World

Let's talk about three data points since that nerve-wracking Fed meeting yesterday that help explain why the central bank is doing what it's doing. (1) GDP. It just surged nearly 7% last quarter, versus the 5.5% estimate. For the year, the economy grew at 5.7%. And that's in "real," ex-inflation terms. Add in the price gains, which were 4% for the year the way Commerce calculates it, and it means nominal GDP surged nearly 10% last year. That's way higher than the 4% pace it was meagerly advancing last decade, when the Fed had to keep reversing course on its tightening plans. And keep in mind, as of this moment, the Fed is still doing quantitative easing! For an economy booming 10%, and a prime-age employment-to-population ratio that has recovered in just two years to 79% as of December--s...

SINGAPORE: The head of technology at a company bought a camera online and stuck it to the ceiling of his workplace toilet, hoping to film his female colleagues in an attempt his lawyer called "amateurish ... beyond belief". Balasingam-Chow Yu Hui fastened the black and rainbow-striped pinhole video camera against the white ceiling with blu-tack and scotch tape, his lawyer said. However, it fell to the ground within half an hour and was picked up by a potential victim who flagged the crime. Balasingam, 44, was sentenced to 10 days' jail on Wednesday (Feb 9). He pleaded guilty to a charge each of attempting to insult a woman's modesty and criminal trespass. Two other charges were taken into consideration. The court heard that Balasingam bought the camera online sometime in May 2019. About...

Rail wagons for oil, fuel and liquefied gas cargo stand in sidings at Yanichkino railway station, close to the Gazprom Neft PJSC Moscow refinery in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, April 27, 2020. Oil prices surged on Monday over 2% to their highest in more than seven years as Ukraine's President said he had heard that Russia could invade the country on Wednesday. Russia is one of the world's largest oil-and-gas producers, and fears that it could invade Ukraine have driven the rally in oil closer to the $100-per-barrel mark. "The market remains hyper-sensitive to the developments over the Russian/Ukraine situation," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital in New York. "This is now intensifying to a terrific degree. Right now, it's buy now, ask later." Brent crude rose $2.04, or 2.2%, to ...

ROME : A very long table that drew world attention when Russian President Vladimir Putin used it for meetings this month with foreign leaders was made in Italy by a small family firm which has also furnished dozens of other rooms in the Kremlin. The white table - some six metres (12 ft) in length - spawned countless memes on social media last week when Putin hosted French President Emmanuel Macron for talks on the Ukraine crisis, and they sat at each end of the table. Renato Pologna said the table was just one of many items his firm Oak made for the Kremlin under contract in 1995-1997. "The table is really the tip of the iceberg. In all, we provided furniture and fittings for around 70 rooms. Some of the other tables are even bigger," he told Reuters. The scene of Putin and Macron seat...

SINGAPORE: A project manager at a firm carrying out subcontracting work such as pipe-laying bribed a Public Utilities Board (PUB) officer in exchange for smoother business, including getting priority to lay pipes at sites. The PUB assistant engineer had approached the project manager at Pipe Works for "supervision fees", and the project manager accordingly gave him S$45,169 in bribes. Pipe Works employee Ganisan Suppiah, 52, was sentenced to seven months and two weeks' jail on Monday (Feb 14). He pleaded guilty to one charge of corruptly giving gratification to PUB assistant engineer Jamaludin Mohamed and a second of abetting Jamaludin in making a false invoice. A third charge was taken into consideration. The court heard that Ganisan was a project manager of both Pipe Works and Krish...

SINGAPORE: To deal with newly-announced carbon tax hikes that will take effect over the coming years, large emitters say they will continue improving energy efficiency, among other initiatives, to cut their emissions. Singapore’s carbon tax rate will go up from the current S$5 per tonne of emissions to between S$50 and S$80 by 2030, amid more ambitious climate goals announced as part of Budget 2022 on Friday (Feb 18). Rates will first be raised to S$25 per tonne of emissions in 2024, and again to S$45 per tonne in 2026. The tax is currently applied to facilities that directly emit at least 25,000 tCO2e of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per year. DBS’ Senior Economist Irvin Seah said this will create a “significant impact” on the economy, especially for the power generation, manufacturin...

SINGAPORE: A maid hired by a man to care for his mother instead stole the elderly woman's ATM card and used it to withdraw S$18,000 over 36 occasions. Indonesian national Anastasia Paba, 35, was sentenced to 25 weeks' jail on Tuesday (Feb 15) for a charge each of theft and theft in dwelling. The court heard that Paba began working for the 79-year-old victim's son in November 2020. She cleaned the flat daily, including the victim's bedroom, and formed an intention to steal her United Overseas Bank (UOB) card to withdraw money. Paba would accompany the victim to the ATM to withdraw cash whenever she needed to. She noticed the elderly woman keying in her PIN passcode and found out what it was during one such transaction. Between Dec 16, 2021, and Jan 19, 2022, Paba stole the UOB card from...

We're in the midst of an energy transition. Renewable power and electric vehicles are getting cheaper, the grid is getting greener, and oil and gas companies are getting nervous. That's why the fossil fuel giants are looking towards petrochemicals, and plastics in particular, as their next major growth market. "Plastics is the Plan B for the fossil fuel industry," said Judith Enck, Founder and President of the nonprofit advocacy group Beyond Plastics. Plastics, which are made from fossil fuels, are set to drive nearly half of oil demand growth by midcentury, according to the International Energy Agency. That outpaces even hard-to-decarbonize sectors like aviation and shipping. "Every company who is currently engaged in producing plastic, if you look at their capital budgets for the next tw...

TOKYO :Sony Group will likely add new technology partners to its electric vehicle (EV) project to help it forge a mobility business to transform cars from transportation machines to entertainment spaces, a Sony executive told Reuters. An ongoing shift to electric cars, which are easier to build than those with internal combustion engines, is allowing new entrants into vehicle manufacturing. At the same time, autonomous driving and 5G connectivity is expected remold the auto industry by turning cars into mobile platforms for information and entertainment services. "We see the risk of ignoring EVs as greater than the challenge they pose," Izumi Kawanishi, the senior general manager who will manage a new Sony Mobility business, said in an interview. The coming transformation of cars was in ...

KYIV: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte urged dialogue to defuse a crisis with Russia on Wednesday (Feb 2) during a trip to Kyiv in which he also reaffirmed his resolve to secure justice for families of the victims of an airliner downed over eastern Ukraine in 2014. Rutte is the latest leader - following in the tracks of the British and Polish premiers - to visit Kyiv in a show of solidarity after Russia massed tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine's borders in a standoff that has alarmed the West. The Ukraine crisis is closely watched in the Netherlands, where Dutch prosecutors have sought the convictions of four men charged with murder over the shooting down of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. The prosecutors say the defendants, who are all at large, helped supply a missile system ...