Posts by Mark Darwin
Nikkei ends at two-week high on US tariff relief, chip rally
Published Thu, May 29, 2025 · 03:17 PM [TOKYO] Japan’s Nikkei ended trade on Thursday (May 29) at the highest point in more than two weeks after a US court blocked President Donald Trump’s tariffs from going into effect, while a weaker yen and a rally in chip-related stocks also supported the benchmark index. The…
Read MoreToyota sales hit second monthly record on US demand, tariff rush
Japanese carmakers are heavily reliant on the US auto market and could suffer as much as a US$19 billion impact from the levies Published Thu, May 29, 2025 · 02:11 PM [TOKYO] Toyota Motor’s sales hit a record for the second month in a row as a strong showing in the US and Japan was…
Read MoreAramco CEO will keep borrowing even as oil slump cuts cashflow
[DUBAI] Saudi Aramco is targeting more borrowings to finance growth and better leverage its balance sheet, chief executive officer Amin Nasser said, as the world’s biggest oil exporter raised US$5 billion in bonds this week. The Saudi state oil producer needs funds to plug a gap in finances as declining free cash flow amid weaker…
Read MoreVietnam’s AI ambitions hinge on one US$6.8 billion tech company
[HANOI] Four decades ago, Truong Gia Binh set up a technology company using a single computer in a room loaned by his then-father-in-law, general Vo Nguyen Giap, revered for leading Vietnamese troops in defeating the French and US militaries. That company, FPT, is now Vietnam’s biggest listed tech firm. It’s central to the government’s push…
Read MoreMeta AI bot used a billion times monthly: Mark Zuckerberg
[SAN FRANCISCO] Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg touted the tech firm’s generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) assistant on Wednesday, telling shareholders it is used by a billion people each month across its platforms. Zuckerberg noted the milestone anew at Meta’s annual gathering of shareholders and as the social media behemoth vies with Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and…
Read MoreSembcorp wins solar energy project to supply power in India
[SINGAPORE] Sembcorp Industries’ wholly owned renewables subsidiary, Sembcorp Green Infra, was awarded a build-own-operate solar energy storage hybrid project by SJVN, an Indian state-owned power company. Sembcorp Green Infra will supply solar power and support peak electricity demand for four hours per day through a 300 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system (Bess) once the project…
Read MoreSembcorp unit wins solar energy project to supply 150 MW of power in India
[SINGAPORE] Sembcorp Industries’ wholly owned renewables subsidiary, Sembcorp Green Infra, was awarded a solar energy storage hybrid project by SJVN, an Indian state-owned power company. Sembcorp Green Infra will develop, own and operate the project and supply 150 megawatts (MW) of solar power to SJVN over a 25-year period, subject to the execution of a…
Read MoreUS to ban foreign officials over ‘flagrant censorship’ on social media
[WASHINGTON] The US will impose visa bans on foreign nationals it deems to be censoring Americans, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday, and he suggested the new policy could target officials regulating US tech companies. Rubio did not name any specific instances of censorship. But US tech companies and the Trump administration have challenged US…
Read MoreChevron to cut 200 jobs in Texas
Published Thu, May 29, 2025 · 08:23 AM — Updated Fri, May 30, 2025 · 07:22 AM [HOUSTON] Chevron will lay off 200 employees in Texas, according to figures from the Texas Workforce Commission. The layoffs are part of the US oil producer’s plan to cut up to 20 per cent of its global workforce…
Read MoreUS firms plan to pass Trump tariff costs to consumers: Federal Reserve minutes
[WASHINGTON] US firms have warned the Federal Reserve that the cost of President Donald Trump’s tariffs will likely be borne by consumers, according to minutes of the bank’s most recent rate decision. Since returning to office in January, Trump has embarked on a stop-start tariff rollout that has unnerved investors and shaken global financial markets. The Fed‘s…
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