Tax Reform Debate (Malaysia): An economist backs a hybrid sales and service tax, arguing it must include input tax credits to curb tax cascading while avoiding revenue limits of a narrow SST. Digital Commerce Oversight (Malaysia): Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says new investment applicants will be reviewed after MITI flagged firms using warehouses/transit without clear jobs or economic benefits, amid concerns about cheap cross-border platform imports. Energy Cost Shield (Türkiye): Finance Minister Şimşek says Turkey is using its “eşel mobil” sliding-scale diesel tax to soften global energy shocks while keeping budget discipline. Property Stimulus (China): Shanghai rolled out measures to boost housing demand, including lower down payments for some second homes and expanded use of housing provident funds, plus phased subsidies for upgrades. Corporate & Finance (India): Morgan Stanley expects the PFC-REC merger to bring limited cost savings but some revenue gains from scale and reduced competition. Debt Watch (US): US gross national debt crossed $40tn, with rising interest costs deepening deficits. Local Economy Planning (US): SEDA-COG launched a public survey to shape a five-year regional economic development strategy. Food Processing Support (Armenia): Armenia will compensate canneries for figs and peaches purchases to support farmers and expand processing capacity. Cash & Payments (Zimbabwe): Zimbabwe’s central bank injected ZiG600m into circulation to ease change shortages as ZiG usage grows.