Reuters

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian consumer price inflation unexpectedly rose to a five-month high in April due in part to increases in petrol, health and holiday costs, adding to risks the next move in interest rates might be upward.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed its monthly consumer price index (CPI) rose at an annual pace of 3.6% in April, up from 3.5% in March and above market forecasts of 3.4%.

A... (continue reading...)

(Corrects day of the week to Tuesday in paragraph 12)

By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) -The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Tuesday scored a jurisdictional victory when a federal judge in Texas transferred to another court in Washington, D.C., an industry-backed lawsuit challenging the agency's rule capping credit card late fees at $8.

U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth moved swiftly to transfer the... (continue reading...)

(Reuters) -Merck & Co is nearing a $1.3 billion cash deal to buy ophthalmology biotechnology company Eyebiotech in an agreement that could see an additional $1.7 billion in milestone payments, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The deal could be announced as early as Wednesday, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Merck did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for a comment, while Eyebiotech declined to... (continue reading...)

By Devayani Sathyan

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Australian home price rises will outpace overall inflation over the next couple of years, despite fading expectations of interest rate cuts, according to a Reuters poll of analysts who said the supply of affordable homes will keep falling short of demand.

Robust demand for housing and the failure of homebuilders to adequately increase supply has turned Australia into one of the world's most... (continue reading...)

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's cabinet will reject and send back for review legislation the opposition passed on Tuesday on parliamentary reforms that have brought tens of thousands onto the streets to protest and accusations of Chinese interference.

The peaceful protests, and sometimes violent confrontations in parliament over the reforms, have been taking place against a backdrop of broader concern about efforts by China, which views Taiwan as its own... (continue reading...)