Posts by Mark Darwin
China plans dam near India that could be world’s biggest
CHINA is pressing ahead with plans to construct a mega-dam near its contested border with India, a colossal undertaking that could generate three times as much power as the Three Gorges Dam. The Chinese government approved the construction of “a hydropower project” in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet, the official…
Read MoreTaiwan’s science ministry warns spending cuts could hit chips, AI funding
TAIWAN’S science ministry warned on Friday (Dec 27) that funding for areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) and aerospace could be reduced by NT$20 billion (S$828 million) for next year after opposition parties passed laws requiring cuts to economic and technology spending. Taiwan’s opposition parties, which hold a majority in parliament, passed legislation last…
Read MoreBezos’ Blue Origin gets FAA license for its first New Glenn rocket launch
THE Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Friday (Dec 27) that it has issued a commercial space launch license for Blue Origin’s – Jeff Bezos’ rocket company – New Glenn launch. Blue Origin entered into a highly competitive area it has long sought to join, as the US Department of Defense picked the company, along…
Read MoreOil settles up over 1% on large draw from US crude stocks
OIL prices settled more than 1 per cent higher on Friday (Dec 27) and recorded a weekly gain in low trading volume ahead of year-end, buoyed by a larger-than-expected drawdown from US crude inventories last week. Brent crude futures rose 91 US cents, or 1.2 per cent, to settle at US$74.17 per barrel. US West…
Read MoreSingapore market unlikely to repeat 2024’s high; moderate returns expected for 2025
IT HAS been “a year of two halves” for the Singapore market in 2024. While the local market remained relatively stable in the first half of this year, it saw a sharp rally in the second half, with the Straits Times Index (STI) posting its best performance since 2017. The benchmark index is up…
Read MoreThai government suffers setback in bid to influence central bank
THE Thai government’s campaign to pressure the Bank of Thailand (BOT) to cut interest rates suffered a significant setback, with the Office of the Council of State effectively ruling that the official nominee to be chairman, former finance minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong, is not suitable. Without directly naming Kittiratt, Secretary-General Pakorn Nilprapunt said that “Mr K’s”…
Read MoreAsia: Japanese shares gain on weaker yen after Christmas break
JAPANESE stocks rose on Friday (Dec 27) on a weaker yen after a muted day on Wall Street following the Christmas holiday. Japan’s key Nikkei index was up more than 1 per cent in morning trade, after the yen hit 158.08 per US dollar on Thursday evening – its lowest level in almost six months. …
Read MoreBitcoin rally fizzles as token’s record-breaking year winds down
A BITCOIN rally is fizzling in the final days of a record-breaking year for the digital asset, as investors assess the remaining impetus from president-elect Donald Trump’s embrace of the cryptocurrency sector. The largest token changed hands at US$95,600 as at 8.45 am on Friday in Singapore, holding a retreat of almost 3 per cent…
Read MoreBank of Japan debated rate-hike timing, some called for near-term move, December summary shows
SOME Bank of Japan (BOJ) policymakers saw conditions falling into place for an imminent rate hike with one predicting a move “in the near future”, a summary of opinions at the bank’s December meeting showed, keeping alive the chance of a January hike. The BOJ kept interest rates steady at 0.25 per cent at this…
Read MoreRepo rates rise even after Federal Reserve tweak meant to dampen volatility
KEY rates tied to the US overnight funding market are rising, even after the Federal Reserve adjusted some of its tools in an effort to rein in volatility. The Secured Overnight Financing Rate – an important one-day lending benchmark linked to activity in the repurchase agreement market – jumped to 4.4 per cent as at…
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