Market

Dollar falls, equities gain as Fed calms inflation worries
Asia, Market, World

Dollar falls, equities gain as Fed calms inflation worries

World equity markets made gains while the U.S. dollar hit new lows against major currencies on Tuesday after Federal Reserve officials reaffirmed a dovish monetary policy stance that eased inflation concerns. NEW YORK: World equity markets made gains while the U.S. dollar hit new lows against major currencies on Tuesday after Federal Reserve officials reaffirmed a dovish monetary policy stance that eased inflation concerns. Investors weighed the Fed's soothing words that put to rest tapering worries for the time being and helped to drive the dollar to four-and-a-half-month lows. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note also hit two-week lows and was at 1.56per cent in afternoon trading, down from 1.608per cent late on Monday. The yield curve flattened for a fourth straight session, as pa...
What Beijing’s new crackdown means for crypto in China
China, Market, World

What Beijing’s new crackdown means for crypto in China

related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 3 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. SHANGHAI :Chinese regulators have tightened restrictions that ban financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrencies, marking a fresh crackdown on digital money. SHANGHAI -Chinese regulators have tightened restrictions that ban financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrencies, marking a fresh crackdown on digital money. Compared with a previous ban issued in 2017, the new rules greatly expanded the scope of prohibited services, and judged that "virtual currencies are not supported by any real value". WHAT ARE THE NEW MEASURES? Three fin...
Want to buy a ship? Oil tanker that received stolen fuel in Shell Bukom heist up for police auction
Asia, Market, USA, World

Want to buy a ship? Oil tanker that received stolen fuel in Shell Bukom heist up for police auction

SINGAPORE: Over the years, the police have auctioned off various items seized from crimes: Clothes, cameras, computers and, once in a while, a supercar or two. But the latest article up for sale is quite different – it is more than 100m long, weighs more than 3 million kg and, according to court documents, is valued at US$4.5 million (S$5.9 million). The item in question is the chemical oil tanker Prime South, which the police seized in 2018 after it was used to receive stolen marine gas oil worth an estimated US$7.1 million from Shell's Pulau Bukom refinery. The pilfering was part of the largest marine fuel heist from Shell's biggest petrochemical production and export centre in the Asia-Pacific. Not many items seized by the police and auctioned off are valued in the tens ...
In meeting today’s great challenges: Think ‘moonshot’
Asia, Market, World

In meeting today’s great challenges: Think ‘moonshot’

Moonshots are in. I’m not referring to space travel, although the regular launches and landings of space probes suggest that the conventional use of the word is apropos. Here, “moonshots” are grand, government-backed missions that unite the considerable powers of the state, its scientists and its entrepreneurs to accomplish a single goal. There are many potential moonshots, from creating a vaccine for COVID-19 to solving global warming. What differentiates them from other problems is that they address extraordinary, if not existential, challenges. The pursuit of moonshots is forcing a reassessment among governments that normally — wrongly in many cases — view industrial policy as an aberration, a dangerous indulgence that is inefficient at best and corrupt at worst. China’s impressive pe...
Global equities nearly grasp all-time record, dollar drops after US jobs data
Market, World

Global equities nearly grasp all-time record, dollar drops after US jobs data

Global stocks rallied on Friday and oil and gold marched higher while the dollar fell after a solid but not blow-out U.S. monthly jobs report made investors less worried that the U.S. Federal Reserve would rein in monetary stimulus soon. WASHINGTON: Global stocks rallied on Friday and closed near all-time highs, and oil and gold rose while the dollar dropped after U.S. jobs data was strong but not as robust as expected, easing investor worries that the Federal Reserve would soon rein in monetary stimulus. U.S. employers increased hiring in May and raised wages. But the nonfarm payrolls increase of 559,000 jobs landed below the 650,000 forecast of economists polled by Reuters. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.39per cent after hitting a record high this week. MSCI's all-country...
Israel makes Tel Aviv exchange SPAC-ready, with focus on tech deals
Market, World

