World

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...

(Updates prices, adds Wells Fargo forecast) By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK : The offshore Chinese yuan weakened versus the greenback to its lowest level in nearly a month on Monday, as worries about the repercussions from property developer Evergrande's solvency issues spooked financial markets and lifted safe-haven currencies. Market sentiment has been rattled by the potential contagion from Evergrande, which is trying to raise funds to pay a host of lenders, suppliers and investors. A deadline for an US$83.5 million interest payment on one of its bonds is due on Thursday, and the company has US$305 billion in liabilities. On Thursday, the yuan strengthened to its highest level in three months at 6.4226 per dollar before starting to reverse as Evergrande's woes worsened. The move sharp...

SINGAPORE/SEOUL : China's economic setbacks have darkened the outlook for countries in its orbit, from South Korea to Thailand, as a sharp factory slowdown and trade bottlenecks in the world's second-largest economy hit Asia on the supply as well as demand sides. China's gross domestic product faltered in the third quarter, data showed this week, with growth hitting its weakest in a year, hurt by power shortages, supply chain snags and a property market crisis. For China's trading partners, the slippage presents new risks to what is shaping up to be a bumpy global recovery from the pandemic slump. "Yes, growth elsewhere, namely the U.S. and Europe, appears robust," wrote Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economics research at HSBC. "But it is China that's been the main engine for growt...

Some of the world’s longest and toughest pandemic-induced border curbs are finally being eased, with Asia-Pacific countries taking their firmest steps yet toward reopening to international travel in recent days. From Singapore to Sydney, Bali to Bangkok, authorities have announced a flurry of plans to welcome vaccinated travelers by drastically reducing or completely removing quarantine requirements in place for most of the pandemic. For these places, the easing is a significant shift toward opening up just as the traditional year-end holiday season approaches. “For double-vaccinated people around the world, Sydney, New South Wales is open for business,” state Premier Dominic Perrottet said Friday, as Australia’s most populous state announced it will waive the 14-day quarantine for trave...

NEW YORK :Oil prices rose for a third week in a row to a near three-year high on Friday as global output disruptions have forced energy companies to pull large amounts of crude out of inventories. The rally was slightly dampened by China's first public sale of state crude reserves. Brent futures rose 84 cents, or 1.1per cent, to settle at US$78.09 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 68 cents, or 0.9per cent, to settle at US$73.98. That was the highest close for Brent since October 2018 and for WTI since July 2021, both for a second day in a row. It was the third week of gains for Brent and the fifth for WTI mostly due to U.S. Gulf Coast output disruptions from Hurricane Ida in late August. New York Harbor Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) futures also closed at ...

WASHINGTON: South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said he would meet his Japanese counterpart on Thursday (Sep 23) and hoped for progress to end a dispute that has led to tit-for-tat trade restrictions. Chung told the Council on Foreign Relations think-tank during a visit to New York that he would hold a bilateral meeting with Japan's Toshimitsu Motegi in the city after taking part in a trilateral meeting together with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. "Japan is our close neighbour and we share the same values of democracy, market economy, human rights and all that," he said. "So, we want Japan as a close friend, but unfortunately we have some differences in how to see the past history." A historic feud over Japan's 1910 to 1945 occupation of Korea including over...