the next five years include industrial self-reliance and increased state support for industries such as AI, aerospace, aviation, biomedicine and integrated circuits, as well as the development of “future energy, quantum technology, embodied artificial intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, and 6G technology”, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.

Beijing also aims to expand the use of the digital yuan, known as the e-CNY, to improve cross-border payments, according to the Reuters news agency. The digital currency is currently under development by the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank.

Among the most closely watched elements of the NPC over the past week has been the release of government “work reports” from China’s many government ministries, which give insight into China’s progress in meeting its goals and the direction of its future policy.

The NPC’s Standing Committee released a work report indicating that China will soon pass a law on combatting cross-border corruption, Xinhua said.

The measure is seen as an extension of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s long-running anticorruption drive across the Chinese state, military and private sector.

The campaign appears to be gaining momentum as the Supreme People’s Court, China’s highest court, reported a 22.4 percent increase in corruption cases last year involving 36,000 individuals, according to Xinhua.

The state also recovered 18.14 billion yuan ($2.63bn) as part of its anticorruption crackdown in 2025, Xinhua said.

China’s military also identified combatting corruption as an important target in its annual work report, as well as ensuring political loyalty to Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.

The NPC typically runs for a week, and it is held alongside the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body.

The meetings are known as the “Two Sessions”, and they bring thousands of delegates to Beijing to approve short- and mid-term policy measures.