Posts by Mark Darwin
India plans tougher ad curbs on liquor makers such as Carlsberg, Diageo, Pernod
INDIA, which bans direct advertising of liquor, is set to announce sweeping rules that will bar even surrogate ads and sponsoring of events, which could force firms such as Carlsberg, Pernod Ricard and Diageo to redraw marketing campaigns. Such “surrogate ads” often get round the ban by ostensibly showing less desirable items instead, such as…
Read MoreSingapore shares fall at Monday’s open; STI down 2.5%
SINGAPORE equities began trading in negative territory on Monday (Aug 5), after Wall Street stocks tumbled last Friday following the release of poor jobs data in the US. As at 9.01 am, the Straits Times Index (STI) edged down 2.5 per cent or 85.57 points to 3,295.88. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 119…
Read MoreStocks to watch: NetLink NBN Trust, Isetan, Manulife US Reit, mm2 Asia, Dasin Retail Trust
THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Monday (Aug 5): NetLink NBN Trust: The fibre-optic owner posted a 9.1 per cent decline in its profit after tax to S$25.7 million for the first quarter ended Jun 30, from S$28.2 million in the same period last year. On Friday, NetLink’s…
Read MoreRBA set for hawkish hold, trailing global peers in easing cycle
AUSTRALIA is poised to stay near the back of the global easing cycle as local inflation – while cooling – remains elevated requiring the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to keep its key interest rate at a 12-year high. The RBA will hold its cash rate at 4.35 per cent for a sixth straight meeting…
Read MoreNasdaq expected to see turbulent times
THE US market’s main indexes marked stellar performance in the first half of 2024, with the Nasdaq Composite climbing 18.1 per cent, the S&P 500 index rising 14.5 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) up 3.8 per cent. However, July saw big swings in market performance. Signs of rotation into cyclicals and…
Read MoreSouth-east Asia’s private equity landscape demands more of managers
Investors who hope to profit from the Asean story may need to seek out specialist managers with the ability to close deals and even build market leaders from scratch PRIVATE equity’s (PE) under-representation as a source of capital in South-east Asia is partly a reflection of the challenges that managers face in hunting for and…
Read MoreBerkshire halves Apple stake, boosts cash to US$277 billion as it gets ‘defensive’
Warren Buffett appears to have soured on stocks, letting cash at Berkshire Hathaway soar to nearly US$277 billion and selling about half its stake in Apple, even as the conglomerate posted a record quarterly operating profit. Berkshire’s results released on Saturday (Aug 3) suggest the 93-year-old Buffett, one of the world’s most revered investors, is…
Read MoreNvidia’s new AI chip delayed due to design flaws: report
NVIDIA’S upcoming artificial intelligence (AI) chips will be delayed due to design flaws, The Information reports, citing two unidentified sources who help produce the chip and its server hardware. The chips may be delayed by three months or more, which could affect Nvidia’s customers including Meta Platforms, Google and Microsoft. Nvidia this week informed Microsoft…
Read MoreCrypto executives to meet with White House advisers next week
EXECUTIVES from the cryptocurrency industry are planning to meet with White House aides and Representative Ro Khanna next week to discuss concerns around digital assets and propose policy changes for the next administration, according to a source familiar with the matter. Outgoing senior White House adviser Anita Dunn, National Economic Adviser Lael Brainard and deputy…
Read MoreCovid surge limits CVS’s at-home test supply in some cities
SOME CVS Health pharmacies are selling out of at-home Covid tests as a summer surge in infections drives up demand. As at Friday (Aug 2) afternoon, CVS’s website showed that all brands of tests were out of stock at many locations in cities including Houston, Austin and Reno, Nevada. The company said that 91…
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