Australia’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate at the highest level in the developed world as floods disrupt coal mining in the nation’s northeast and a rising currency tempers inflation. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens held the overnight cash rate target at 4.75 percent for a fourth straight meeting, as forecast by all 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. He calle

HONG KONG (AFP) ― The world’s highest hotel opened its doors in Hong Kong on Tuesday, housed in the city’s tallest skyscraper and offering unrivalled panoramic views of the world famous Victoria Harbor.Towering some 490 meters above the bustling, chaotic streets of the Southern Chinese city, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel is making a grand comeback after temporarily closing in 2008.Visitors peered out of

Porsche SE, the sports-car maker that plans to merge with Volkswagen AG, will start 5 billion euros ($7 billion) share sale March 30 to reduce debt. The carmaker’s supervisory and executive boards signed off on the plan to sell shares at 38 euros apiece to current owners, Stuttgart, Germany-based Porsche said in a statement late Sunday. One existing share carries the right to subscribe to 0.75 new

At a near-empty B&Q home improvement outlet in Beijing, much of the foot traffic is due to the location of a public toilet next to the entrance ― not the store’s patio furniture or circular saws.It’s a sign of how foreign “do-it-yourself” big-box chains have struggled to attract customers in China, where homeowners have little experience in renovating apartments and prefer to pay low-wage decorators to do it for them.“Do-it-yourself is not popular in China,” Shaun Rein, managing director of Chin