World

JOHANNESBURG/BENGALURU : Most emerging market currencies will continue to struggle against the mighty dollar over the coming year as the U.S. Federal Reserve finally delivers expected aggressive policy tightening, according to a Reuters poll of FX strategists. Central banks in emerging market economies have been bracing for this for months by hiking their benchmark interest rates. But the actual moment when the Fed delivers half-point rate increases and rapid balance sheet reduction still matters. Minutes from the Fed's March meeting showed officials had generally agreed to trim the central bank's balance sheet by $95 billion a month, providing a major boost to the greenback which was already riding high. The latest Reuters poll of over 50 currency strategists showed nearly all developi...

TAIPEI :Taiwan firms making chip and electronic components reported a mixed picture on Wednesday on work resumption in the eastern Chinese city of Kunshan after COVID-19 curbs, with some warning deliveries would be postponed until next month. China has put Shanghai under a tight lockdown since late March and neighbouring Kunshan has also tightened curbs to control the country's biggest COVID-19 outbreak since the coronavirus was discovered in late 2019 in the city of Wuhan. That had caused dozens of Taiwanese firms, many making parts for the semiconductor and electronics industries, to suspend operations. Global companies, from makers of mobile phones to chips, are highly dependent on China and Southeast Asia for production and have been diversifying their supply chains after the pandem...

HONG KONG: Asian shares rose on Wednesday (Apr 13) boosted by US inflation figures that fared better than markets' worst expectations - and caused US yields to pause their march higher - though Chinese shares remained pressured by COVID-19. Share market sentiment was also capped by gains in oil and other commodity prices after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that on-and-off peace negotiations "have again returned to a dead-end situation for us", which also hurt the euro. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.5 per cent and Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.54 per cent. S&P 500 futures gained 0.2 per cent and Nasdaq futures gained 0.57 per cent in Asia trade. Data published on Tuesday showed US monthly consumer prices increased by the most in 16-1/2 years in Marc...

Bank of America analysts said on Wednesday that iPhone demand is still strong despite a recent report that said Apple cut production of its iPhone 13 and new iPhone SE. "While these articles might lead some investors to think there is risk to demand, we believe demand for iPhones remains strong based on our analysis of iPhone trade-in prices," the Bank of America analysts said in a note. Bank of America said Apple lowered trade-in values for some iPhone models after the launch of the $429 iPhone SE in early March. An iPhone 12 Pro Max, the newest model available for trade-in, is now worth $650 as opposed to $700 before the launch, the note said. The analysts argue this shows demand is still strong since Apple doesn't need to pay as much to convince people to trade in older iPhones for ne...

HANOI/SAN FRANCISCO : Vietnam's automaker VinFast said on Tuesday it has signed a preliminary deal to initially invest $2 billion to build a factory in North Carolina to make electric buses, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) along with batteries for EVs. The unit of Vietnam's biggest conglomerate Vingroup, said it plans to have a total investment of $4 billion in its first U.S. factory complex. Construction should begin this year as soon as the company gets necessary permits, and is expected to finish by July 2024. The plant's initial capacity will be 150,000 units per year, Vinfast said. "With a manufacturing facility right in the U.S. market, VinFast can stabilize prices and shorten product delivery time, making our EVs more accessible to customers," said Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup vic...

BOSTON :U.S. stocks declined broadly while oil prices and Treasury yields pushed higher on Monday as investors refocused on risks from conflict in Ukraine and the U.S. Federal Reserve's actions on inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 201.94 points, or 0.58per cent, to 34,552.99, the S&P 500 lost 1.94 points, or 0.04per cent, to 4,461.18 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 55.38 points, or 0.4per cent, to 13,838.46. Boeing shares fell by 3.6per cent after one of its 737 jets crashed in China. Global stock markets rallied last week in anticipation of an eventual peace deal on Ukraine. But on Monday, Ukraine defied a Russian ultimatum that its forces lay down arms in Mariupol, while the European Union considered a possible energy embargo against Russia. The pan-European STOXX 600...

Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis has triggered an unprecedented wave of spontaneous protests as the island nation of 22 million people struggles with prolonged power cuts and a shortage of essentials, including fuel and medicines. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government has come under growing pressure for its mishandling of the economy, and the country has suspended foreign debt payments in an effort to preserve its paltry foreign exchange reserves. On Monday, Sri Lanka will begin talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan program, even as it seeks help from other countries, including neighboring India, and China. How did it get to this? Economic mismanagement by successive governments weakened Sri Lanka’s public finances, leaving its national expenditure...

SINGAPORE: Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose by 7.7 per cent in March, following a 9.4 per cent growth in February. Both electronics and non-electronics exports went up, and exports to the top 10 markets as a whole grew in March, mainly due to the US, Malaysia and the European Union, according to official data released by Enterprise Singapore (ESG) on Monday (Apr 18). However, exports to Hong Kong, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand fell. On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, NODX fell 2.3 per cent in March, following the previous month's 2.9 per cent decline. Non-electronic domestic exports fell while electronics rose. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the level of NODX reached S$17.2 million in March, lower than the S$17.6 billion recorded in the previous month...

SINGAPORE: Two Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) aircraft had to be diverted when a man illegally flew his drone into their flight path close to the time of their scheduled landing at Tengah Air Base in September 2020. The presence of the drone, which was detected by the air base's aeroscope, also led RSAF to close the affected runway for half an hour. Jason Ng Yok Sen, 43, pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Apr 12) to three counts of air navigation offences. Another 14 charges will be considered when he returns for sentencing later this week. During the incident on Sep 8, 2020, Ng was operating his DJI Mavic 2 Zoom, which weighs about 900g, from Taman Jurong Park. The drone enthusiast flew his unmanned aircraft for a total of 22 minutes, covering a distance of about 930m around Corporati...

Co-chair of the multi-ministry task force Lawrence Wong said on Thursday that the Government is looking into the safe resumption of nightlife businesses like bars, pubs, karaoke establishments, discotheques and nightclubs. “These are activities with much higher risks of transmission and where there are generally more difficulties complying with the prevailing safe-management measures 1 to 5,” said the Health Ministry, referring to the five parameters - group sizes, mask-wearing, workplace requirements, safe distancing and capacity limits. While Teo Heng’s karaoke outlets are still not allowed to open for business, the overall easing of restrictions represents a light at the end of the tunnel for Ms Teo. “We were all very depressed and very confused, whether we could still provide good e...