A wild week for global earnings kicks off today seemingly in a cautious fashion as profit revisions slow down while inflation and supply chain pressures risk squeezing margins in a season that could set the direction of travel in the weeks ahead.

Shares in China Evergrande Group and its EV unit rose on Monday as the embattled property developer moved to prioritise growth of its nascent electric vehicles business over its troubled core real estate operations.

Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

COP26 climate talks in Glasgow starting next Sunday may be the world's best last chance to cap global warming at the 1.5-2 degrees Celsius upper limit set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Britain's Co-operative Bank confirmed on Monday that it expressed interest in potentially buying TSB from Spanish lender Banco de Sabadell.

Asian shares held recent gains on Monday ahead of a week packed with major quarterly earnings announcements, while news of trials of a property tax in China and ongoing troubles in the sector weighed on markets in Hong Kong and mainland China.

The European Central Bank should tighten the rules governing personal investments by its policymakers if it wants to steer clear of controversies like that embroiling the Federal Reserve, lawmakers, academics and transparency activists say.

Shares of ICICI Bank Ltd, India's second-largest private sector lender, soared more than 14% to a record high on Monday, after reporting a higher quarterly profit on strong loan growth as the economy recovers from the second COVID-19 wave.

Gold prices hovered close to key $1,800 level on Monday, supported by a weaker dollar as investors assessed how the U.S. Federal Reserve could respond to inflationary pressures after its chair said inflation could last until well into next year.

Japanese government bond yields rose on Monday, extending last week's run despite a softening in U.S. Treasury yields, as traders weighed the odds of heavier issuance and an upcoming central bank meeting.

* Thailand announces reopening rules for tourism reboot * Indonesian rupiah declines 0.4% * China warns latest COVID-19 outbreak could spread further By Anushka Trivedi Oct 25 (Reuters) - Asian stocks were mostly flat to slightly higher on Monday as a fresh COVID-19 outbreak...

(Corrects to BIS as creator of the funds, not Bank of Japan, in 4th paragraph)

* Chinese property stocks slip, onshore and HK benchmarks steady

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance, Japan's third-largest private life insurance firm, said on Monday it expected the yen to rebound and planned to reduce investment in foreign sovereign bonds in the second half of the financial year ending in March.

Some China Evergrande Group bondholders have received coupon payments for a dollar bond tranche that was due Sept. 23 and for which the 30-day grace period ended last Saturday, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Monday.

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance , Japan's third-largest private life insurance firm, expects the yen's weakness to be corrected and plans to reduce investment in foreign sovereign bonds in the six months to March, a top investment planning executive said on Monday. (Reporting...

* KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers * Korean won strengthens against U.S. dollar * South Korea benchmark bond yield rises SEOUL, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets: ** South Korean shares rose on Monday ahead of key corporate quarterly results...

* Australian govt backing of deal seen as block to China (Adds political analyst comment, updates shares)

Gold prices held steady on Monday after cutting gains in the prior session on U.S. Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell's comment that inflation could ease next year and the central bank was on track to start tapering its stimulus.

The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against the dollar at 0208 GMT. CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move Japan yen 113.620 113.46 -0.14 Sing dlr 1.347 1.3477 +0.08 Taiwan dlr 27.891 27.902 +0.04 Korean won 1174.600 1177.1 +...