Posts by Mark Darwin
Nikkei 225 expected to trend higher if trade deals are inked
The Nikkei 225 Index Futures, traded in standard, mini, and micro contracts, is a derivative instrument based on Japan’s flagship equity benchmark, the Nikkei 225 Index. Its top three constituents by weight are Fast Retailing (Uniqlo), Tokyo Electron (semiconductor equipment), and Advantest (semiconductor testing solutions). In May, Japanese equities rallied by 5.36 per cent in…
Read MoreTrump says TikTok buyer group found, needs China nod
[WASHINGTON] President Donald Trump said he has identified a buyer for the US operations of TikTok, the social media app owned by Chinese company ByteDance, without naming the winning bidder. Completing a sale would be contingent on Beijing and President Xi Jinping’s agreement, Trump added in a pre-taped interview on Fox New’s Sunday Morning Futures…
Read MoreNew listings on SGX may reinforce positive sentiment
[SINGAPORE] Markets around the world are poised to end the first half of 2025 on a bullish note this week. On Friday (Jun 27), the S&P 500, Stoxx Europe 600, Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng indices were in positive territory on a year-to-date basis, and as much as 29 per cent above the lows to…
Read MoreBig banks pass Fed’s stress test, setting stage for payouts
[WASHINGTON, DC] A group of large US banks comfortably cleared the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test, setting the stage for lenders to boost buybacks and dividends for shareholders. The 22 banks subjected to this year’s test all remained above minimum capital levels in a hypothetical recession. The lenders would withstand more than US$550 billion in…
Read MoreWealthy Silicon Valley investors in line for US$17 billion windfall in US senate Republican tax Bill
[NEW YORK] Silicon Valley’s favourite tax break may be getting an upgrade. Venture capitalists, along with successful tech founders and early startup employees, already pay no taxes on billions of US dollars of gains annually, thanks to a lucrative and complicated provision called Qualified Small Business Stock, or QSBS. Now the carve-out could get even…
Read MoreOCBC trims 360 Account interest rates for the second time in 2025
[SINGAPORE] OCBC will cut interest rates for its 360 Account, in line with lower interest rate expectations. With effect from Aug 1, the maximum interest rate of the local lender’s flagship savings account will be lowered to 5.45 per cent per annum on the first S$100,000, from the current 6.3 per cent, based on an…
Read MoreSygnum is sole new unicorn from South-east Asia in H1 2025: Tracxn report
[SINGAPORE] Digital asset group Sygnum has emerged as the sole new unicorn from South-east Asia in the first half of 2025, data platform Tracxn said in a report released on Thursday (Jun 26). The Singapore-based firm attained unicorn status in January 2025, after three rounds of funding and a total of eight investors before its…
Read MoreMystery US$33 billion Chinese medicine fortune collapses in days
[HONG KONG] When Yat-Gai Au was worth US$33 billion on paper, he was not in his Hong Kong office. One week later, when his net worth plunged to US$10.1 billion, he was not around either. Officers at the headquarters of Regencell Bioscience Holdings said both times that Au only takes short visits there, before turning…
Read MoreHDB US$1.5 billion India IPO sold out as wealthy investors pile in
The offering received bids for 242.8 million shares as of Friday (Jun 27) afternoon in Mumbai, versus the 130.4 million shares offered Published Fri, Jun 27, 2025 · 03:19 PM [MUMBAI] HDB Financial Services’ US$1.5 billion initial public offering, one of India’s biggest this year, sold out amid demand from wealthy investors seeking to buy…
Read MoreInfo-Tech Systems launches IPO at S$0.87 apiece, marks SGX’s first mainboard listing in two years
[SINGAPORE] Software services firm Info-Tech Systems has launched its initial public offering (IPO) of 24,856,000 shares at S$0.87 each, in conjunction with its mainboard listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). The firm registered its prospectus earlier on Friday (Jun 27) and its shares are expected to begin trading on Jul 4. Info-Tech Systems is the…
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