Posts by Mark Darwin
Frasers unit to buy S$48 million Yishun cinema complex from Golden Village
[SINGAPORE] A wholly owned subsidiary of Frasers Property has agreed to buy a cinema complex in Yishun Central from Golden Village Multiplex and lease back the property to the cinema chain. Under a sales and purchase agreement inked on Monday (Jun 2), Frasers unit Lion (Singapore) conditionally agreed to purchase the cinema complex for S$48…
Read MoreAustralia central bank pondered outsized rate cut in May, decided to be predictable
[SYDNEY] Australia’s central bank considered cutting interest rates by an outsized 50 basis points last month as “insurance” against global trade risks, but decided to go the predictable route with a cautious easing. Minutes of its May 20 policy meeting, showed the Reserve Bank of Australia board also debated holding rates unchanged at 4.10 per…
Read MoreChina’s rare earths grip gives Xi leverage in US trade duel
AFTER the US and China agreed in Geneva to lower tariffs from astronomical heights, tensions are now surging over access to chips and rare earths. And Beijing increasingly appears to have an edge. US President Donald Trump on Friday (May 30) accused China of violating the agreement struck last month, and sought a call with…
Read MoreVanguard files for new ex-China emerging markets ETF
ASSET management giant Vanguard Group plans to launch a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) that will target emerging markets while excluding China, joining a growing niche shaped by investor debate over China’s role in global portfolios. The Vanguard Emerging Markets ex-China ETF will make its debut later this summer. Many investors have been unsettled by turmoil…
Read MoreEurope: Shares stumble on Trump’s new tariff threat
EUROPEAN shares began June on a dour note as markets grappled with US President Donald Trump’s new tariff plans that threatened to reignite a fresh wave of global trade tensions. The continent-wide Stoxx 600 slipped 0.14 per cent to 547.92 on Monday, after recording about a 4 per cent gain in May. Late on Friday, Trump…
Read MoreDisney lays off hundreds in film, TV as industry woes linger
[LOS ANGELES] Walt Disney is laying off several hundred employees across its film and TV businesses, cuts that underscore the entertainment industry’s contraction is far from over. The staff reductions began on Monday (Jun 2) and are falling on employees in marketing, publicity, casting and development, along with corporate financial operations, according to the company. …
Read MoreGoogle to spend US$500 million revamping compliance in shareholder settlement
[NEW YORK] Google agreed to spend US$500 million over 10 years to overhaul its compliance structure, to settle shareholder litigation accusing the search engine company of antitrust violations, settlement papers show. The preliminary settlement of so-called derivative litigation against officials at Google parent Alphabet, including chief executive Sundar Pichai and Google co-founders Sergey Brin and…
Read MoreSingapore shares fall after Trump vows to double steel tariffs; STI down 0.1%
[SINGAPORE] Shares on the Singapore bourse ended lower on Monday (Jun 2), after US President Donald Trump said last week that he would double tariffs on steel and aluminium to 50 per cent to “even further secure” the US steel industry. The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.1 per cent or 4.02 points to…
Read MoreDBS, UOB, OCBC return surplus capital with over S$700 million of buybacks
[SINGAPORE] In the first five months of 2025, 63 primary-listed Singapore companies conducted share buybacks through open market acquisitions, spending a total of S$930 million – an 84% jump from S$505 million in the same period last year. This was the highest buyback level for the first five months of a year since 2020, based…
Read MoreDBS mobile app customers face intermittent access on Monday
More than 1,000 reports have been made on outage tracking site Downdetector since around 2 pm DBS and POSB customers had difficulties accessing the bank’s mobile apps on Monday (Jun 2) afternoon. More than 1,000 reports were made on outage tracking site Downdetector since around 2 pm, mostly for mobile login and mobile banking issues.…
Read More