Posts by Mark Darwin
Pound firm as investors embrace ‘boring is good’ with Labour win
THE pound held firm on Thursday after exit polls suggested Keir Starmer’s Labour party was set to win a massive majority in the UK general election, affording investors some much-needed certainty after years of market volatility under the Conservatives. Centre-left Labour was on course to capture 410 of the 650 seats in parliament, giving the…
Read MoreNetflix, Paramount ask Canada court to quash new Trudeau tax
US STREAMING service giants are asking a Canadian court to block Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new 5 per cent tax on their revenues in the country, which is supposed to help fund local news. The Motion Picture Association-Canada – which represents studios including Netflix, Paramount Global and Walt Disney – want the Federal Court of…
Read MoreSaudi’s PIF to invest US$500 million in Hong Kong Chaoshang
SAUDI Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF) intends to invest US$500 million in Hong Kong Chaoshang Group, the investment holding company said on Thursday (Jul 4). The investment comprises US$100 million worth of convertible debentures, giving PIF the option to trade the investment for stocks in the company, and US$400 million in a…
Read MoreChina, UAE in talks to increase flights between them
China and the United Arab Emirates are seeking to increase bilateral air traffic rights after years of stagnant travel growth, a move that would seek to boost trade and tourism between the two nations. Officials from both sides will meet in Beijing in coming weeks to discuss granting airlines increases in flights between the two…
Read MoreIReit Global manager to appoint new CEO and CIO
THE manager of IReit Global on Thursday (Jul 4) said it has picked Peter Viens to be its new chief executive, following the departure of existing CEO Louis d’Estienne d’Orves. d’Estienne d’Orves, who has been CEO of the manager since 2020, will assume a senior role in Tikehau Capital, one of IReit’s joint sponsors, and…
Read MoreEU slaps Chinese electric cars with tariffs of up to 38%
The European Union on Thursday (Jul 4) slapped extra provisional duties of up to 38 per cent on Chinese electric car imports because of “unfair” state subsidies, despite Beijing’s warnings the move would unleash a trade war. A European Commission probe launched last year concluded that state subsidies for Chinese EV manufacturers were unfairly undercutting…
Read MoreUS dollar weakness helps pound and euro, elections in focus
THE pound and the euro gained against the US dollar, after weak US economic data sent the greenback lower on Wednesday (Jul 4) and as voting began in Britain and the French election neared. Sterling was last at US$1.2757, up 0.1 per cent, on Thursday after gaining 0.46 per cent the previous day and touching…
Read MoreGas leak at Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur airport affects 20 staff
The 20 people affected, all of whom were airport personnel, had complained of dizziness Around 20 people at Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur international airport were sent for medical treatment on Thursday (Jul 4) after a gas leak at an aircraft engineering facility, though there were no disruptions to airport operations, the fire department said. The Selangor…
Read MoreChina asks state companies to add 60 million barrels of oil to reserves
CHINA has asked its state oil companies to add 8 million tonnes, or nearly 60 million barrels, of crude oil to the country’s emergency stockpiles to boost supply security, analytics company Vortexa and trading sources said. The stockpiling, if completed, would be one of China’s largest in recent years and lend support to global oil…
Read MoreBarclays to sell German consumer finance business
BARCLAYS is selling its German consumer finance business to Austrian bank BAWAG Group for a small premium to net assets, it said on Thursday (Jul 4). This comes amid the British lender’s aim to simplify its business. The cash sale by Barclays Europe is expected to release about four billion euros (S$5.8 billion) of risk-weighted…
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