World

Don’t chase India’s market rally — the good news is ‘already priced in,’ HSBC says
18Dec By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, Market, Singapore, World

Don’t chase India’s market rally — the good news is ‘already priced in,’ HSBC says

A pedestrian speaks on a mobile phone as he looks at share prices on a digital broadcast outside the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Mumbai on November 10, 2020. SINGAPORE — India's markets may have rallied to historic levels, but investors may want to stay away from chasing the rally for now, says HSBC Private Banking, which is currently underweight on India. "Our view at this stage is that a lot of the good news is already priced in to the Indian market as of now," James Cheo, chief market strategist for Southeast Asia at the firm, told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Monday. As of Friday's close, both the Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex sat close to all-time highs that were touched on Nov. 25, according to Refinitiv Eikon. India's markets were closed on Monday for a holiday. The recent ral...
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Biden picks longtime China critic Katherine Tai as top U.S. trade official
14Dec By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, China, World

Biden picks longtime China critic Katherine Tai as top U.S. trade official

Katherine Tai speaks during a House Ways and Means Committee meeting to consider the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement in 2019. CSPAN President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday named Katherine Tai, a trade lawyer with a history of taking on China, as his incoming administration's pick for the United States' top trade representative. If confirmed by the Senate, Tai would inherit a critical, Cabinet-level position tasked with enforcing America's import rules and brokering trading terms with China and other nations. Tai, who is Asian-American, would also be the first woman of color to serve as the USTR. She is fluent in Mandarin. In choosing Tai, the senior trade lawyer on the House Ways and Means Committee, the Biden team likely signals an intent to return to a more multilateral trade app...
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Mnuchin says people are misunderstanding Fed funding decision, there’s plenty of firepower left
14Dec By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

Mnuchin says people are misunderstanding Fed funding decision, there’s plenty of firepower left

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin moved Friday to downplay his department's decision to pull the plug on several Federal Reserve programs, saying there's plenty of money around to provide funding where it is needed. "This was a very simple thing. We're following the intent of Congress," Mnuchin told CNBC's Jim Cramer during a "Squawk on the Street" interview. After working together through much of the year on a series of lending and market liquidity programs, the Treasury and Fed found themselves at odds Thursday after Mnuchin said Treasury would not be seeking to extend a handful of lending programs instituted during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Funding for the programs is set to expire at the end of the year. They cover corporate bond buying, loans to state and local go...
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The psychological difference between spenders and savers (and what your habits say about your personality)
14Dec By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

The psychological difference between spenders and savers (and what your habits say about your personality)

Times of stress tend to amplify our human nature, including the way that we spend and save money. While stuck at home during Covid-19, for example, some might be itching to spend or take advantage of upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales — experts say that stress-shopping is one way we attempt to feel in control of our lives. Others might be more anxious about finances or worried about job security. Even when there's no pandemic, the way that people spend or save says more about a person than whether they have self control. Experts don't exactly know why you end up with a propensity to splurge or save, but part of it likely has to do with your family upbringing, says Scott Rick, associate professor at the Michigan Ross School of Business, whose research focuses on the emotional caus...
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US, EU must end trade disputes, Brussels says in Biden wish-list
14Dec By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

US, EU must end trade disputes, Brussels says in Biden wish-list

BRUSSELS: The European Union and the United States should resolve their trade disputes after US President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January in a "new transatlantic agenda", the EU executive said on Wednesday (Dec 2), laying out its wish-list for better ties. After four years of US President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda during which Washington imposed tariffs on Brussels on national security grounds, the EU is now looking for close cooperation with Biden on almost all issues. The United States and the EU "must work closely together on solving bilateral trade irritants", the European Commission said in a proposal to EU governments, noting that EU-US commerce accounts for a third of world trade. However, the 12-page document presented by EU foreign policy chief Josep Bor...
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US slams China for charging Jimmy Lai under National Security Law
13Dec mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, Singapore, World

