Posts by Mark Darwin
Coinbase pledges further US$25 million of political funding for crypto
Coinbase Global committed another US$25 million of funding to Fairshake, a political action committee for the digital-asset industry that has become an influential player in the US election. Fairshake will use the money in the lead up to the 2026 midterm vote to support pro-crypto candidates, Coinbase’s chief executive Brian Armstrong said in a post…
Read MoreAustralia takes Optus to court for allegedly selling mobiles to vulnerable customers
Australia’s competition watchdog is taking Singtel-owned Optus to court, alleging it engaged in misconduct while selling mobile phones and plans, particularly to vulnerable customers. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Thursday (Oct 31) alleged that Optus’ conduct “disproportionately” impacted consumers and its practices were, in a way, backed by remuneration for sales staff.…
Read MoreMeta sales narrowly beat on AI boosting advertising revenue
Meta Platforms projected stronger-than-expected holiday quarter sales, and touted artificial intelligence (AI) improvements to its core advertising business. But it wasn’t enough to satisfy Wall Street. Meta told investors on Wednesday (Oct 30) that revenue for the current quarter would be between US$45 billion and US$48 billion. Analysts were expecting fourth-quarter revenue of US$46 billion.…
Read MoreNew Starbucks CEO is testing investors’ US$21 billion bet
Starbucks’ new chief executive Brian Niccol is facing a key test: convincing investors he’s worth the US$21 billion in market value the coffee chain notched after his appointment. On Wednesday (Oct 30), during his first earnings call since taking the helm, Niccol needed to present a path out of the deepening sales slump that prompted…
Read MoreOil rises on US stockpiles drawdown, Opec+ mulls output hike delay
Oil prices rebounded on Wednesday (Oct 30), rising more than 2 per cent after data showed US crude and gasoline inventories fell unexpectedly last week and on reports that the Opec+ may delay a planned oil output increase. After falling more than 6 per cent earlier in the week on the reduced risk of wider…
Read MoreKKR and Energy Capital Partners form US$50 billion AI partnership
KKR and Energy Capital Partners agreed to a US$50 billion partnership to accelerate the development of infrastructure for artificial intelligence. The agreement between the alternative investment manager and the private owner of power generation and renewables would focus on developing data centres and power generation and transmission infrastructure, the firms said in a statement on…
Read MoreFirst Reit’s Q3 DPU falls 6.5% to S$0.0058 as foreign currencies weaken against Singdollar, unit base grows
FIRST Real Estate Investment Trust (First Reit) posted a 6.5 per cent drop in distribution per unit (DPU) for the third quarter ended Sep 30, 2024, to S$0.0058, from S$0.0062 in the corresponding period in the previous year. This brought the DPU for the nine months year-to-date to S$0.0178, down 4.3 per cent year on…
Read MoreUS: Wall St subdued at open as investors weigh earnings, data
US stock indexes were subdued at the open on Wednesday (Oct 30), as investors assessed mixed earnings reports and data that showed the economy maintained a solid pace of growth in the third quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 16.8 points, or 0.04 per cent, at the open to 42,249.81. The S&P 500 fell…
Read MoreBYD Q3 revenue rises 24% year on year to 201.1 billion yuan, eclipses Tesla for first time
BYD notched up another win over Tesla on Wednesday (Oct 30), reporting quarterly revenue that beat Elon Musk’s carmaker for the first time since the pair have gone head to head in global electric vehicle (EV) sales. Revenue for China’s best-selling carmaker soared 24 per cent on year to 201.1 billion yuan (S$37.4 billion) for…
Read MoreChina’s big banks post rise in Q3 profits, squeeze on NIM
CHINA’S largest lenders posted a rise in third-quarter profits on Wednesday (Oct 30), although margins were slimmer for some. The frontrunner was Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank), which reported a 5.88 per cent rise in third quarter net profit. Four of the country’s other biggest banks also reported profit increases of over 1 per cent…
Read More