World

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was able to tick many of the boxes on Japan’s wishlist during his virtual summit with U.S. President Joe Biden, but now the hard part begins. The prime minister will need to buckle down for a busy year to bring that wishlist to fruition, especially if COVID-19 continues to roil his best-laid plans. Kishida and Biden held an online summit Friday after the spread of the virus’s omicron variant made in-person talks impossible. The talks, initially scheduled for one hour, lasted for 80 minutes, with the two leaders discussing a range of issues and agreeing to “push back” against China’s assertive actions in the region, cooperate to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and to work closely to prevent a Russian invasion of Ukraine. “I had frank discus...

With U.S. and Chinese warships increasingly playing chicken and China transforming atolls and outcroppings into militarized artificial islands, the South China Sea presents a striking picture of Sino-American strategic competition. But China’s expansive assertion of offshore sovereignty is not only challenging others’ territorial rights and free navigation of international sea lanes. It also is threatening a central feature of the Southeast Asian ecosystem, and thus the region’s economic future. China has refused to submit its territorial claims to international review, even though six of the ten countries surrounding the South China Sea have claims to various rocks, shoals, reefs and resources within its 1.4 million square miles. China also has ignored the Permanent Court of Arbitration...

A "now hiring" sign is posted in the window of a restaurant in Los Angeles, California on January 28, 2022. Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images The sudden slam to the economy from the omicron Covid variant could show up in January's employment report as the first big loss of jobs since late 2020. Economists have wide-ranging expectations for the report, which is expected Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Dow Jones call for a 150,000 gain in payrolls. However, many economists — like those at PNC, Jefferies, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Wilmington Trust — expect big losses. "There's no question this is omicron. It's a pandemic, and it's not without consequences," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. She noted the number of jobs lost could be especially hig...

Few parts of the world paid as high a cost during the Cold War as Southeast Asia. The superpower conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union divided the region into pro- and anti-communist camps, spawning five wars in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam over four decades. Today, U.S.-China competition is fueling a so-called “new cold war” with familiar structural characteristics. In fact, the Sino-American great-power confrontation is a continuation of an unfinished ideological struggle, this time pitting the U.S.-led and Western-based alliance system against a China-centric global network of client states, many of them with various shades of authoritarian governance. The Soviet Union lost the Cold War, but China is now giving the West a run for its money in the sequel. And Southeast A...

SURABAYA: Indonesia began testing a homegrown COVID-19 vaccine on humans on Wednesday (Feb 9) after getting the green light from the drug regulator as the country faces a rising wave of virus cases. Research on the "Merah Putih" (Red White) vaccine - named after the colours of the Indonesian national flag - is led by Airlangga University and Biotis Pharmaceutical Indonesia. The project has suffered delays since starting in 2020, but authorities are now hoping to authorise its use by the middle of 2022 if the trials are successful. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the drug, set to be rolled out in the latter stages of Indonesia's vaccination campaign, could be donated to other nations as a booster jab or as a vaccine for children aged three to six. "I have discussed this matter ...

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations may face a bigger challenge on Myanmar issues in 2022 as the group’s semblance of unity may be tested under the leadership of Cambodia, the group’s rotating chair for this year. Political turmoil in Myanmar is continuing since the military seized power in a coup in February last year, and the junta has rejected ASEAN’s appeal for ending the violence and the request of the group’s special envoy to meet with all stakeholders in the conflict. Two weeks after over 30 people were killed by the military in eastern Kayah state, where its clashes with an armed ethnic minority group are ongoing, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen visited Myanmar and met the junta chief despite criticism from opponents in the country and human rights groups. In their joint...

1. Stocks set to drop as Dow stock JPMorgan falls after quarterly results Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Jan. 13, 2022. Source: NYSE U.S. stock futures accelerated to the downside Friday after Dow stock JPMorgan fell 4% in the premarket as investors parsed quarterly results from the nation's largest bank by assets. The company's fourth-quarter per-share earnings of $3.33 and revenue of $30.35 billion, both beat estimates. However, JPMorgan said it took a $1.8 billion net benefit from releasing reserves for loan losses that never materialized; without that benefit earnings would have been $2.86 per share, missing expectations. This week's bounce in tech stocks was wiped out Thursday, sending the Nasdaq down 2.5% and the S&P 500 down 1.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Ave...

NEW DELHI :India has forecast its economy will grow 8per cent to 8.5per cent for the fiscal year starting in April, down from 9.2per cent projected in the current year, as it fights a spike in COVID-19 cases and rising inflationary pressure. At that pace, India's economic growth next fiscal year will still be the fastest among major economies. All macro indicators indicated Asia's third-largest economy was well placed to face challenges, helped by improving farm and industrial output growth, the government's annual economic survey said on Monday. The report, tabled by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in parliament ahead of the annual budget on Tuesday, warned about risks from global inflation and pandemic-related disruptions. "India does need to be wary of imported inflation, especi...

Select’s editorial team works independently to review financial products and write articles we think our readers will find useful. We may receive a commission when you click on links for products from our affiliate partners. It can be easy to feel like you need to achieve all your financial goals at the same time — maxing out your retirement contributions, paying off thousands of dollars in debt, saving for a house, saving for your kids' college tuition, purchasing a car and more. That list can be overwhelming to even start thinking about. In some cases, it might even be necessary to work on more than one goal at the same time. For example, most financial experts nowadays recommend paying down debt and investing money simultaneously. This can feel daunting and sometimes even impossible. B...

NEW YORK : The dollar rose to a five-week high on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it is likely to raise U.S. interest rates in March as expected and later launch a significant reduction in its asset holdings. The combined moves, along with reaffirmed plans to end its bond purchases in March, will complete a pivot away from the loose U.S. monetary policy that has defined the pandemic era and toward a more urgent fight against inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank will be open-minded as it adjusts monetary policy to keep persistently high inflation from becoming entrenched. While no decisions have been made, "we'll be humble and nimble," he said. Stocks on Wall Street mostly sold off as the comments raised uncertainty. The Fed's statement at the end of its...