Posts by Mark Darwin
China’s central bank cuts two key rates to historic lows
[BEIJING] China’s central bank on Tuesday (May 20) cut two key interest rates to historic lows, as Beijing battles to stimulate its economy amid seesaw trade tensions with the US. Beijing and Washington have been locked in a bruising trade war but last week agreed to slash sweeping tariffs on each other’s goods for 90…
Read MoreHuawei unveils in-house operating system to replace windows
HUAWEI Technologies debuted its first in-house operating system for personal computers, offering an alternative to Microsoft’s Windows as China pushes to replace American technologies amid rising geopolitical tensions. The company’s HarmonyOS is now ready to run on the MateBook Fold, its latest foldable laptop, consumer chief Richard Yu said on Monday (May 19). Huawei is…
Read MoreMicrosoft strikes deal with Musk to host Grok AI
[SEATTLE] Microsoft on Monday said its business cloud servers will now host technology from xAI, days after the chatbot from the company owned by Elon Musk went off the rails by referencing “white genocide” in South Africa. Musk told an event hosted by Microsoft that his company’s models “aspire to truth with minimal error,” adding…
Read MoreOil settles up as signs of US-Iran impasse counter economic concerns
[NEW YORK] Oil prices settled marginally higher on Monday as signs of a breakdown in US talks with Iran over its nuclear programme offset a Moody’s downgrade of the US sovereign credit rating. Brent crude futures settled 13 cents higher at US$65.54 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude closed up 20 cents at US$62.69…
Read MoreBillionaire Richard Li’s FWD Group again files for Hong Kong listing
Its previous attempts to go public were scuttled by regulatory delays and market volatility Published Mon, May 19, 2025 · 11:10 PM [HONG KONG] FWD Group, a Hong Kong-based insurer backed by billionaire Richard Li, said on Monday (May 19) it has again applied to list on the main board of the Hong Kong Exchanges…
Read MoreJPMorgan says interest income could rise this year even as uncertainty persists
[NEW YORK] JPMorgan Chase could earn more from interest payments this year as consumers and businesses remain resilient despite economic uncertainty, it said on Monday (May 19). Net interest income (NII) – the difference between what the bank pays on deposits and earns from interest payments – could rise by US$1 billion this year, chief…
Read MoreQ&M Dental cash offer for Aoxin Q&M shares to close on Jun 16
Offeror does not intend to revise offer price nor or extend offer beyond closing date [SINGAPORE] Q&M Dental Group said on Monday (May 19) that its mandatory unconditional cash offer to acquire all the shares it does not already own in its subsidiary Aoxin Q&M at S$0.0321 per share will close at 5.30 pm on…
Read MoreSingPost, FedEx deepen partnership with islandwide roll-out of parcel drop-off service
The expanded collaboration aims to streamline the delivery process and enhance service efficiency, particularly for cross-border shipments [SINGAPORE] Singapore Post (SingPost) has ramped up its partnership with global transport company FedEx with the extension of FedEx’s parcel drop-off services to all post offices islandwide. This raises parcel acceptance points from six to 43, the two…
Read MoreStarHub, Trends and Technologies ink MOU to boost digital transformation in the Philippines
[SINGAPORE] StarHub signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday (May 19) with Trends and Technologies, a systems integrator and enterprise ICT solutions provider headquartered in the Philippines, to bring digital solutions and services to businesses in the Philippines. At its core, the partnership is focused on delivering practical innovation through a unified go-to-market strategy in…
Read MoreTech stocks could rally on US-China tariff truce, impending tax cuts: Stanchart
[SINGAPORE] A pause in US-China tariffs could provide a boost to technology stocks, which earn significant revenue from exports, Standard Chartered bank has said. In its wealth solutions weekly market views, the bank identified the US tech sector as a potential beneficiary of easing trade tensions, which could take the S&P500 index above February’s all-time…
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