Market

Serbia chooses links with China to develop economy, telecoms despite US warning campaign
27Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Market, World

Serbia chooses links with China to develop economy, telecoms despite US warning campaign

BELGRE: As US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rallied Central European nations this week to stem Chinese influence by snubbing its advanced digital technology, Chinese surveillance cameras were recording faces and cars in the Serbian capital Belgrade. While Serbia aspires to join the European Union, it has made a big swing towards China, the top economic and geo-political competitor of the EU and United States, to help develop its infrastructure, energy and tech sectors and to buy weaponry. China has provided billions of euros in soft loans for infrastructure and energy development in Serbia. It is also pursuing its plan for a "digital silk road" - telecommunications connectivity - in which Serbia would be a key cog in Europe. On a visit to Slovenia on Thursday, Pompeo said that by r...
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5 things to know before the stock market opens Tuesday
26Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

5 things to know before the stock market opens Tuesday

1. S&P 500 to try again to close at a record high On Tuesday's economic calendar, the government reported much better than expected numbers on July housing starts and building permits. Starts surged 22.6% and permits jumped nearly 19%. 2. Walmart, Home Depot deliver strong earnings Shares of Walmart, which logged an all-time high Monday, rose as much as 6% in the premarket after the company blew away expectations with adjusted per-share earnings of $1.56 on a 5.6% total revenue increase to $137.74 billion. Online sales during the pandemic nearly doubled as customers got packages shipped their homes and used curbside pickup at physical stores. The stock has since pulled back. Shares of Home Depot rose 1% in Tuesday's premarket after the home improvement retailer delivered a 23% increase...
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Relief efforts should cushion economy in months ahead, White House report says
26Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, USA, World

Relief efforts should cushion economy in months ahead, White House report says

WASHINGTON: Increased transfer payments and expanded liquidity measures aimed at companies should help buffer U.S. households and businesses from the worst of the economic crisis unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic in coming months, the White House Council of Economic Advisers said in a report on Thursday. Nonetheless, the economy would recover faster and with less scarring if agreement were reached on additional support, Tyler Goodspeed, the CEA's acting chair, told reporters in a briefing on the report. Republicans and Democrats in Congress are at an impasse over the size of another coronavirus aid package, with talks having broken down in the past week. "Very substantial headwinds remain," Goodspeed said. "What is going to be absolutely essential for continued economic recovery...
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Canada’s Trudeau says he has confidence in finance minister after report of policy clash
26Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

Canada’s Trudeau says he has confidence in finance minister after report of policy clash

related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 2 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. OTTAWA/TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday (Aug 11) said he had "full confidence" in Finance Minister Bill Morneau amid reports of a clash over policy between the two men, who also both face an ethics probe. The Globe and Mail newspaper cited unnamed sources as saying Trudeau was uncertain whether Morneau was the right person to handle the recovery from the coronavirus outbreak, prompting analysts to fret about Ottawa's becoming distracted. "Of course the Prime Minister has full confidence in Minister Morneau and any statement to the contrary is false," said a statement from Trudeau's office, praising Mornea...
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Robinhood valuation surges to US$11.2 billion after latest funding round
23Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

Robinhood valuation surges to US$11.2 billion after latest funding round

related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 2 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. Robinhood Markets Inc, the fintech startup credited with helping popularize trading among millennials, said on Monday it has raised US$200 million from investment firm D1 Capital Partners at a valuation of US$11.2 billion. REUTERS: Robinhood Markets Inc, the fintech startup credited with helping popularize trading among millennials, said on Monday it has raised US$200 million from investment firm D1 Capital Partners at a valuation of US$11.2 billion. Robinhood is one of the hottest fintech startups in Silicon Valley, having consistently raised large sums at higher valuations from several marquee investors including Sequoia Capital, Ri...
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Taiwanese firms shift focus to India amid fallout with China
19Aug mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, Market, World

