World

:Globalive Capital has entered into a spectrum and network sharing agreement with Telus Corp to bolster the Canadian investment firm's prospects of buying Shaw Communications Inc's wireless business, the companies said on Thursday. The agreement is conditional on Globalive's successful acquisition of Freedom Mobile Inc and does not involve financial investment from Telus. The sale of Shaw's wireless business, Freedom Mobile Inc, to a credible bidder is seen critical for Rogers Communications' to clinch its C$20 billion ($15.6 billion) bid for Shaw. Canada's antitrust agency has blocked Rogers' deal to buy Calgary-based Shaw on the grounds it would reduce competition in the wireless industry. The bureau also rejected the prospective buyers presented by Rogers-Shaw to sell Freedom Mobile ...

"[I'm an] entrepreneur first, then a baker. If you want to be a baker, then go work for someone else," says 19-year-old Justin Ellen, who has bringing in 6-figures with his cake business. When Justin Ellen received a "random" direct message on Instagram asking if he would like to be part of a Netflix show called "Is It Cake?" — he thought it was "very sketchy." It was only when they said there was an interview that he realized, "OK, it's legit," said the youngest contestant of the popular baking show. After a Zoom interview and a month of waiting, Ellen — who was 18 at that time — was picked to participate. It was very overwhelming, he admitted. "Because I was super young … and I realized I had to fly and stay in a hotel by myself. Filming was a whole month. I've never been away from my f...

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, U.S. President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrive for the Quad Leaders' Summit in Tokyo on May 24. Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images TOKYO — Security deals are important, but in Asia, money talks. Australia, India, Japan and the United States wrapped their second Quad Leaders' Summit on Tuesday in Tokyo, following a weekend visit by U.S. President Joe Biden to South Korea. The Quad countries and others in Asia made clear over the last five days that while things like maritime defense are important, real security has to heed Asian countries' economic wants and needs. The Quad is an informal security alignment of four major democracies that came about in response to China's rising strength ...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's stock exchange on Wednesday (Apr 27) reported its biggest quarterly drop in profits for six years as tightened Chinese regulations strangled new listings and the city struggled with its worst-ever coronavirus outbreak. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) announced a net income of HK$2.67 billion (US$340 million) for the three months ended March - 31 per cent down year-on-year - with quarterly revenue down 21 per cent at HK$4.69 billion. The exchange operator has now seen four consecutive drops in quarterly profits. "We were not immune to global market sentiment, which resulted in some softness in the IPO market, reduced valuations in our investment portfolio and pricing volatility in our commodities market," said HKEX chief executive Nicolas Aguzin. The bours...

WASHINGTON :The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will promote competition and scrutinize the outsized influence Big Tech firms have in the marketplace, its director told the Senate Banking Committee during a hearing on Tuesday. Rohit Chopra, who was sworn in as CFPB director in October, fended off attacks from Republicans over his role in a regulatory spat. He is planning initiatives that will identify ways to lower barriers to entry and expand the pool of firms competing for customers based on quality, price, and service, he said. "We are especially interested in ways that small financial institutions can leverage technology and systems ... to capture market share while still preserving their relationship banking model," Chopra told lawmakers. In October, just a few we...

GENEVA: Russia's war in Ukraine has pushed the number of forcibly displaced people around the world above 100 million for the first time ever, the United Nations said Monday (May 23). "The number of people forced to flee conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution has now crossed the staggering milestone of 100 million for the first time on record, propelled by the war in Ukraine and other deadly conflicts," said UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. The "alarming" figure must shake the world into ending the conflicts forcing record numbers to flee their own homes, the UNHCR said in a statement. UNHCR said the numbers of forcibly displaced people rose towards 90 million by the end of 2021, spurred by violence in Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan and the Democ...

HONG KONG/BEIJING :Three major private Chinese property developers who are financially healthy were asked by the authorities to issue bonds this week to help boost market sentiment, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday. The authorities informed Country Garden, Longfor Group and Midea Real Estate about the plan late last week, the sources said. They declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak to media. They added securities firms will issue credit default swaps (CDS) or credit risk mitigation warrants (CRMW) at the same time to attract investors to buy the bonds, helping private developers to raise funds from the public markets. The three developers declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Financial intelligence provider REDD first repo...

SHANGHAI : The yuan's slump has triggered a scramble by Chinese companies to hedge against the risk of further depreciation, which analysts say could add downward pressure on the currency. The yuan's 4 per cent tumble in April, its steepest monthly drop since foreign exchange reforms of 1994, is being driven by portfolio outflows, a rising U.S. dollar and a gloomy economic outlook at home. Lopsided corporate hedging presents yet another risk to the currency as it touched a fresh 18-month low on Friday and jitters swept global markets. "The expectation of further renminbi depreciation has pushed more companies to hedge against the risk," said Wang Dan, chief economist of Hang Seng Bank (China), calling the yuan by its official name. "By locking into a forward contract, demand for dollar...

“The recovery from COVID-19 has increased demand for oil, such as for use by industries, commercial and transport, so the price of oil increased,” said Assoc Prof Chang. “The Ukraine-Russia war affected production and supply of oil (so) it also increased oil prices … As long as the war continues, the price is expected to increase," he added. Dr David Broadstock, a senior research fellow and the head of the Energy Economics Division at the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Energy Studies Institute, said the decision by Europe and other countries to stop purchasing natural gas from Russia has forced them to search for new gas suppliers. “At the same time, there are limits to how much gas supply chains can scale up without major new infrastructure development, which would also take ...

In 2016, Ryan Mundy was sitting in a room full of venture capitalists fielding start-up pitches when a thought occurred to him: None of the ideas he'd heard were geared toward solving the biggest issues in his own life. Mundy, a Super Bowl champion in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was struggling to find a purpose after leaving the NFL in 2015. He suffered from anxiety, stemming from multiple relatives being sequentially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular disease. Mental health was on his mind — and he was pretty sure that was true for other young Black Americans, too. "I found it very troubling that I knew how to take care of my shoulder and knee, but when it came to emotional and mental health support, I was having a really rough go at it," Mundy t...