Posts by Mark Darwin
Indosuez appoints new CEO for Asia
Laurent Proutiere assumes the role from Mar 1, 2025, subject to regulatory approval INDOSUEZ, the wealth management brand of Credit Agricole Group, on Wednesday (Dec 4) said it has appointed Laurent Proutiere as Asia chief executive officer and Singapore branch manager, effective Mar 1, 2025. His appointment is subject to approval by the Monetary Authority…
Read MoreExplainer: What is martial law and how does it affect business and economic activity
SOUTH Korean shares slumped Wednesday (Dec 4) after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s shock declaration of martial law overnight. This was the first since 1979 in Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a global tech powerhouse. Even though he lifted that hours later, uncertainty reigns, as calls grow for his resignation or impeachment. The country has had a…
Read MoreWhat is martial law, and how does it affect South Korea’s business and economic activity?
SOUTH Korean shares slumped on Wednesday (Dec 4) after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s shock declaration of martial law overnight. This was the first since 1979 in Asia’s fourth-largest economy and global tech powerhouse. Even though he lifted that hours later, uncertainty reigns, as calls grow for his resignation or impeachment. The country has had a…
Read MoreAustralia’s economic growth stays tepid in challenge for RBA
AUSTRALIA’S economic growth remained sluggish last quarter as a surge in government spending underpinned the expansion, highlighting the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) policy challenge as inflation is still stubbornly sticky. Gross domestic product rose 0.8 per cent from a year earlier, the weakest reading – excluding the pandemic – since December 1991, when the…
Read MoreMitsubishi Corp lost US$90 million in suspected China metal fraud, say sources
MITSUBISHI Corporation has suffered a loss of more than US$90 million in China after uncovering suspected fraud by one of its copper traders, according to sources familiar with the matter. The loss is the latest in a string of recent cases of alleged wrongdoing to hit a major commodity trading house, highlighting the risk that…
Read MoreThese airlines saw the most delays and complaints in 2024
THE Sunday (Dec 1) after Thanksgiving weekend marked a fresh record for US air travel with the Transportation Security Administration screening more than three million passengers in a single day. That does not mean everything went smoothly, of course. AirHelp, which facilitates compensation for passengers by processing customer service claims for flight disruptions and…
Read MoreIndonesia must shut coal plants every year to hit climate goal
INDONESIA needs to shut multiple coal plants a year while also tripling renewables to meet its new president’s ambition of a full phase-out of the fossil fuel by 2040, according to climate consultancy Ember. The South-east Asian country, which relies on the dirty fuel for the vast majority of its power needs, must “turbocharge its…
Read MoreMicrochip pauses chips act application after scaling back plans
MICROCHIP Technology is pausing its application for US semiconductor subsidies, sources familiar with the matter said, making it the first known company to step back from a programme designed to revitalise American chipmaking. The struggling chipmaker was in line for US$162 million in grants from the Chips and Science Act to support plants in Oregon…
Read MoreAmazon announces new slate of AI models
AMAZON announced a new slate of artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, known as foundation models, at its annual AWS conference, allowing for text, image and video generation, among other things. The new offerings pit it against rivals such as Adobe and Meta, which are racing to serve customers who want to automate more of their services. …
Read MoreCompass to buy Christie’s International in US$444 million deal
Compass agreed to buy Christie’s International Real Estate and other businesses in a transaction valued at US$444 million. Compass will pay for the deal with US$150 million in cash and US$294 million in Compass stock, according to a statement on Monday (Dec 2). The acquisition, which includes brokerage owner @properties, will help Compass build out…
Read More