Market Archives - FINANCIAL POST

Openmarkets to raise USD $50 million for Asia DeFi expansion

30Oct

By Brian ThompsonNo Comments

Asia, China, Market

Openmarkets to raise USD $50 million for Asia DeFi expansion

penmarkets Group has announced that it is exploring a capital raise of USD $50 million to support its expansion in Asia and the development of decentralised finance (DeFi) capabilities. The Sydney-based fintech firm is targeting family offices and private wealth investors in Asia and the United States, with capital being raised to advance its DeFi strategy and broaden its presence in Singapore, the United States, Hong Kong, and select Southeast Asian markets. According to Openmarkets Group, the capital will be used to introduce crypto trading, facilitate the tokenisation of real-world assets, and establish a digital assets treasury. The firm also plans to launch its own stablecoin and develop a centralised exchange for digital assets as part of its medium-term objectives. Exp...

Banking shares’ wobbles reveal growing unease over credit risks

18Oct

By Walter ParezNo Comments

Market, USA, World

Banking shares’ wobbles reveal growing unease over credit risks

A clutch of bad loans at banks in recent weeks has shaken investor confidence in banking shares, which gyrated sharply late this week as unease mounted over credit risks that threatened to spill into the broader markets. The markets have weathered a string of credit scares and surprise write-downs over the past two years, but sentiment took a particularly hard knock in recent days from auto bankruptcies and alleged fraud that resulted in losses at several banks. The latest scare came on Thursday when Zions Bancorporation (ZION.O), opens new tab disclosed losses tied to two commercial and industrial loans and Western Alliance (WAL.N), opens new tab said it had initiated a lawsuit alleging fraud by Cantor Group V, LLC. Cantor denies the allegatio...

Record $322 billion in China loans for stock bets feeds volatility and prompts caution

6Sep

By Brian ThompsonNo Comments

China, Market

Record $322 billion in China loans for stock bets feeds volatility and prompts caution

China's investors borrowed a record $322 billion to buy stocks this year, but sharp corrections this week and heightened regulatory scrutiny to cool overheated markets are now making them jittery about the leveraged bets. While risks for China's broader financial system have been elevated for months due to deflation in the economy and a persistent property debt crisis, the stock investors' recent actions could add more pressure. Outstanding margin financing in China, a key gauge of sentiment and leverage level, hit a record 2.3 trillion yuan ($321.55 billion) this week. And some speculators are diverting consumer loans to stock trading. Those helped Shanghai stocks hit 10-year highs last week in a liquidity-driven rally despite a weak economy and simmering trade and...

China’s Chemicals Makers Reap Reward of Shift From Oil to Coal

3Sep

By Mike TrudellNo Comments

Market

China’s Chemicals Makers Reap Reward of Shift From Oil to Coal

Falling coal prices are shifting the profitability of China’s chemicals sector, away from traditional oil-based producers to the growing number of plants that use the solid fuel as their feedstock. China’s biggest coal-to-chemicals producer, Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group Co., saw first-half profits surge 73%, while top miner China Shenhua Energy Co. reported a near 20-fold increase at its Inner Mongolia chemicals facility. Meanwhile, oil refining giant Sinopec lost 4.5 billion yuan ($630 million) at its chemicals unit over the first six months of the year, even worse than the 3.6 billion yuan it shed in the same period in 2024. The diverging fortunes of the old and new guard are reflected in their outlooks, as overproduction of lower-value, bulk chemicals slashes prices and margi...

Asia shares up on hopes for US rate cuts, Nvidia a hurdle

25Aug

By Michael SmithNo Comments

Market

Asia shares up on hopes for US rate cuts, Nvidia a hurdle

Asian share markets rose on Monday as investors gave a cautious welcome to the likely resumption of U.S. interest rate cuts, while hoping AI-superstar Nvidia's results this week will help justify the sector's stratospheric valuations.Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's dovish change of course has seen futures price in an 84% chance of a quarter-point rate cut in September, and at least 100 basis points of easing to 3.25-3.5% by the middle of next year. The shift shoved Treasury yields and the dollar lower, flattering the outlook for corporate earnings, though it also implies policymakers now see more danger of a downturn in employment and the economy."The news reinforces our view that the Fed will ease in response to softening labor demand and that risk to our forecast for a mate...