US slams China for charging Jimmy Lai under National Security Law

The United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has slammed China for charging Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai under its draconian National Security Law and demanded that charges must be dropped.Taking to Twitter, Pompeo said: “Hong Kong’s National Security Law makes a mockery of justice. @JimmyLaiApple’s only “crime” is speaking the truth about the Chinese Communist Party’s authoritarianism and fear of freedom. Charges should be dropped and he should be released immediately.”Jimmy Lai is set to appear in West Kowloon Court on Saturday after being charged with colluding with foreign powers under the Beijing-imposed national security law, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.Earlier, Lai, the founder of the Apple Daily newspaper was reported to have been charge...
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China bails out Pakistan to pay Saudi debt again
13Dec mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, Singapore, World

China bails out Pakistan to pay Saudi debt again

Pakistan is saved yet again as China has agrees to immediately provide $1.5 billion financing line to Islamabad to repay the $2 billion Saudi Arabia debt.Now, out of $2 billion, Pakistan is set to return the $1 billion on Monday, said sources in the finance ministry and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). “The remaining $1 billion is due in January,” they added.“However, this time, China has not given the loan from its State Administration of Foreign Exchange, commonly known as SAFE deposits, nor has it extended a commercial loan,” said the sources.Instead, both the countries have agreed to augment the size of a 2011 bilateral Currency-Swap Agreement (CSA) by an additional 10 billion Chinse Yuan or around $1.5 billion, the sources said. This has increased the size of the overall trade facili...
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Chinese embassy in US retweets Trump’s election fraud claim, blames hackers
10Dec mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, Singapore, World

Chinese embassy in US retweets Trump’s election fraud claim, blames hackers

In a major blunder, the Chinese embassy in the US retweeted President Donald Trump's tweet, in which he accused the Democrats of cheating in the presidential election. However, later the embassy said that its official Twitter account was hacked.Taking to Twitter, Trump wrote, "If somebody cheated in the Election, which the Democrats did, why wouldn't the Election be immediately overturned? How can a Country be run like this?"The post carrying a Twitter warning that the claim of election fraud is "disputed" was retweeted by the official account for the Chinese government's presence in the US.The embassy then tweeted saying: "The Chinese Embassy twitter account was hacked this afternoon and we condemn such an act. For clarification, the Embassy didn’t do any retweeting on Dec.9."This comes d...
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What you need to know about the latest travel restrictions for Japan
10Dec By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Singapore, World

What you need to know about the latest travel restrictions for Japan

As the world continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan is cautiously relaxing its strict border control policy to start allowing more foreign nationals to enter the country. With the latest revision to its travel restrictions, which came into effect earlier in November, the government has changed some procedures for new arrivals from abroad. While preparing for next year’s Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, authorities are also working toward easing the restrictions further for visitors planning to attend the sporting extravaganza. The government has implemented separate sets of rules for travelers from regions placed at Level 3, the second-highest under the nation’s travel advisory system and under which all travel is warned against, while exempting from mandatory testing those from...
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Despite hopeful signs, Tokyo and Seoul miles apart on wartime labor
10Dec By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, China, Singapore, World

Despite hopeful signs, Tokyo and Seoul miles apart on wartime labor

Over the past few weeks South Korea has dispatched high-ranking government officials and lawmakers to Japan, seeking a breakthrough in a bilateral relationship characterized by some to be in its worst state since 1965 when diplomatic relations were normalized. South Korea and especially President Moon Jae-in seem eager to patch up the fractured relations, seizing changes in leadership in Japan and the United States and a summit scheduled to be hosted by Seoul as a golden opportunity to score diplomatic points and boost popularity. But Japan has remained unmoved by South Korea’s passionate overtures, with the issue of compensation over wartime labor being a sticking point between them. The two sides have been at a stalemate for years over court proceedings to seize and liquidate Japanese...
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