Israel said it would not fully withdraw its troops from Lebanon by the end of the weekend, the deadline it had agreed in a ceasefire deal with Hizbullah. The Israeli government argued the militant group had yet to enforce its side of the agreement, which was brokered in November. Lebanon said Israel’s move would end the ceasefire; America is negotiating with both sides to save the deal.
The Bank of Japan raised its policy rate from 0.25 to “around” 0.5%, the highest level in 17 years. The decision, which was expected, came after America’s president, Donald Trump, held off imposing tariffs, at least for now, calming markets’ fears. The bank also lifted its core-inflation outlook, a positive sign for a country hoping to escape decades of deflation.
America’s Senate moved to hold a vote on whether to confirm Pete Hegseth as secretary of defence. The decision was close—two Republicans joined all of the Democrats in voting against moving the confirmation procedure to its final stage. Questions have been raised over Mr Hegseth’s personal life and qualifications to lead the Pentagon. The vote is expected today. If two more Republicans defect, he will lose.
Monte dei Paschi di Siena, a problem child of the Italian banking system, proposed a “friendly” takeover of Mediobanca, a larger rival, for $13.9bn. Italy’s government, which bailed out the world’s oldest bank in 2017, has been seeking to consolidate the financial sector. A plan to merge MPS with Banco BPM was scuppered by a hostile takeover attempt by UniCredit, Italy’s biggest bank.
Boeing said it expects to lose $3.9bn in the October-December quarter, as the planemaker counted the cost of a two-month strike that paralysed aircraft production. It also lost money on some big military contracts in America. Reporting preliminary results, the firm estimated revenue for the most recent quarter to be $15.2bn, around $1.4bn lower than analysts expected.
America’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, held his first phone call with Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, according to Chinese authorities. Mr Rubio was known for his tough stance on China during his time as a senator; the country introduced sanctions against him in 2020. Mr Wang said he hoped Mr Rubio would “play a constructive role” in the countries’ relations.
Singapore’s central bank loosened its monetary policy for the first time in nearly five years. The bank said it would slightly reduce the slope of its exchange-rate policy band, allowing for a slower rate of appreciation, citing a faster-than-expected decline in inflation and “trade frictions”. GDP growth is expected to drop from 4% in 2024 to between 1% and 3% over 2025.
Figure of the day: 27%, the extension of wildfire seasons around the world between 1979 and 2019. Read the full story.
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