Posts by Stephanie Irvin
Airbnb revamps app with luxury services, curated tours in push beyond stays
[NEW YORK] After more than a year of teasing expansion plans beyond home rentals, Airbnb launched an overhauled app that’s not just for homeowners and travellers, but also for personal chefs, hair stylists, trainers and tour operators to offer their services widely. The company, whose name has become synonymous with vacation stays, revealed its new…
Read MoreSri Trang Agro-Industry back in the black with Q1 profit of 688.7 million baht
[SINGAPORE] Rubber group Sri Trang Agro-Industry posted a net profit of 688.7 million baht (S$27 million) in the first quarter ended Mar 31. This was a reversal from the net loss of 329.7 million baht in Q1 the year before, when El Nino had a significant impact on the group’s operations, Sri Trang Agro-Industry said…
Read MoreBRC Asia H1 profit rises 9% to S$42.1 million
[SINGAPORE] Steel solutions provider BRC Asia reported on Tuesday (May 13) a 9 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit for the first half of the year to S$42.1 million, from S$38.5 million in the year-ago period. Revenue fell 6 per cent to S$715.6 million from S$758.3 million in the year before. “While the construction…
Read MoreWall St muted at open after April inflation data
Published Tue, May 13, 2025 · 09:41 PM [NEW YORK] Wall Street’s main indexes were subdued at the open on Tuesday (May 13), as investors assessed the latest inflation numbers and their impact on monetary policy after markets came off sharp gains from the temporary Sino-US trade truce. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 97.2 points,…
Read MoreSea swings into the black in Q1 with US$410.8 million profit
[SINGAPORE] Sea reported first-quarter 2025 earnings of US$410.8 million, reversing from a loss of US$23 million in Q1 2024 on Tuesday (May 13). Revenue for the quarter rose 29.6 per cent to US$4.8 billion from US$3.7 billion a year prior. This was a slight miss from US$4.88 billion to US$4.84 billion forecast by a Bloomberg…
Read MoreBlackRock’s Fink sees trillions of dollars idle as volatility persists
[RIYADH] BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says tens of trillions of dollars of financial firepower is sitting idle in cash amid trade war worries and uncertainty over the United States economy, whose deficits are beginning to spook investors. “There is 12 trillion euros (S$17.4 trillion) sitting in bank accounts in Europe. In the United States, there’s…
Read MoreSGX securities daily average volume in April hits 5-year high
[SINGAPORE] The total securities market turnover value on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) increased 59 per cent to S$40.6 billion in April, on record foreign exchange (FX) futures and exchange-traded fund (ETF) activity. April’s total market turnover volume fell 21 per cent to 29.5 billion shares, from 37.1 billion in the same month the previous year,…
Read MoreChina removes ban on Boeing deliveries after US trade truce
[NEW YORK] China has removed a month-long ban on airlines taking delivery of Boeing planes, according to sources familiar with the matter, following a breakthrough in trade talks with the US that temporarily slashed tariffs on each side. Officials in Beijing have started to tell domestic carriers and government agencies this week that deliveries of…
Read MoreIndia proposes counter duties against US, notice to WTO shows
Published Tue, May 13, 2025 · 01:06 PM [NEW DELHI] India has proposed to levy import duties on some products made in the United States to counter Washington’s tariffs on steel and aluminium products produced in Asia’s No.3 economy, a notice to the World Trade Organization (WTO) shows. “The proposed suspension of concessions or other obligations takes…
Read MoreChina’s Meituan to start Brazil business with US$1 billion budget
The agreement takes one of China’s largest tech corporations into South America, after a rapid expansion into first Hong Kong, then the Middle East Published Tue, May 13, 2025 · 12:30 PM [NEW YORK] Meituan will invest US$1 billion over five years to start and expand a food delivery service in Brazil, as Luiz Inacio Lula…
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