Israel makes Tel Aviv exchange SPAC-ready, with focus on tech deals

Israel has established rules to open up the Tel Aviv stock market for special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), aiming to join in a boom in these investment vehicles which have raised billions of dollars in the United States. TEL AVIV: Israel has established rules to open up the Tel Aviv stock market for special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), aiming to join in a boom in these investment vehicles which have raised billions of dollars in the United States. A SPAC is a shell company that raises money via an initial public offering, which is then used to buy a private firm. The company can then become publicly listed via the merger, providing an alternative to a traditional IPO. Global SPAC volumes hit US$286 billion in the first four months of this year, versus US$163 bill...
Ola to oncrease 100,000 scooter chargers in India
Asia, Market

Ola to oncrease 100,000 scooter chargers in India

MUMBAI – As Indian ride-hailing startup Ola the company launches two wheeler charging points nationwide, to 100,000 to accommodate the company’s scooter slated for launch.The Ola Hypercharger Network will start out with a first-year push to install 5,000 charging stations in 100 cities -- "more than double the existing charging infrastructure in the country," the company says.Plans are for 100,000-plus charging points in 400 cities in five years. They will be compatible with Ola two-wheeler products, including the Ola Scooter due out in the coming months.Backed by Japan's SoftBank Group, Ola offers a ride-hailing app serving mostly India. In 2020, it announced the acquisition of Dutch manufacturer Etergo with the aim of building electric two-wheelers. Talent hailing from General Motors an...
Turning COVID-19 corner, Volkswagen’s profit falls less than feared
China, Market, World

Turning COVID-19 corner, Volkswagen’s profit falls less than feared

FRANKFURT: Volkswagen reported on Friday (Jan 22) that its 2020 profit almost halved due to the impact of the pandemic, but a rebound in premium car sales in China and stronger deliveries in the fourth quarter helped keep the world's largest carmaker in the black. The group said full-year operating profit, excluding costs related to its diesel emissions scandal, came in at €10 billion (US$12.2 billion), compared with 19.3 billion in 2019. Analysts had expected a full-year 2020 operating profit of €4.8 billion, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. Net cash flow at its automotive division was around €6 billion and car deliveries picked up towards the end of the year, the German group said in a statement. "The deliveries to customers of the Volkswagen Group continued to recover strongly...
The big short: GameStop effect puts global bets worth billions at risk
Market, World

The big short: GameStop effect puts global bets worth billions at risk

LONDON: Global bets worth billions of dollars could be at risk as amateur share traders challenge the bearish positions of influential funds, inflating stock valuations and leaving the professionals looking at potentially hefty losses. Gone are the days when bruised retail investors fled after prominent hedge funds bet against a stock - the GameStop effect is rippling across US markets and spreading to Europe. Shares of the 20 small-cap Russell 2000 index companies with the biggest bearish bets against them have risen 60 per cent on average so far this year, easily outperforming the rest of the market, a Reuters analysis of Refinitiv data shows. Similarly, the best performers in Britain this week have been companies such as Pearson and Cineworld, in which investors also have sizeabl...
Oil rises on stimulus optimism, demand recovery hopes
China, Market, World

Oil rises on stimulus optimism, demand recovery hopes

The silhouette of an oil pump is seen at sunset. Oil rose on Wednesday on expectations that U.S. President Joe Biden's administration will deliver massive stimulus spending that will lift fuel demand and enact policies that will tighten crude supply. Brent crude was up 40 cents at $56.30 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled 26 cents, or 0.5%, higher at $53.24 per barrel. U.S. President Joe Biden, who was inaugurated on Wednesday, is expected to take measures to curb the U.S. oil industry, including re-entering the Paris climate accord, cancelling a permit for the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline and pausing arctic drilling. "I think the Biden administration on day one is making it clear that there's a new sheriff in town and we're going to go back to policies that a...