Posts by Mark Darwin
McDonald’s sales slump after E coli outbreak spooks diners
MCDONALD’S sales plummeted following news of E coli infections linked to the chain’s Quarter Pounders. Transactions fell as much as 6 per cent from the prior year in the days after the outbreak became public on Tuesday (Oct 29), dragging down total sales, according to Bloomberg Second Measure data to Oct 25. The group tracks…
Read MoreUS: Wall Street opens higher ahead of megacap earnings
Wall Street rose at the open on Monday (Oct 28), recovering some losses following a turbulent trading week, ahead of key corporate earnings and the final phase before the Nov 5 presidential election. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 150.1 points, or 0.36 per cent, at the open to 42,264.54. The S&P 500 rose 25.8…
Read MoreIndia’s Bharti Airtel posts bigger Q2 profit, boosted by higher tariffs
BHARTI Airtel reported an over two-fold rise in its second-quarter profit on Monday (Oct 28), as the telecom operator’s first tariff hike in over two years boosted its revenue per user. India’s No 2 wireless carrier’s consolidated net profit jumped 168 per cent to 35.93 billion rupees (S$564.9 million) in the July-to-September quarter. Bharti Airtel…
Read MoreJapfa swings into the black with US$87.5 million net profit; declares one-off S$0.01 dividend per share
JAPFA swung into the black with a net profit of US$87.5 million for its first nine months ended Sep 30, 2024, compared with a net loss of US$22.7 million in the same period a year earlier. This was mainly due to improved contributions from its Indonesian unit and its “animal protein other” segment in Vietnam,…
Read MoreSingapore shares fall, bucking regional trend; STI slides 0.3%
Among the region’s bourses that ended higher, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.8% after the LDP’s worst parliamentary defeat since 2009 SINGAPORE shares started the week in the red on Monday (Oct 28), even as most regional exchanges ended higher. The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.3 per cent or 9.33 points to 3,584.08. …
Read MoreMajor Indian solar panel maker dazzles in market debut
India’s top solar module producer, Waaree Energies shone on its market debut on Monday (Oct 28) after raising US$514 million, as traders bet on increased global demand for clean energy components. A booming stock market in the world’s fifth-largest economy has stoked an initial public offering frenzy over the last two years, with start-ups and…
Read MoreiFast Global Bank should not be compared to local banks, says group’s CEO
THE iFast Global Bank (IGB) should not be compared to local lenders, said Lim Chung Chun, the chief executive officer of wealth management platform iFast Corporation, at a briefing on Monday (Oct 28). IGB’s regulatory ratios are well in excess of both official requirements and those of the three local banks – DBS, OCBC and…
Read MorePetroChina set to shut top north China refinery in 2025: sources
PETROCHINA is set to shut its largest refinery in north China’s Dalian around mid-2025, marking the first major closure at a state-run oil plant, part of a long-mooted project to replace it with a smaller facility at a new site, sources said. The planned shutdown of the entire 410,000 barrels per day (bpd) Dalian Petrochemical…
Read MoreIndia central bank’s rosy growth forecast baffles economists
THE Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upbeat growth estimates for the world’s fastest-growing major economy is causing both confusion and concern among economists. The central bank has stuck to its forecast that India’s economy will expand 7.2 per cent in the year ending March 2025 despite recent evidence showing activity is starting to taper off.…
Read MoreEli Lilly gets nod to launch blockbuster weight-loss drug in Hong Kong
ELI Lilly expects to start selling its highly popular weight-loss drug in Hong Kong as early as the end of this year, potentially making it the first of its kind to become available in the China region. The company has gained the Hong Kong government approval to sell its tirzepatide injections – branded as Mounjaro…
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