Posts by Mark Darwin
US: Wall St opens lower ahead of Fed commentary
Published Tue, May 20, 2025 · 09:48 PM [NEW YORK] Wall Street’s main indexes opened lower on Tuesday (May 20) as investors awaited commentary from Federal Reserve officials through the day to assess the potential impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs in the second half of 2025. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 57.0…
Read MoreDelfi’s Q1 Ebitda down 27.2% on weaker regional currencies, trade tensions
[SINGAPORE] Chocolate confectioner Delfi ran up a 27.2 per cent drop in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) to US$17 million in the first quarter ended Mar 31, down from US$23.3 million the year before. Net sales fell some 0.5 per cent to US$149.8 million in Q1 2025 from US$150.7 million in the…
Read MoreJapan mulls taxing small parcels as Shein, Temu expand
Published Tue, May 20, 2025 · 01:02 PM [TOKYO] Japan is mulling a review of tax exemptions for small parcels including those shipped from China, joining a slew of governments stepping up scrutiny over a duty-free channel used by Shein and PDD Holdings’ Temu. A government tax experts group last week discussed problems related to…
Read MoreCATL’s strong Hong Kong debut boosts outlook for Chinese companies’ fundraising
[HONG KONG] Shares in CATL closed 16 per cent higher on their Hong Kong debut on Tuesday (May 20) after the Chinese electric vehicle battery giant raised US$4.6 billion in the world’s largest listing this year, boosting prospects for equity sales by Chinese companies. CATL’s strong debut came despite heightened market uncertainty, a Chinese economic…
Read MoreCATL rises in Hong Kong trading debut in world’s top listing in 2025
[HONG KONG] Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited (CATL) rose in its Hong Kong trading debut after the Chinese battery giant wrapped up the world’s biggest listing this year by raising HK$35.7 billion (S$5.9 billion) despite being blacklisted by the Pentagon and grinding through geopolitical storms. Shares of CATL, as the largest maker of electric vehicle…
Read MoreChina lowers benchmark lending rates for first time since October
Published Tue, May 20, 2025 · 09:30 AM [SHANGHAI] China cut benchmark lending rates for the first time since October on Tuesday, after Beijing announced sweeping monetary easing measures earlier this month to support the broad economy. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was lowered by 10 basis points to 3.0 per cent from 3.1…
Read MoreChina’s central bank cuts two key rates to historic lows
[BEIJING] China’s central bank on Tuesday (May 20) cut two key interest rates to historic lows, as Beijing battles to stimulate its economy amid seesaw trade tensions with the US. Beijing and Washington have been locked in a bruising trade war but last week agreed to slash sweeping tariffs on each other’s goods for 90…
Read MoreHuawei unveils in-house operating system to replace windows
HUAWEI Technologies debuted its first in-house operating system for personal computers, offering an alternative to Microsoft’s Windows as China pushes to replace American technologies amid rising geopolitical tensions. The company’s HarmonyOS is now ready to run on the MateBook Fold, its latest foldable laptop, consumer chief Richard Yu said on Monday (May 19). Huawei is…
Read MoreMicrosoft strikes deal with Musk to host Grok AI
[SEATTLE] Microsoft on Monday said its business cloud servers will now host technology from xAI, days after the chatbot from the company owned by Elon Musk went off the rails by referencing “white genocide” in South Africa. Musk told an event hosted by Microsoft that his company’s models “aspire to truth with minimal error,” adding…
Read MoreOil settles up as signs of US-Iran impasse counter economic concerns
[NEW YORK] Oil prices settled marginally higher on Monday as signs of a breakdown in US talks with Iran over its nuclear programme offset a Moody’s downgrade of the US sovereign credit rating. Brent crude futures settled 13 cents higher at US$65.54 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude closed up 20 cents at US$62.69…
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