Posts by Stephanie Irvin
From Grade A offices to S’pore’s first net-zero hotel: How developer has transformed the city’s skyline
NOT many boys at the tender age of 10 live apart from their parents in an entirely different country. But Stephen Riady was not just any young boy. Born in Jakarta in 1960, he was sent by his father, Indonesian entrepreneur Mochtar Riady, to pursue his education in Singapore. Little did he know that, years…
Read MoreUS bank profits jump 79.5% as large firms shake off failed bank costs
PROFITS for the US banking sector surged 79.5 per cent to US$64.2 billion in the first quarter of 2024, boosted primarily by large banks not shouldering billions in special fees they were directed to pay to recover costs incurred by bank failures last spring. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said most of the higher…
Read MoreUS: Wall St drops as rate worries push bond yields higher
Wall Street opened lower on Wednesday (May 29), with investors turning risk-averse as concerns around the timing and scale of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts pushed Treasury yields higher and pressured megacap stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 136.6 points, or 0.35 per cent, at the open to 38,716.28. The S&P 500 fell…
Read MoreThe US$10,000 shipping container is again the talk of global trade
Companies transporting goods from Asia face costs of as much US$10,000 for an urgent full-size shipping container over the next month – about double current spot rates, according to prices circulating between carriers and importers. Marseille, France-based CMA CGM, the world’s No 3 carrier, already announced a US$7,000 rate for a 40-foot container for the…
Read MoreHSBC completes sale of Russian unit to Expobank
HSBC has transferred ownership of its Russian unit to Expobank for an undisclosed fee, the two lenders said on Wednesday (May 29), ending around two years of negotiations and uncertainty. HSBC’s exit from Russia has been on the cards since February, when Russian President Vladimir Putin gave approval for the asset sale to privately owned…
Read MoreDidi reports bigger loss as incentives, EV bet continue to weigh
DIDI Global’s net loss grew in the March quarter, after climbing marketing costs and losses on its stake in electric vehicle-maker XPeng outweighed a revenue boost. China’s leading ride-hailing provider’s net loss grew to 1.35 billion yuan (S$251.4 million) in the first three months of the year, reversing two straight quarters of profitability despite a…
Read MorePwC to become OpenAI’s largest enterprise customer, WSJ reports
ACCOUNTING giant PwC will become the largest customer and first reseller of OpenAI’s enterprise product as part of a new deal, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday (May 29). PwC will roll out ChatGPT Enterprise, a version of the Microsoft-backed AI startup’s chatbot aimed at large companies, the report said. The accounting firm will…
Read MoreConocoPhillips in advanced talks to buy Marathon Oil
ConocoPhillips is in advanced talks to buy Marathon Oil in an all-stock deal that could value the Houston-based company at a little over its US$15 billion market value, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday (May 29) citing people briefed on the matter. Although a deal seemed to be imminent late on Tuesday night, there was…
Read MoreAnglo won’t extend BHP deadline, threatening end to takeover bid
Anglo American said it won’t give BHP Group any further time to commit to a takeover offer, signalling the likely end for now to a US$49 billion pursuit by the world’s biggest mining company. The decision marks a dramatic climax to the five-week battle between two of mining’s biggest names, just hours before a 5…
Read MoreUber to offer Seine cruises, day trips in Paris during Olympics rush
UBER Technologies unveiled a raft of measures on Wednesday (May 29), including a tie-up to offer cruises on the Seine river as it looks to meet explosive demand stemming from the upcoming Olympics in Paris. The ride-hailing platform will offer its “Uber Cruises” free of charge from Jul 12 to Aug 3, and customers can…
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