Secret behind yuan

SHANGHAI: China disclosed for the first time composition of the basket of currencies used to set the yuan’s value, saying it mainly includes the US dollar, euro, yen and Korean won. The currencies of Singapore, Britain, Malaysia, Russia, Australia, Canada and Thailand are also considered in setting the yuan’s rate. — AP

S’pore economy up

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s economy expanded at an annual pace of 18 per cent in the second quarter, rebounding from a contraction in the previous quarter. Earlier, authorities had estimated gross domestic product expanded at an annual pace of 12.3 per cent. Strong growth in financial services and manufacturing lifted the economy’s performance. — AP

Fed boosts key rate

WASHINGTON: The Federal Reserve boosted a key interest rate for a 10th time and signaled that more rate hikes were likely as the central bank keeps pushing borrowing costs higher to contain inflation. The action pushed the Fed’s target for the federal funds rate up to 3.5 per cent, the highest level in almost four years. — AP

CPI rises in China

SHANGHAI: China’s producer price index, a leading indicator of future trends for consumer prices, rose by 5.2 per cent in July from a year earlier, matching the increase reported in June. In the first seven months of the year, the index, which measures the cost of goods used in production, rose by 5.6 per cent. — AP

Swisscom in black

BERN: Telecommunications company Swisscom AG said on Wednesday that second-quarter net profit more than doubled to $473 million from the same period last year. Switzerland’s largest telephone company attributed the gain in part to higher financial income. — AP

Lufthansa posts profit

FRANKFURT: German airline Lufthansa AG reported a profit for the second quarter of this year on Wednesday and said it was on track to do so again for the year. The Cologne-based airline earned $143.46 million, in this quarter. — AP