Under inter-ministerial guidance, MOFCOM, with the Ministry of Housing and Urban‑Rural Development, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the State Administration for Market Regulation and other agencies, convened expert reviewers and has proposed 32 cities as the second batch of national retail innovation and upgrade pilot cities; the evaluation results have been posted for public comment.

JP Morgan cuts Reddit (RDDT.O) PT to $185 from $200.

Bank of Japan kept its policy rate at 1% in an 8-1 vote; one member dissented, preferring a 25bp hike. Forward guidance turned more hawkish: the BOJ said it will continue to raise rates as warranted by economic, price and financial-condition developments and will assess Middle East developments for their impact on the timing and pace of hikes. Projections upgraded FY2026 and FY2027 GDP; risks to the outlook are judged broadly balanced. Core CPI forecasts were trimmed for FY2026 but raised for FY2027; officials said underlying inflation is near 2% and core inflation could exceed the 2% target. Governor Ueda said the BOJ expects to keep tightening, does not need to wait for inflation to be stably at 2% before policy moves, and flagged upside CPI risk from AI-driven demand and higher memory-chip prices, while expecting CPI growth in the latter forecast period to slow toward about 2%.