UK Chancellor Healy is set to announce in this week’s budget that the full state pension will rise by £489 to £13,036, a move that would push about 1.0 mln low-income pensioners above the current personal allowance. To preserve the principle that the state pension is non‑taxable, Healy will raise the tax-free threshold for low-income pensioners to £13,036, a measure expected to cost about £200 mln a year by 2030. The threshold will increase in line with state pension upratings during this Parlia

Iranian President PEZESHKIAN said January's nationwide anti-government protests were primarily driven by social issues, and that citizens would cooperate if they trust the government and believe authorities are committed to helping and resolving their problems.

Goldman Sachs cut its target price for Hong Kong-listed Zijin Mining (02899.HK) to HK$48 from HK$51, kept a Buy rating and kept the stock on its conviction list. Zijin reported Q3 net profit of RMB18.4bn and EPS of RMB0.69, both up 26% YoY; recurring net profit excluding one-offs was RMB18.0bn, up 42% YoY. First-nine-month recurring net profit was RMB56.8bn, about 70–71% of Goldman’s and the market’s full-year forecasts, broadly in line. Goldman trimmed 2026 earnings forecast by 2%, raised 2027 by 1% and cut 2028 by 5%.