World

Commentary: No worker is untrainable. Employers have to step up to help
25Nov By Team FPNo Comments
Market, Singapore, World

Commentary: No worker is untrainable. Employers have to step up to help

The words 'upskill' and 'retrain' accompany almost every report on jobs. PeopleSearch’s Jaime Lim weighs in on how companies can work with employees who find it a struggle. SINGAPORE: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to batter the economy, the threat to jobs remains formidable. According to the Ministry of Manpower, retrenchments in the second quarter more than doubled to 8,130 from the first quarter figure of 3,220. Global economic uncertainties are likely to continue weighing down the labour market for the rest of the year. As displaced workers struggle to take their next steps, the Government has been substantially boosting its training support programmes. Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced a six-month extension of the Enhanced Training Support Package to...
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Philippines braces for another cyclone, after typhoon kills 20
22Nov By Team FPNo Comments
Singapore, World

Philippines braces for another cyclone, after typhoon kills 20

MANILA: Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday (Nov 2) warned of another potentially damaging cyclone approaching the country, as the death toll from the world's strongest typhoon of the year rose to 20. Typhoon Goni, which battered provinces south of the capital Manila on Sunday with gusts of up to 310kmh, is the 18th to hit the Philippines this year and one of the strongest typhoons since Haiyan killed more than 6,300 people in 2013. The country's disaster agency on Monday said 20 people had been killed in Albay and Catanduane provinces, up from the 16 it had previously reported. Officials said a forcible evacuation of more than 345,000 people had averted more deaths. The remains of a truck submerged in mudflow from Mayon Volcano triggered by heavy rains from Typhoon Gon...
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Wild 2020 is shaping up to be a surprisingly normal year for buy-and-hold investors
22Nov By Team FPNo Comments
Market, World

Wild 2020 is shaping up to be a surprisingly normal year for buy-and-hold investors

People pass by the exterior of New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on November 4, 2020 in New York. Kena Betancur | AFP | Getty Images By now, "2020" has become four-digit shorthand for the unprecedented, unsettling and unbelievable. Yet in the markets, from point to point, this year has been surprisingly normal for a buy-and-close-your-eyes investor. After last week's tension-release rally, the S&P 500 has posted an annualized gain of about 10% for 2020, or 12% or so including dividends, right in line with the historical yearly average. For investors in a traditional balanced portfolio of 60% stocks and 40% bonds, the returns are almost the same – a bit better than the long-term average for this strategy, but not by much. Now, sure, the path has been wild. Since the year began, the S&P 500 we...
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Anti-China protests gain momentum in Argentina
21Nov By Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, Market, USA, World

Anti-China protests gain momentum in Argentina

Between 2005 and 2019, Argentina has received maximum investment from China amounting to US$30.6 billion, which is 39 per cent of the total Chinese investment in South America.At the heart of the new Chinese investments in Argentina, is the proposal to build 25 industrial pig farms in Argentina, which will significantly increase pork exports to China. The project involving investment of US$3.8 billion, is expected to generate annual production of 900,000 tons amounting to US$2.5 million in annual exports.As per media reports, the pig farms will be set up with Chinese investment in partnership with local producers in Argentina, which currently has 10 industrial pig farms exclusively for export to China. In addition, 25 new farms are due to start operation in the next six years, which will e...
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Billionaire Jack Ma pays a hefty price for offending the Chinese regime
20Nov By Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China, World

Billionaire Jack Ma pays a hefty price for offending the Chinese regime

The year 2020 could have been the best year for Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of fintech giant Ant Group Co. Ltd. But now, he is paying an extremely high price for challenging the Chinese Communist Party.The state has pulled the plug on the ANT group, which could have been the biggest Fintech Company in the world. The initial public offering of Ant Group, the internet finance giant, was ready with its $34 billion stock debut in Shanghai and Hong Kong.This would have been the biggest IPO, or first sale of stock in the world - greater than the listing of Saudi Aramco, the state-run oil giant, when it went public last year. But the initiative received a huge blow from the Chinese authorities as the government suspended the public listing of the company abruptly.This caused a severe setback...
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Japan hopes RCEP deal pushes Biden and U.S. to rejoin trade frameworks
17Nov By Team FPNo Comments
Asia, China, Singapore, World

