SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR -- A hydrogen project in Malaysia involving both local and Japanese investors is scaling back due to funding constraints, casting doubt on its original plan of producing the emerging alternative energy source for export.

JAKARTA -- Indonesia faces the prospect of "vicious" stagflation, the local head of a Japanese consumer products company has warned, with consumers scaling back spending as a depreciating currency and the Iran war drive inflation higher.

TOKYO -- With raw material, labor and logistics costs rising, Japan's food and beverage industry is increasingly opting to shrink the size of its products to reduce the burden of passing on price increases to hard-pressed consumers.

TOKYO -- Toshifumi Suzuki, known as the father of Japan's convenience store industry for his pioneering role in bringing the 7-Eleven chain to the country and propelling it to become the country's largest, died on May 18. He was 93.

TOKYO -- Japanese stocks soared Monday morning, touching a new intraday high as investors turn to riskier assets amid reports of progress in peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.

TAIPEI -- Huawei Technologies on Monday said it has found a new way to design chips to bring its semiconductor capabilities close to those of global chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Intel, as China's tech champion continues working to overcome U.S. sanctions that have cut it off from top-tier global suppliers.

TOKYO -- Toshifumi Suzuki, honorary adviser of Seven & i Holdings, a major Japanese retailer that operates 7-Eleven convenience stores, died on May 18. He was 93.

SINGAPORE -- The global artificial intelligence fervor has pushed Singapore to better-than-expected gross domestic product figures, with the city-state on Monday reporting 6% year-on-year growth in the first quarter, up from April's estimate of 4.6% .

LONDON -- Immigration concerns have turned voters to rightwing populists in the West, but while the Trump administration has made the U.S. trade deficit with China central to its economic policy, European parties are divided on how to treat Beijing.