World

TOKYO : Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co is ready to buy U.S. Treasuries at a yield of 3 per cent without currency hedging, if the dollar falls below 135 yen, a senior company official said on Wednesday. In an interview with Reuters, Yoshimasa Osaki, head of investment planning at one of Japan's Big Four private life insurers, said foreign-currency bonds with a yield of 3 per cent or more look attractive when Japanese government bond (JGB) yields are so low. "Even for U.S. Treasuries, 3 per cent is quite a fortunate yield which you don't come across very often in the long run. So if the dollar slips below 135 yen, it will be a good chance to buy without a hedge," said Osaki. Osaki said the firm thinks both Treasury yields and the dollar have already hit their peaks. The 10-year U.S. Trea...

Let's get you caught up on the day's top stories. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday (Aug 2) night as part of her ongoing Asia tour. It is the highest-profile visit by a US official to the island in 25 years. Prior to her arrival, China warned that the United States would "pay the price" if Pelosi visited Taiwan. China considers Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to one day seize the island, by force if necessary. Ahead of her expected arrival, Chinese warplanes buzzed the line dividing the Taiwan Strait, and several warships remained close to it. Taiwan's military on Tuesday said it was "determined" to defend it against increased threats by China over the potential Pelosi visit. Fong Soong Hert, 51, is suspected of murdering his wife in 2021 while they wer...

NEW DELHI: India is set to surpass China as the world's most populous country in 2023, with each counting more than 1.4 billion residents this year, a United Nations report said on Monday (Jul 11), warning that high fertility would challenge economic growth. The world's population, estimated to reach 8 billion by Nov 15 this year, could grow to 8.5 billion in 2030, and 10.4 billion in 2100, as the pace of mortality slows, said the report released on World Population Day. India's population was 1.21 billion in 2011, according to the domestic census, which is conducted once a decade. The government had deferred the 2021 census due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The world's population was growing at its slowest pace since 1950, having fallen below 1 per cent in 2020, UN estimates showed. In 20...

In this article .STOXX Some airlines and airports are struggling with the post-covid demand for travel. Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images LONDON — Delays, cancellations and strikes. It's been a messy time for many European tourist hotspots as airlines and airports struggle to cope with staffing problems and pent-up travel demand after Covid-19 lockdowns. Thousands of flights have been canceled and travelers have queued for hours at passport control and luggage collection at airports across Europe — and the issues are expected to drag on. On Monday, Scandinavian airline SAS canceled 173 flights, more than half of its schedule, as a breakdown in pay talks set off a pilot strike. It said the strike would force it to cancel half of SAS's scheduled flights and affect about 30,000...

Select’s editorial team works independently to review financial products and write articles we think our readers will find useful. We earn a commission from affiliate partners on many offers, but not all offers on Select are from affiliate partners. Welcome to Select's newest advice column, Getting Your Money Right. Once a month, financial advisor Kristin O'Keeffe Merrick will be answering your pressing money questions. (You can read her last installment here on how rising interest rates impact your investment portfolio.) Have a question you want to ask? Send us a note at AskSelect@nbcuni.com. Andrii Dodonov | Istock | Getty Images Dear Kristin, With the recent downturn in the stock market, I am trying to look for ways to protect my portfolio. I know of the adage, "diversify, diversify,...

Retail businesses in Singapore are grappling with higher costs as rents rise and energy prices soar, the Singapore Retailers Association said. Cost pressure is a big concern for many Singapore retailers which have not completely passed on price increases to consumers, and are currently feeling the "margin squeeze," Ernie Koh, the association's president told CNBC's Street Signs Asia Tuesday. Singapore utilities company SP Group announced that electricity tariffs will be bumped up by about 8% compared to the previous quarter from July to September. "The increase is mainly due to higher energy cost driven by rising global gas and oil prices exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine," SP Group said. Energy prices are likely to remain elevated over the second half of 2022 and residents should bra...

JAKARTA: Indonesian companies will start to export chicken products to Singapore “really soon”, said Indonesia’s Ministry of Agriculture in response to CNA’s queries on Wednesday (Jul 6). At the same time, the ministry said that it is working with more businesses to obtain permission to export chicken products to the neighbouring country. This comes after Singapore announced on Jun 30 that it has added Indonesia as a new source for the import of chilled, frozen and processed chicken. According to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), three companies from Indonesia were given permission to export chicken meat and chicken meat products into the country. Two of the companies are Indonesian subsidiaries of Thailand-based food conglomerate Charoen Pokphand, while the other is a subsidiary of Ind...

BEIJING :China will make great efforts to consolidate its economic recovery particularly in the crucial third quarter, putting a priority on stabilising employment and prices, state media reported on Friday after a regular cabinet meeting. The world's second-biggest economy narrowly missed a contraction in the second quarter, growing just 0.4 per cent year-on-year, weighed down by COVID-19 lockdowns, a weak property sector and cautious consumer sentiment. The government has set a 2022 growth target of around 5.5 per cent. Major hurdles in the second half include China's persistent zero-COVID policy that entails curbs and restrictions that could again disrupt local businesses, employment and consumption. To spur growth, authorities have dusted off an old playbook, issuing debt to fund big...

Delta Air Lines on Wednesday reported a quarterly profit thanks to travelers willing to pay up to fly, more than making up for higher costs. The carrier also vowed to improve reliability after an increase in delays and cancellations prompted it to scale back its summer schedule. The airline industry "was starved for revenue for the last two years," CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday after the carrier released results. "We pushed too hard. We scaled back a bit ... and in July we're running a great operation." Delta shares fell more than 4% Wednesday after its adjusted earnings fell short of analyst estimates. Rivals' shares also dropped more than the broader market, which slumped after inflation data came in higher than expected. Airfare represented one of the few decl...

HONG KONG : China International Capital Corp Ltd (CICC) has appointed veteran dealmaker Wang Shuguang to lead its investment banking business, said two people with knowledge of the matter. The appointment, effective July 11, comes as Wang Sheng, the bank's previous investment banking head, has moved to China Galaxy Securities to take over as chief executive of the smaller peer. The two have the same surname but are not related. CICC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Wang Shuguang joined the country's oldest investment bank in 1998, three years after it was founded, and has more than two decades of experience in dealmaking, according to an official biography. He established CICC's growth enterprise investment banking division, which focuses on serving China's fast-g...