Posts by Mark Darwin
Decision on naming next Fed chair not ‘imminent’: White House
[WASHINGTON] The White House said on Thursday no decision is imminent on naming a successor to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, after a report suggested the president could do so this summer. “No decisions are imminent, although the president has the right to change his mind,” a White House official told AFP. “The president has…
Read MoreUS: S&P 500, Nasdaq open near record peak as Micron results boost chip stocks
Published Thu, Jun 26, 2025 · 09:44 PM ]NEW YORK] Wall Street’s S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes opened near a record high on Thursday (Jun 26) as robust earnings from memory-chip maker Micron fuelled optimism around artificial intelligence while investors assessed a slew of economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 101.6 points, or…
Read MoreSalesforce CEO says 30% of internal work is being handled by AI
Tech leaders have been increasingly vocal about the potential for AI to replace human workers Published Thu, Jun 26, 2025 · 08:39 PM [NEW YORK] Salesforce chief executive officer Marc Benioff said his company has automated a significant chunk of work with AI, another example of a firm touting labor-replacing potential of the emerging technology.…
Read MoreAsian markets in full swing as investors shake off trade jitters
[HONG KONG] Trading desks across Asia are buzzing with excitement again, as the region shakes off tariff shocks and attracts investors with its solid growth prospects. From stocks to currencies to credit, the rebound from the depths of the April market turmoil has been impressive. MSCI’s Asia equities index has jumped 25 per cent to…
Read MoreChina tech firms ramp up M&A deals with the blessing of Beijing
[BEIJING] After a chastening crackdown that wiped billions off their value and forced top executives out of the public eye, China’s technology giants are back in favour and on the front foot, making deals and snapping up assets. At the top of the pile are Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings, two huge players…
Read MoreAsia: Stocks down with eyes on Mideast, dollar hit by Trump Fed comment
[HONG KONG] Most stocks fell on Thursday and oil rose as traders kept a nervous eye on the Iran-Israel ceasefire, while the dollar dropped after Donald Trump said he had a handful of candidates to succeed Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell, fuelling rate cut bets. Uncertainty over the US president’s trade war was also keeping…
Read MoreChina opens first offshore gold vault and contracts in Hong Kong
[SINGAPORE] The Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) has expanded outside mainland China for the first time, with the rollout of two new contracts and a bullion vault in Hong Kong. The launch serves a number of purposes, from broadening the Shanghai exchange’s international reach to strengthening China’s clout in commodity and currency markets and Hong Kong’s…
Read MoreIndonesia’s yield curve may steepen as Bank Indonesia unwinds intervention
[JAKARTA] Indonesia’s sovereign yield curve is set to steepen as the central bank reduces its use of short-term rupiah securities, prompting a shift in demand towards government bonds. The spread between 2- and 10-year bond yields this week reached the widest since June 2023. Bank Indonesia (BI) is in an interest-rate cutting cycle and investors…
Read MoreCivmec to acquire ship manufacturer Luerssen Australia for A$20 million
The aim of the deal is to solidify Australia’s sovereign shipbuilding capability [SINGAPORE] Australian construction engineering company Civmec will purchase Luerssen Australia from Naval Vessels Lurssen (NVL) Australia for A$20 million (S$16 million) in cash, the company said on Thursday (Jun 26). Civmec will take ownership of the whole business, including assets, employees and licences.…
Read MoreCircle K owner misses estimates on lower fuel prices, demand
[TORONTO] Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard slightly missed earnings estimates for its fiscal fourth quarter earnings because of lower fuel demand. The Canadian convenience store and fuel retailer earned 46 US cents per share on an adjusted basis, according to a statement on Wednesday (Jun 25), a penny short of the 47 US cents estimated…
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