- England captain Stokes back from injury for second Pakistan Test
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as markets rally
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as Asian markets rally
- South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone flights anger North
- Pakistan 'vigilantes' behind rise in online blasphemy cases
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- Smith experiment as Test opener over, Green out of India series
- With inflation down, ECB eyes faster tempo of rate cuts
- Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate
- Dodgers crush Mets 9-0 in MLB playoff series opener
- South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone tensions soar
- Cummins back, Marsh and Head out of Pakistan ODI series
- Shanghai stocks swing after stimulus briefing as most of Asia rises
- New Zealand's Latham promises 'no fear' as he takes charge for India Tests
- Kyrgios vows to 'shut up' doubters with December comeback
- Public hearings start into death of Brit by Russian nerve agent
- Ex-Stasi officer faces verdict over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Role of government, poverty research tipped for economics Nobel
- 'Stolen satire' feeds US election misinformation
- Rookie McCarty captures first PGA Tour title in Black Desert Championship
- Australia all-rounder Green ruled out of India Test series
- Seeing double in Nigeria's 'twins capital of the world'
- UK FM to attend EU foreign affairs talks for first time in 2 years
- Carter, Billups among 13 new Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
- Ravens rip Commanders as Lions lose NFL sacks leader in win
- Hezbollah drone strike kills four, wounds dozens at Israeli base
- China says launches military drills around Taiwan
- Stewart leads Liberty past Lynx to level WNBA Finals
- England return to winning ways in Nations League, Austria thrash Norway
- UN chief says attacks on UNIFIL 'may constitute a war crime'
- Ravens outlast Commanders while Bucs batter Saints in NFL
- Dozens hurt in Israel as Hezbollah claims drone strike
- England deserve 'world class' coach: Carsley
- Burkina Faso win to become first qualifiers for 2025 AFCON
- AC Milan's Pulisic among five out for USA match in Mexico
- France's Amandine Henry retires from international football
- Centre-left set to win pro-Ukraine Lithuania's vote
- India's World Cup hopes in Pakistan hands after Australia defeat
- Zelensky says NKorea sending troops to Russian army
- England beat Finland to get back on track
- King and Lewis propel West Indies to T20 triumph over Sri Lanka
- Pre-Halloween 'Terrifier' lands atop North America box office
- 'I still plan to compete and play next season,' says Djokovic
- Harris, Trump seek advantage in knife-edge election battle
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record in Chicago
- Kamindu and Asalanka power Sri Lanka to 179 against West Indies
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record as Korir wins in Chicago
- Spain send injured Yamal home 'to prioritise player's health'
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Iraq walks fine line with pro-Iran factions to avoid war
Moody's downgrades outlook on China credit rating over debt fears
Ratings agency Moody's on Tuesday downgraded the outlook on China's credit rating to "negative" from "stable" on the back of rising debt in the world's second-largest economy, with Beijing saying it was "disappointed" by the move.
The change "reflects rising evidence that financial support will be provided by the government and wider public sector to financially stressed regional and local governments and state-owned enterprises", the US agency said in a note.
This, it said, was "posing broad downside risks to China's fiscal, economic and institutional strength".
The move "reflects the increased risks related to structurally and persistently lower medium-term economic growth and the ongoing downsizing of the property sector", it added.
China's vast property sector -- which accounts for about a quarter of gross domestic product -- is mired in a deep debt crisis, with some of the nation's biggest developers owing hundreds of billions of dollars and facing going out of business.
Beijing's finance ministry said in response it was "disappointed with Moody's decision".
"Since the beginning of this year, facing a complex and severe international situation and against the backdrop of unstable global economic recovery and weakening momentum, China's macro economy has continued to recover," a spokesperson said.
China's recovery has been hampered by weak consumer and business confidence, the persistent housing crisis, record youth unemployment and a global slowdown which is weighing on demand for Chinese goods.
After a tough year for the world's number-two economy, there have been flickers of life in recent weeks, with third-quarter growth coming in more than expected at 4.9 percent.
M.Fischer--AMWN