Japan hopes RCEP deal pushes Biden and U.S. to rejoin trade frameworks

The long-awaited free trade agreement signed Sunday between 15 Asia-Pacific countries after eight years of talks reflect their determination to strengthen economic unity and promote free trade, regardless of political differences, as questions loom over how U.S. President-elect Joe Biden will engage with the region. Japan hopes the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which includes China and South Korea and represents 30% of the world’s trade and population, will encourage the United States to return to a multilateral trade framework. “Regarding RCEP, it may create discussions in the United States, such as ‘is it okay that we are sitting out when a free trade network is created in the Indo-Pacific?'” a senior Japanese diplomat said. The Trans-Pacific Partnership had been promot...
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Malaysia’s AirAsia Group reviewing India investment, hints at possible exit
17Nov By Team FPNo Comments
Asia, Market, World

Malaysia’s AirAsia Group reviewing India investment, hints at possible exit

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's flagship budget carrier AirAsia Group has given its strongest indication to date that it could exit India, saying on Tuesday (Nov 17) it was reviewing its investment in a joint venture airline there. The group said in a statement that its operations in India, like those of its now-shuttered Japan business, have been draining cash and adding to the group's financial stress. "Cost containment and reducing cash burn remain key priorities evident by the recent closure of AirAsia Japan and an ongoing review of our investment in AirAsia India," it said. AirAsia shut its operations in Japan, the smallest of its foreign offshoots, last month. The airline owns 49 per cent of AirAsia India, a joint venture with Tata Sons. The Times of India reported last month, citi...
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Wall Street extends slide on virus worries, elusive stimulus deal
17Nov By Team FPNo Comments
World

Wall Street extends slide on virus worries, elusive stimulus deal

U.S. stocks extended their slide on Monday, setting the Dow for its worst day in more than seven weeks, as soaring coronavirus cases and a deadlock in Washington over the next fiscal relief bill raised concerns over the economy and corporate earnings. REUTERS: U.S. stocks extended their slide on Monday, setting the Dow for its worst day in more than seven weeks, as soaring coronavirus cases and a deadlock in Washington over the next fiscal relief bill raised concerns over the economy and corporate earnings. At 12:17 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 731.56 points, or 2.58per cent, at 27,604.01, the S&P 500 was down 70.49 points, or 2.03per cent, at 3,394.90, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 188.60 points, or 1.63per cent, at 11,359.68. (Reporting by Medha Singh in ...
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South Korea takes in 164 asylum seekers from nearly 6,000 applicants
17Nov By Team FPNo Comments
Asia, USA, World

South Korea takes in 164 asylum seekers from nearly 6,000 applicants

SEOUL: South Korea has accepted just 164 asylum seekers this year from nearly 6,000 who applied despite COVID-19 travel curbs, government data showed. Immigration is a contentious issue in South Korea, where many pride themselves on ethnic homogeneity, even as its population of 51 million rapidly ages and the labour force shrivels. The figure of 5,896 applicants for refugee status between January and August was down about 36 per cent from the corresponding period last year, data from the justice ministry showed last week. Russians topped the list of applicants at nearly 18 per cent, followed by people from Egypt, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and India. Only about 4 per cent of the 4,019 who completed the screening process were accepted or granted residency for humanitarian reasons, althoug...
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Analysis: Fear on the wild frontier as riskier stock markets left trailing
16Nov By Team FPNo Comments
China, Market, World

Analysis: Fear on the wild frontier as riskier stock markets left trailing

related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 3 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. Frontier stocks have trailed bigger emerging markets in recovering from the coronavirus-induced crash as liquidity has dried up and investors beat a hasty retreat. LONDON: Frontier stocks have trailed bigger emerging markets in recovering from the coronavirus-induced crash as liquidity has dried up and investors beat a hasty retreat. BMO Global Asset Management shut a US$78 million fund and Aberdeen Standard Investments wound up an investment trust, both invested in frontier stocks, in recent months after fellow fund manager Barings took a similar step last year. Money managers say assets under management in dedicated frontier fu...
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