6May

By Joe RodriguezNo Comments

China, Market

How China is dismantling luxury brand market

Some Chinese factories and its workers have recently uploaded few videos online claiming that 80% of the global luxury brands are developed in-house in China with “Made in Italy” and “Made in France” labels. China is misusing its social media platforms to create a sense of doubt in the mind of the global buyers regarding the authenticity of luxury brands such as Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Hermes and etc. and by doing so they are quietly dismantling the luxury brand market. For example, as per few videos by TikTok user ‘senbags2’ a Chinese worker claims that they are the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of luxury handbags from Gucci, Prada, and Louis Vuitton while boasting about its craftsmanship and supply chain. Many such ‘misleading’ short videos are doing round in the social...

<strong>China’s Economic Brinkmanship: China’s Stock Market Pays the Price</strong>

6May

By Joe RodriguezNo Comments

China, Market

China’s Economic Brinkmanship: China’s Stock Market Pays the Price

China is feeling the heat from the tariff war, yet Xi Jinping remains unwilling to act first. The nation’s stock market is reeling, and the Communist Party’s rigid stance risks deepening the economic downturn. Early stimulus efforts offered little relief, and Beijing hesitates to roll out new measures, betting that Washington will yield. But as global markets tremble and political tensions rise, the stakes grow higher. Will China hold its ground, gambling on resilience, or accept that compromise is necessary? The CCP’s unwavering approach could come at a steep cost—financial instability. The world watches as Beijing weighs its next move. On April 28th, China’s stock market endured a significant downturn, amplifying concerns about economic instability. The Shanghai Composite Index s...

Russia’s Wartime Economy: Following Ukraine Internationally?

26Mar

By Walter ParezNo Comments

Market, World

Russia’s Wartime Economy: Following Ukraine Internationally?

Three years into the Ukraine war, Russia’s wartime economy appears not only to be surviving Western sanctions, but thriving — driven by oil revenues, surging military production, and a broader economic reorientation toward war. While much of the world expected Russia to collapse under the weight of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the opposite occurred: the Russian economy grew by 3.6% in 2023 and an even higher 4.1% in 2024, outpacing most Western nations. Yet this is not a sustainable economic model for the long term. Growth is heavily militarized and sustained by wartime spending, making it fiscally unsustainable. Inflation has also ticked upward amid rampant state spending, creating a cost-of-living crisis that won’t be easily reversed. Transitioning the Russian wartime economy ...

Turkiye addresses the economic issue on a worldwide scale.

25Mar

By Walter ParezNo Comments

Market, World

Turkiye addresses the economic issue on a worldwide scale.

Shafaq News/ Recent developments in Turkiye's economy will be discussed on an international level, the Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Finance announced on Tuesday. Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek and Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan will discuss Turkiye’s latest economic developments in a call at 13:00 GMT, hosted by Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, as part of efforts to reassure investors following recent political and economic turmoil, the ministry stated.On Wednesday, Turkish police arrested Ekrem İmamoğlu, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main rival. A court later ruled to hold him in pretrial detention on corruption-related charges. The decision sparked the country’s largest protests in over a decade, with opposition figures and European leaders condemning it as “politically mo...

As the rupiah hits Asian crisis lows, Indonesia steps in.

25Mar

By Walter ParezNo Comments

Asia, Market, World

As the rupiah hits Asian crisis lows, Indonesia steps in.

Indonesia's central bank stepped into the currency market to defend the rupiah on Tuesday (Mar 25), as growing concerns over politics, government spending and capital flight pushed the rupiah to its lowest levels since the Asian financial crisis. The rupiah weakened as much as 0.54 per cent to a low of 16,640 rupiah per dollar in morning trade, extending a slide that has been driven by global market uncertainties and concerns over Indonesia's fiscal health and growth outlook. A central bank official told Reuters that Bank Indonesia (BI) had intervened in the spot currency, bond markets and in domestic non-deliverable forwards as the rupiah careened towards its lowest point in 25 years. Its all-time low was 16,800 rupiah per dollar in June 1998 during the Asian Financial Crisis, a...

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