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Australia's Central Bank Keeps Interest Rates on Hold

Australia Tuesday kept interest rates at 2.0 percent after slashing them to a record low last month, and called for a weaker currency to help counter a sluggish economy struggling with soft business spending.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has been loosening monetary policy as the country exits an unprecedented China-driven mining investment boom and non-resources industries strain to fill the gap.

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Japan's Pension System Hacked with 1.25 Million Personal Data Leaks

Japan's pension service said Monday it suffered a hack attack that led to 1.25 million cases of personal data being leaked.

An employee opened an e-mail with a virus, triggering the release of client names, pension account numbers, birth dates and addresses, it said, adding that the breach was discovered last week.

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Malaysia Airlines 'Technically Bankrupt', New CEO Says

Malaysia Airlines is "technically bankrupt", its new German CEO said Monday as he outlined plans to stabilize the failing flag carrier including 6,000 job cuts.

"We are technically bankrupt and that decline of performance started long before the tragic events of 2014," Christoph Mueller told reporters, referring to two deadly disasters that rocked the airline last year.

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Nigeria Anti-Graft Agency Arrests over 20 Bankers for Fraud

Nigeria's anti-corruption agency has arrested six senior officials from the country's central bank and 16 from commercial banks over alleged currency fraud, a spokesman told Agence France Presse on Monday.

"Six senior officials of the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) and 16 others from various commercial banks across the country were arrested over currency fraud," said Wilson Uwujaren.

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Indonesian Inflation Accelerates on Higher Food Prices

Indonesia's inflation accelerated in May to its highest level in five months due to increased food prices, data showed Monday, as people stocked up before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The consumer price index rose 7.15 percent year-on-year, according to the official statistics agency, faster than expected and up from a 6.79 percent increase in April. It was the highest level since 8.36 percent in December. 

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Greece, Growth Worries Keep Cap on Wall Street

Another volatile week marked by distrust over the U.S. growth rebound and Greece's debt talks prevented U.S. markets from locking in recent record highs.

Tech stocks brooked most of the selling pressure, with the Nasdaq Composite scoring a fresh record Wednesday, but investors mostly saw more to worry about than reason to push ahead.

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Yen's Slide Continues; Euro Edges Higher vs Dollar

The yen slid to a fresh 12-year low against the dollar Friday as growth in the two major economies continued to diverge.

The euro meanwhile edged higher against the greenback amid fresh pressure from the G7 on Greece and official creditors to reach a new financing deal before the country defaults on its debt.

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Turkish Authorities Take Control of Bank Tied to Erdogan Foe

Turkish authorities announced Friday they had taken control of the country's 10th largest lender, Bank Aysa, which is linked to an ally-turned-foe of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

In a statement, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency said it had handed over the reins of the bank to the state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) eight days before legislative elections on June 7.

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G7 Agrees Chinese Yuan Should be in IMF Currency Basket

The Group of Seven countries are in fundamental agreement that the Chinese yuan should be part of the IMF's international basket of reference currencies, but there is no need to rush it, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Friday.

"There are technical issues and not just technical ones" to sort out, Schaeuble told a news conference concluding a meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors. "We are in full agreement on the goal, but it would not be good to rush it," he added.

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Losses on Resources Front Pressure Syrian Regime on Revenues

With most of its natural and mineral resources having fallen under rebel control, Syrian state revenues have shrunk, leaving the government dependent on unstable sources of income for its survival.

Four years of conflict have decimated the state coffers.

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