Leading local banks have raised their lending and savings rates following the latest rate hike in the United States. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has sounded a warning about rising borrowing costs, such as for new mortgage loans. Damon Pang reports:

The Financial Secretary says the authorities have been monitoring local market volatility and have found no cause for alarm despite last month's 15 percent plunge in the Hang Seng Index. Paul Chan said strong buffers had been built up here against turbulence as well as a war chest to defend the Hong Kong dollar, as Joanne Wong reports:

A day after telling global financial leaders that "this is the moment" to invest here, Chief Executive John Lee has declared that Hong Kong's “doors are open”. He also said it was ready to help build closer ties between the Greater Bay Area and Asean cities. Maggie Ho reports:

The Financial Secretary Paul Chan has rejected suggestions that he was given special treatment in being allowed to attend the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit despite testing positive for Covid. As Mike Weeks reports, he insisted he was dealt with in the same manner as anyone else:

The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Eddie Yue, says the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit was so successful that there will be another next year. Robert Kemp reports:

The Hong Kong Rugby Union says it has sold 26,000 out of a maximum 34,000 tickets for the Rugby Sevens tournament, which kicks off on Friday afternoon after a three-year absence. The union's chair, Chris Brooke, said there had been an uptick in sales after the government announced that food and drink could be consumed at the Sevens, although mask-wearing, social distancing, and rapid Covid tests for entry would be enforced. Brooke told Samantha Butler that the restrictions were "not ideal", but he thanked the local community for its support:

A Hong Kong climate action report shows that energy consumption here has rebounded as economic activities resume, and it is likely to disrupt progress on carbon reduction. The report, Paris Watch - published by CarbonCare-InnoLab - gives Hong Kong a C-minus for the second consecutive year, over achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The group says electricity sales of Hong Kong's two main power companies last year rebounded 3.7 percent, which may result in a 7 percent rise in the SAR's greenhouse gas emissions. Researcher Kevin Li told Vanessa Cheng that Hong Kong was not doing its part to combat climate change:

The Legislative Council has passed a motion to introduce a charging scheme for glass beverage containers in Hong Kong. And as Damon Pang tells us, a green group says more can still be done to encourage consumers to recycle:

Health experts have wrapped up an investigation of an outbreak of melioidosis in Sham Shui Po without determining what caused the infectious disease. Despite that, it will be added to the list of statutory notifiable diseases, as Kelly Yu reports:

A University of Hong Kong professor has called on parents, schools and the community to encourage children to stand up to bullies. Nancy Law made the comments after a survey on online learning and cyberbullying found 40 percent of primary school pupils and half of those in secondary schools had acted as a bystander to such bullying. The survey also found that primary students coped better than their older peers over online learning, due to more parental help. She spoke to Ben Tse:

The National Health Commission says it is striving to control a sudden Covid outbreak as quickly as possible. The first comments from the health authority, since the 20th Communist Party Congress, came as daily infections on the mainland rose above the 3,000 mark for the first time since mid-August and as cases rise across many major cities. Natale Ching reports:

This year, Operation Santa Claus 2022 is raising money for 15 charities. One of them is the Home of Loving Faithfulness (HOLF), which provides a permanent home for children and adults with special needs in Hong Kong. Noreen Mir visited its centre in Sheung Shui and met senior manager, Wenda Wong, and trustee, Gretchen Ryan, to hear about how the residents enjoyed being outdoors: