World

Inflation in the U.S. may not be able to go any higher in the current economic cycle, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Tuesday on the heels of yet another hot price index report. "I think this is the highest I've ever seen these numbers, and they merit attention, they merit what Mr. Bullard said [Monday], and I think that we should continue to expect that Bullard's going to be right," Cramer said, referencing St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard urging central bankers to "front-load" interest rate hikes to fight spiraling inflation. "But I also think that when you see this kind of number, you have to wonder how sustainable it is. I mean, this is like, everything is red hot," the "Mad Money" host added. "It's just not sustainable. It's too high." The producer price index, which measur...

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE: Southeast Asian stocks are becoming a haven for international investors fleeing a worsening outlook for global equities who are hoping for sustained strength in the commodity-heavy economies of the region. Driving the renewed interest is a surge in commodity prices that spells good news, particularly for key producers Indonesia and Malaysia, coupled with the sparse economic links between Southeast Asia and the warring nations of Russia and Ukraine. Supply disruptions caused by the conflict and subsequent Western sanctions have sent commodities prices soaring, with Brent crude, coal, palm oil and nickel hitting multi-year highs. "Commodity prices are now likely to be higher for longer," said Jerry Goh, an Asian equities investment manager at fund house abrdn. "We ex...

Commuters at a train station in Tokyo on Aug. 10, 2021. Yuki Iwamura | Afp | Getty Images Having a work-life balance is a growing priority for many workers. Yet in some parts of Asia, a six-day work week is still the norm. That's because "hard work is highly associated with success," said James Root, partner and co-chairman at Bain Futures, a think tank at the consulting firm Bain & Company. "Asia is home to some countries with famously long working hours — South Korea, China, and Japan, for example," said Root. Yet, "firms all over the world, including Asia, are constantly looking for ways to make [offices] more fulfilling places to work." Root mentioned half-day Fridays, unlimited vacation time, work from home options, generous maternity and paternity leave and re-skilling allowances. B...

SINGAPORE: We live in an increasingly time-scarce world. As a working parent of two primary school children and a teen, I am starting to feel the brunt of this year, as everyone’s schedules sometimes have us running in all directions. Even at the dining table – the spot where we meet and congregate before the day officially begins and when the day’s work ends – it is a daily tussle to pull everyone away from devices, books and homework, and to be fully present. Especially for myself, as a working mother. Just last week, I took the children out on a “date” to a nearby café. I made everyone leave their devices and books behind and bring only themselves. We had a nice time chatting about the latest things they were into, about friends in school and even about the war in Ukraine and how to ...

BEIJING: China's export growth slowed in the January-February period due to the week-long Lunar New Year holiday and though the data beat expectations, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has heightened uncertainty over the outlook for global trade this year. Outbound shipments rose 16.3 per cent in the first two months of the year from the same period a year earlier, official data showed on Monday, beating analyst expectations for a 15.0 per cent rise, but down from 20.9 per cent gain in December. Imports increased 15.5 per cent, easing from a 19.5 per cent gain in December and below the forecast 16.5 per cent increase. The customs agency publishes combined January and February trade data to smooth distortions caused by the Lunar New Year, which can fall in either month. Factory activity nor...

Over the past year, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has made clear its pivot to the Indo-Pacific region, singling out China as the “only competitor” potentially able to mount a sustained challenge to a stable and open international system. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday has underscored that the United States does not have the luxury of dealing only with the China challenge, while possibly complicating Biden’s Indo-Pacific strategy that views Europe’s engagement as a key part of the “collective capacity” Washington seeks to build in pushing back against Beijing. “The United States can’t simply return to its previous business of focusing predominantly on China,” Andrea Kendall-Taylor, an expert on security issues at the Center for a New American Security, told ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched an attack on Ukraine. What began as a limited incursion by Russia’s armed forces is now a full-scale invasion. Western intelligence agencies and various European leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have for several weeks warned that the hostilities could eventually become the largest conflict on the continent since World War II. Most of the impact will be felt in Europe, even if the war widens. NATO will likely expand defense spending. Russia will be heavily sanctioned and increasingly isolated from the world economy. In East Asia, however, the immediate fallout of Russian aggression will be minor. Russia itself is geopolitically weak in the region. Only a fifth of its population lives in the vast Siberian space between ...

Japan plans to hold onto its investments in major Russian energy projects for now, according to people with knowledge of the matter, despite ongoing aggression in Ukraine and a high-profile exit by Big Oil. Unless the situation with Russia drastically changes, Japanese companies and consortia have decided keep their stakes in Sakhalin 1, Sakhalin 2 and Arctic LNG 2 projects, according to people at the firms and government officials. Russian oil and liquefied natural gas export projects are geographically closest to Japan and are strategically important for the resource-poor Asian nation, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss private details. BP PLC, Shell PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp. shocked the energy industry when they walked away from Russian assets worth billions of dollar...

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 1, 2022. It's highly likely that energy prices will remain elevated for some time to come. If only the halt of that project was the sole source of surging energy costs at home and abroad. The pipeline was expected to carry some 830,000 barrels per day of oil from Canada to the U.S. She's criticizing President Joe Biden for halting the completion of the Keystone XL pipeline , claiming that the loss of that pipeline is keeping America from being energy independent. South Dakota governor, Kristi Noem, has been tweeting that we need to make America energy independent again. Certainly at least until the war in Ukraine comes to an end, pandemic-related supply chain issues are resolved and both U.S...

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