Posts by Mark Darwin
Debt ceiling standoff could trigger US rating downgrade
A potential debt ceiling standoff in the United States next year could be one of the worst since the 2011 crisis, which may trigger another sovereign credit rating downgrade, said Gennadiy Goldberg, the head of US rates strategy at TD Securities. Congress has suspended the debt ceiling until Jan 1, 2025, even as worries over…
Read MoreCash is leaving China again, pressuring yuan
A SLIDING yuan and extensive outflows of cash from the mainland into Hong Kong show China’s domestic investors are shelving expectations for any immediate recovery in their home markets and fleeing to the closest better-yielding assets. The yuan has dropped to seven-month lows this week, alongside a reversal in equity investment flows into China. Analysts…
Read MoreBlackRock will not take part in Malaysia Airports privatisation, GIP says
Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) said its buyer BlackRock will not be involved in privatising Malaysia Airports after criticism in Muslim-majority Malaysia over the US firm’s alleged ties to Israel. GIP, Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional and others are part of a consortium that has offered to take over Malaysia Airport (MAHB) in a privatisation…
Read MoreGold set for weekly gain on US rate-cut optimism, geopolitical woes
GOLD prices were poised for a second consecutive weekly gain on Friday, driven by safe-haven demand amid tensions in the Middle East and rising bets that the US Federal Reserve might reduce interest rates later this year. Spot gold was up 0.1 per cent at US$2,360.95 per ounce as of 0344 GMT, after hitting a two-week high in…
Read MoreFacebook, WhatsApp, Carousell among platforms required to comply with regulations to curb scams
SEVERAL social media apps and e-commerce platforms will be required from next week to put in place measures to proactively disrupt scams and malicious cyber activities affecting people in Singapore. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday (Jun 21) said the popular social media platforms – Meta-owned Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, as well as…
Read MoreHot stock: Heavy trading in Yoma Strategic as shares hit 16-month high
The share price has been rising since May, after the company reported a turnaround in its earnings SHARES of Yoma Strategic rose as much as 6.2 per cent in early trading on Friday (Jun 21), extending gains after a turnaround in its earnings last month. The Myanmar-focused company’s counter gained S$0.007 to S$0.12 as at…
Read MoreInvestors prime for Bank of Japan by shorting the short end of bonds
AS GLOBAL fund managers and other investors gird for the Bank of Japan’s stated gradual exit from ultra-easy policy settings, they are short-selling the shortest tenor government bonds and positioning for an even weaker yen. Since ending its unorthodox negative interest rates policy in March, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has left markets guessing on…
Read MoreUS finds no currency manipulation in 2023, Japan added to monitoring list
THE US Treasury on Thursday said no major trading partner appeared to manipulate its currency last year, but it added Japan to a foreign exchange “monitoring list”, alongside China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Germany, which were on the previous list. The Treasury’s semi-annual currency report also found that none of the countries examined met…
Read MoreUS: Nvidia suffers rare retreat as Nasdaq streak ends
THE torrid rally in Nvidia and other artificial intelligence-linked equities took a pause on Thursday, leaving the tech-centered Nasdaq lower following seven straight records. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index finished down 0.8 per cent at 17,721.59. The broad-based S&P 500, which has also scored multiple records in recent weeks, declined 0.3 per cent to 5,473.17,…
Read MoreSwiss watch exports drop in may as China slowdown persists
SWISS watch exports fell in May as a slowdown in demand for premium and luxury timepieces in China and Hong Kong continued. Shipments dropped 2.2 per cent by value to 2.3 billion Swiss francs (S$3.5 billion) in May from a year earlier, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said on Thursday (Jun 20). …
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