World

Asian equities' valuations dropped to a more than two-year low at the end of May, as regional shares were hit by concerns over monetary tightening measures by major central banks and supply chain disruptions. The MSCI Asia-Pacific index's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) stood at 12.6 at the end of last month, the lowest since March 2020, according to Refinitiv data. Regional shares have faced bigger declines this year, as higher inflation levels stoked recession worries and lockdowns in China pushed manufacturers in countries ranging from Japan to South Korea to slow production activity. Graphic: MSCI Asia-Pacific and World index's PE - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/zgpomedxkpd/MSCIper cent20Asia-Pacificper cent20andper cent20Worldper cent20index'sper cent20PE...

NEW YORK : The dollar index rose for a second straight day on Thursday, erasing initial declines while the euro turned lower after the latest policy announcement by the European Central Bank (ECB), which signaled the bank was set to begin raising interest rates. The ECB ended a long-running stimulus program and said it would deliver its first interest rate hike since 2011 next month, followed by a potentially larger move in September as it seeks to tamp down rising inflation. But a lack of any details for a plan about dealing with fragmentation concerns in the region helped send the euro lower against the dollar. The ECB has said that fragmentation, a divergence between borrowing costs for different European countries, hampers the execution of its monetary policy. "We know QE is rolling...

Stocks snapped a multi-week losing streak Friday, with all three major averages closing higher. The rally was buoyed by the release of FOMC May minutes on Wednesday, which some interpreted as the Fed's willingness to pause interest-rate hikes once the neutral rate is achieved. While time will tell and the Fed remains data dependent, the outlook for future rate increases did pull back slightly following the release. Another positive boost for the market came Friday with the April personal spending report indicating a deceleration in the pace of inflation. Whether the Fed ultimately pauses or not does not impact our investing strategy. We continue to high-grade our portfolio by adding shares of high-quality companies that make stuff and do things for a profit, return cash to shareholders thr...

TOKYO :Japan ran its biggest single-month trade deficit in more than eight years in May as high commodity prices and declines in the yen swelled imports, clouding the country's economic outlook. The growing trade deficit underscores the headwinds the world's third-largest economy faces from a slide in the yen and surging costs of fuel and raw materials, on which domestic manufacturers rely for production. Imports soared 48.9 per cent in the year to May, Ministry of Finance data showed on Thursday, above a median market forecast for a 43.6 per cent gain in a Reuters poll. That outpaced a 15.8 per cent year-on-year rise in exports in the same month, resulting in a 2.385 trillion yen ($17.80 billion) trade deficit, the largest shortfall in a single month since January 2014. "The weak yen ...

LOS ANGELES: US Vice President Kamala Harris has pooled US$3.2 billion in corporate pledges aimed at addressing some of the economic factors driving migration from Central America, her office said on Tuesday (Jun 7), lending impetus to measures to be discussed at the Summit of the Americas this week. The new commitments from companies, including Visa and the apparel company Gap, exceed US$1.9 billion, adding to US$1.2 billion made in December. The latest round of corporate investments announced by Harris are intended to create jobs, expand access to the internet and bring more people into the formal banking system. The pledges form a major part of President Joe Biden's plan to address "root causes" of migration from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, a region known as the Northern Tria...

SINGAPORE: The United States Federal Reserve has made its biggest interest rate hike in nearly 30 years, as it steps on the pedal to combat surging inflation. The move is set to have far-reaching implications beyond America, from choppy financial markets to slower economic recovery in other parts of the world and even higher borrowing costs for businesses and individuals. In Singapore, for instance, home owners may soon feel the pinch of higher mortgage rates. With the Fed indicating the possibility of further rate hikes, we ask the experts what that means for the economy and borrowers. Q: Why is the US Fed increasing rates and what’s next? US officials agreed to a 0.75-percentage-point rate rise at the end of a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday (Jun 15), bringing its benchmark fede...

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. Below, Select details what two things homebuyers need to be monitoring closely, plus what you can do in the meantime to prepare yourself financially for scoring a new home. However, rising interest rates have not made it easy for homebuyers, as they've increased substantially since early 2022. If you're in the market to buy a home this summer, you may be able to lock in a slightly lower price as well as a lower interest rate by watching two key factors keenly. After many months of soaring home prices, the real estate market finally seems to ...

LONDON: President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday (May 26) that he was glad some foreign companies had left Russia because home-grown businesses could take their place, and he warned the West that Moscow would still find ways to acquire advanced technology and luxury goods. Putin has cast the invasion of Ukraine as a turning point in Russian history: A revolt by Moscow against the United States, which he says has humiliated Russia since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union. Ukraine says it is fighting for its survival. Besides the death and horror of war, the conflict and the West's attempt to isolate Russia as punishment have crimped global economic growth and triggered a wave of inflation as the prices of grain, cooking oil, fertiliser and energy soar. Since the war, a host of major fore...

SINGAPORE: Changi Airport’s Terminal 4 is set to reopen in September this year, announced Changi Airport Group (CAG) on Friday (Jun 10). Operations at Terminal 4 were suspended in May 2020 due to the steep decline in air travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A month earlier, Terminal 2’s operations were similarly suspended to allow for upgrading works. The southern wing of the Terminal 2 departure hall is also set to reopen in October this year. This will enable Changi Airport to meet the full recovery of pre-COVID passenger traffic in the northern winter season beginning Oct 30, said CAG. "The growth that we've experienced in the last two to three months has been far greater than what we had anticipated ... although we had prepared for the possibility that the recovery will be quite...

DOHA: TotalEnergies chief Patrick Pouyanne hailed a deal to expand production in the world's biggest natural gas field in Qatar but told AFP on Sunday (Jun 12) that more projects are needed and consumers will still have to "turn down the heating" to ease the growing price crisis. The chairman and chief executive of the French multinational that is one of the world's most powerful energy companies said putting two billion dollars into a joint venture with Qatar Energy was the company's response to doubts expressed after it ended investment in Russia. The deal for a 6.25-per cent stake in the North Field East project was announced Sunday barely two months after TotalEnergies said it would pump no more money into Russia where it has huge natural gas interests. Pouyanne, who has headed Tota...