BEIJING (Reuters) -China's central bank said on Wednesday it has set up a relending facility worth more than 200 billion yuan ($27.59 billion) to help manufacturers and other companies upgrade their equipment, as part of a push to revive flagging demand.

The Federal Reserve will hike its key interest rate to a much higher peak than predicted two weeks ago and the risks are skewed towards an even higher terminal rate, according to economists polled by Reuters.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Investors dumped shares and bonds of Chinese property developers on Wednesday, after a media report that CIFI Holdings (Group) Co had defaulted added to worries over the crisis-stricken real estate sector.

LIMA (Reuters) -Chinese miner MMG Ltd expects to invest $2 billion in the next five years to expand its troubled Las Bambas copper mine in Peru and is eyeing potential acquisitions to further increase production, an executive said on Tuesday.

Investors are dialling back risk exposure ahead of China's Communist Party Congress in October and sticking money in the relative safety of mainland blue chips as they await signs Beijing is ready to address problems hanging over the economy.

DUBLIN (Reuters) -Ireland dipped into one of Europe's few budget surpluses to fund higher-than-usual spending hikes and tax cuts, ease energy costs for firms and consumers and set cash aside in a budget it said was in sharp contrast to neighbouring Britain's economic plans.