News in Brief
China new home prices tick up
AFP – China’s new home prices rose slightly in September, breaking a four-month decline, data showed on Sunday, as developers sped up launches to take advantage of a recent slew of support measures.
Prices rose 0.05% on average from the previous month after falling since May, according to a survey by China Index Academy, a real estate research firm. Only 30 of the 100 cities surveyed reported a fall in new home prices.
Italy plans €21b asset sell-off
CNBC – Italy aims to raise at least 1% of gross domestic product (GDP), or roughly 21 billion euros ($22.2 billion), through asset sales between 2024 and 2026, the Treasury said in its Economic and Financial Document (DEF).
The plan is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s efforts to keep in check the euro zone’s second-largest debt pile as a proportion of GDP, while investors keep a close eye on Rome’s creaking public finances.
South Korea September exports fall
REUTERS – South Korea’s exports slowed their fall in September, in contrast to market expectations, marking the mildest decline in a yearlong downturn, a hopeful sign for the global economy from the bellwether industrial economy.
Overseas sales by Asia’s fourth-largest economy fell 4.4% from a year earlier to $54.66 billion, trade data showed on Sunday, compared with an 8.3% loss in August and a 9.1% decline tipped in a Reuters survey of economists.