World

Markets were hammered Monday as investors grew more concerned the Covid omicron variant could have a significant impact on the global economy. Five experts weigh in on what they think may be ahead for U.S. stocks: Chris Hyzy, chief investment officer at Bank of America Private Bank, says the stock market has come back to fundamentals. "Coming off the extraordinary gains of 2020 and 2021… we're almost back to the basics again. You have to take a position on earnings growth. And profit growth, from our perspective, should be better than expected. Consensus is out there with a 7% or 8% move. But when you look at some of the trends, particularly consumer spending despite the growth worries we're all talking about right now, when we look back on all this and we go to the summer of next year ...

JOHANNESBURG: South African batsman Keegan Petersen predicts the wicket at the Wanderers will get tougher to bat on as the second test against India progresses, offering the potential of a gripping contest between bat and ball. Petersen top scored for South Africa with a maiden half century on Tuesday as the home team managed a slender first innings lead over the tourists but then allowed India to score quickly near the close of play to take a 58-run lead with eight wicket second innings wickets in hand. "I think it's going to be tough for the rest of the test match and pitch is definitely not getting better," he told a virtual news conference at the close of play on Tuesday. But he warned that South Africa would need to bowl India out cheaply on Wednesday if they were to have a chance ...

MANILA :Citigroup Inc said on Thursday it is selling its consumer-banking business in the Philippines to UnionBank in the third of 13 planned exits from Asia franchises. Citigroup said the Philippines transaction will increase its tangible common equity by about US$500 million of the total US$7 billion increase it expects to eventually come from the Asia divestiture plan it announced in April. For Unionbank of the Philippines the purchase is part of a bid to boost growth in its retail banking sector. Unionbank will pay cash for the net assets of the Citi Philippines' consumer banking business plus a premium of 45.3 billion pesos, or about US$908 million, Citigroup said. The deal includes Citi's credit card, personal loans, wealth management and retail deposit businesses, as well as rea...

NEW YORK : Oil prices rose about 2per cent on Thursday, extending their new year's rally, on escalating unrest in OPEC+ oil producer Kazakhstan and supply outages in Libya. Brent crude futures rose US$1.19 cents, or 1.5per cent, to settle at US$81.99 a barrel, after hitting their highest since late November. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained US$1.61, or 2.1per cent, to US$79.46. The contract touched a session high of US$80.24. Russia sent paratroopers into Kazakhstan to help quell a countrywide uprising after deadly violence spread across the tightly controlled former Soviet state. There were no indications that oil production in Kazakhstan has been affected so far. The country produces about 1.6 million barrels of oil per day. Meanwhile in Libya, oil output was at 729,00...

The goal of net-zero carbon by 2050 is almost certain to be drastically curtailed by its costs and lack of feasibility. The International Renewable Energy Agency, an intergovernmental body, estimates that the world needs to invest $115 trillion in clean technologies such as solar and wind power and electric vehicles to limit global warming since 1900 to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the goal of the 2015 Paris climate agreement that was signed by 195 countries. Much of the reduction would have to come in India and China, which would need to invest $21 trillion to overhaul transportation and construction while building nuclear, wind and solar facilities to reach zero net carbon emissions by 2060, according to the Wall Street Journal. But 57% of China’s energy consumption in 2020 was supplied by coa...

Criminals have stolen close to $100 billion in pandemic relief funds, the U.S. Secret Service said Tuesday. The stolen funds were diverted by fraudsters from the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and a another program set up to dole out unemployment assistance funds nationwide. More than $2.3 billion in stolen funds have been recovered so far, resulting in the arrest of more than 100 suspects who span the spectrum from individuals to organized groups, according to the agency. The government has shelled out about $3.5 trillion in Covid relief money since early 2020, when the pandemic began. U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this photo illustration. Jose Luis Gonzalez | Illustration | Reuters The Secret Service, which spe...

“A GAME OF CHESS” At the national competition, many were already internationally recognised champions. Singapore Armwrestling president Valen Low had the most impressive CV, having won competitions in Australia, China and Malaysia. Low and some of the other seasoned pullers played multiple roles in the championships, rotating between organiser, competitor and then referee. According to the arm wrestlers, their sport is not purely a show of strength. “This sport is like a game of chess – most of the time, the real battle begins before the match even starts,” said puller Joshua Park, who competes in the 70kg category. “Analysis of the opponent needs to be done in order to exploit their weakness and gain ultimate victory!” Tay Jia Jun, a puller in the 78kg category, also compared the sp...

JAKARTA: Indonesia, the world's biggest thermal coal exporter, sent shockwaves through global energy markets this week by suspending exports of the fuel in January due to critically low coal supplies at domestic power plants. WHY DID INDONESIAN AUTHORITIES DECIDE TO ACT? Coal makes up around 60 per cent of Indonesia's energy mix and its energy ministry said by the start of 2022 only 35,000 tonnes of coal had been delivered to state power firm PLN. PLN had secured 13.9 million tonnes by Wednesday (Jan 5) but needs another six million tonnes to ensure a 20-day stock level of 20 million tonnes. PLN in November estimated it would need 119 million tonnes for all of 2022. The State-Owned Enterprises Ministry said it is pushing for PLN to improve supply management and increase long-term procu...

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement takes effect Saturday, and Japan and other member nations expect free trade within the economic bloc to revitalize their pandemic-hit economies. The outlook on its impact on Japan’s economy is particularly rosy, some analysis suggests. At the same time, however, Japan will face difficulties keeping China’s growing influence in the region in check, with its ally, the United States, remaining at odds with China over human rights and other issues. “Japan would benefit the most from RCEP tariff concessions, largely because of trade diversion effects,” a recent report published by the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCT) pointed out. The 15-member RCEP — regarded as the world’s largest economic bloc, covering about a third ...

EXPORTS TO TOP MARKETS Exports to the top markets as a whole rose in September, said ESG, although exports to the EU 27, Malaysia and Thailand declined. The largest contributors to this increase were China, the United States and South Korea. Exports to China grew by 38.9 per cent due to non-monetary gold, petrochemicals and integrated circuits. China's power crisis has sent the demand for Singapore's petrochemical exports higher, said OCBC Bank's head of treasury research and strategy Selena Ling. "With power and fuel sources being conserved in China for the coming winter, demand for petrochemicals is likely to shift towards Singapore’s oil refinery hubs," she added. This shift in demand of oil-related products to Singapore is expected to persist until winter blows over, which sugges...