Posts by Mark Darwin
Why self-driving cars get so much hype – and remain so difficult to achieve
TWO decades ago, the US military kicked off the race to build a self-driving car by sending a fleet of fledgling robot vehicles across the Mojave Desert in its seminal Darpa challenge. Ten years later, the auto industry was buzzing with predictions that self-driving cars would be all over the roads by now. That has…
Read MoreTemasek CIO gets behind asset-shuffling funds snubbed by others
TEMASEK Holdings is getting behind a controversial type of fund that private equity firms are using to ride out the slump in deal-making. The chief investment officer (CIO) of the Singaporean state-owned investor voiced unusual enthusiasm for continuation funds, in which private equity managers shift hard-to-sell assets from an older vehicle into a brand-new…
Read MoreEurope: Stocks gain with rates outlook, earnings in focus
EUROPEAN stocks gained on Friday (Oct 11) as investors assessed the impact of hotter-than-expected US inflation data and the third-quarter earnings season kicked off. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.6 per cent to 521.98 at the close in London, with real estate and financial services shares gaining the most and telecom stocks the biggest…
Read MoreAmazon prefers renewables in Asia as nuclear still elusive
AMAZON.COM is currently only looking at wind and solar to offer green power for projects in Asia, even as global technology companies begin examining nuclear generation to supply energy-hungry data centres. “We’re going where we can procure today, and that’s renewables” in the region, said Ken Haig, APAC regional head of energy and environmental policy…
Read MoreJPMorgan profit drops on bigger provisions for loan losses
JPMORGAN Chase’s profit dropped in the third quarter as it built up provisions for potential loan defaults, the bank said on Friday (Oct 11). Profit was US$12.90 billion for the three months ended Sep 30, compared with US$13.15 billion a year ago. The lender set aside US$3.11 billion as provisions for credit losses, compared with…
Read MoreJPMorgan profit drops as it sets aside bigger provisions, but interest income climbs
JPMORGAN Chase’s third-quarter profit dropped as it set aside more money to cover potential loan defaults, while rising interest payments and investment banking revenue lifted its shares before the market open. Banks are building up stockpiles – which act as a safeguard when borrowers default on their loans – to typical levels as consumers deplete…
Read MoreSingapore shares track Wall Street losses amid stubborn inflation concerns; STI down 0.3%
SINGAPORE stocks ended lower on Friday (Oct 11), tracking losses on Wall Street, amid concerns that inflation will remain sticky. The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.3 per cent or 11.53 points to 3,573.76. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 189 to 179, after 921.9 million securities worth S$1.1 billion changed hands. Overnight,…
Read MoreNorthvolt in talks for about 200 million euros in funding: sources
NORTHVOLT is in talks with investors and lenders to secure about 200 million euros (S$285.8 million) in short-term funding, three sources familiar with the matter said, as the cash-strapped Swedish battery maker seeks to stabilise its finances. The talks have been taking place this week, one of the sources said, adding that the company still…
Read MoreSet up a Telegram chat group to trade shares? You may fall afoul of the law
USING social media and messaging platforms to deal in shares may lead to a possible breach of the Securities and Futures Act (SFA). On Thursday (Oct 10), Oon Yun Cong was handed down a 16-month jail term and fined S$12,105.70 under the SFA for inducing others to deal in shares. He had pleaded guilty…
Read MoreTaiwan says four Foxconn employees detained in China
FOUR employees of Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest iPhone assembler, have been detained in China under “quite strange” circumstances, Taiwan’s government said. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, in a statement to Reuters on Thursday (Oct 10), said the four employees had been detained in China’s Zhengzhou, home to a major Foxconn plant assembling Apple’s iPhones, on…
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