Taiwanese firms shift focus to India amid fallout with China

Drawn by India’s giant market, inexpensive skilled workforce and tax breaks, Taiwanese firms are apparently pivoting to India and leaving China behind.According to media reports, firms from Taiwan are seeking to reduce their reliance on mainland China. A Taiwanese company Pegatron, an assembly partner for the US tech giant Apple, earlier in July announced that it was applying for permits to set up its first plant in India.The firm, which reported revenue of USD 44.8 billion in 2019, normally offshores its orders to its factories in mainland China. But analysts and the Taiwanese government said the firm’s swing into India is only the latest example of a trend that has been gaining pace over the past four years as ties between India and Taiwan strengthened.According to the Taiwan Bureau of F...
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Federal Reserve’s US$3 trillion virus rescue inflates market bubbles
3Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

Federal Reserve’s US$3 trillion virus rescue inflates market bubbles

NEW YORK: The Federal Reserve's US$3 trillion bid to stave off an economic crisis in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak is fuelling excesses across US capital markets. The US central bank has pledged unlimited financial asset purchases to sustain market liquidity, increasing its balance sheet from US$4.2 trillion in February to US$7 trillion today. While the vast majority of these purchases have been limited to US Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, the Fed's pledge to bolster the corporate bond market has been enough to spur a frenzy among investors for bonds and stocks. "COVID-19 is now inversely related to the markets. The worse that COVID-19 gets, the better the markets do because the Fed will bring in stimulus. That is what has been driving markets," said Andrew Brenne...
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Stock market live Tuesday: Dow pops 500 points, best day in two weeks, bets on economy lead the way
2Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

Stock market live Tuesday: Dow pops 500 points, best day in two weeks, bets on economy lead the way

Wells Fargo chief financial officer John Shrewsberry said on "Closing Bell" that the asset cap imposed on the bank by the Federal Reserve is potentially costing the firm billions in revenue and earnings. He said working to satisfy the central bank enough to have the cap lifted is "the most important work that we're doing." "We've had to do a few things that have definitely cost us interest income at the margins to be able to navigate through that, and we'll continue to as long as the cap is in place," Shrewsberry said. "It's hard to put a number on it, but if our balance sheet as 10% bigger — call it $2.2 trillion versus of just under $2 trillion — there's a few billion dollars worth of revenue, most of which probably falls to the bottom line." Shrewsberry also said that the credit lines...
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MAS revokes capital markets services licence of financial institution Apical Asset Management
31Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, Singapore, World

MAS revokes capital markets services licence of financial institution Apical Asset Management

SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has revoked the capital markets services licence of Apical Asset Management (AAMPL) on Tuesday (Jul 28). The revocation of the company's license is due to "serious breaches of MAS' anti-money laundering/countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements", according to the authority's media release. For a company to conduct financial activities under the Securities and Futures Act, it has to hold a capital markets services (CMS) licence. 'SEVERE DEFICIENCIES' The MAS said it uncovered "severe deficiencies" in the company’s AML/CFT controls from 2013 to 2018. The financial institution did not have the relevant basic policies and procedures in place which exposed it to the "risk of receiving and/or laundering the proceeds of...
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## RCEP is China’s strategy to gain access to Indian market ##
30Jul mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Market

## RCEP is China’s strategy to gain access to Indian market ##

The Government of India has decided “not to review” its stand to not join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which benefits China disproportionately and opens Indian market to economic threats, especially from Chinese preys.Despite claims that India’s decision is influenced by the initial inaction of China to curb the outbreak of the wide-spread coronavirus, and keeping its information hidden, and the unprovoked killing of 20 Indian soldiers by Chinese troops in a brutal clash on June 15, the Central government has maintained that the recent incidents do not have any bearing on India's decision to not join RCEP. The decision was based solely on economic reasons after multiple Ministerial discussions in November 2019.Most of the countries that are part of the RCEP, incl...
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