Posts by Stephanie Irvin
Nomura to shut branch in China as it scales back wealth business
The closure comes four years after Nomura announced the opening of the office in late 2021, when it was pushing to expand in areas that are home to rich Chinese. Published Mon, Jun 9, 2025 · 12:05 PM [TOKYO] Nomura Holdings is closing one of its four branches in China, as the Japanese securities firm…
Read MoreAsia: Markets rally ahead of latest China-US trade talks
[HONG KONG] Stocks rallied on Monday (Jun 9) on hopes that a fresh round of China-US trade talks later in the day will ease tensions between the economic superpowers, while investors were also cheered by forecast-topping US jobs data. The gains extended a run-up across global markets in recent weeks as fears about US President…
Read MoreGold falls on strong US jobs data and improved trade outlook
[BENGALURU] Gold prices fell on Monday (Jun 9) as a stronger-than-expected US jobs report cooled expectations of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, while optimism over easing trade tensions between US-China weighed on the bullion’s safe-haven demand. Spot gold fell 0.2 per cent to US$3,303.19 an ounce, as at 0056 GMT. US gold futures…
Read More‘Very clever’; ‘lost confidence’: Shareholders react to OCBC’s latest exit offer for Great Eastern
[SINGAPORE] OCBC on Friday (Jun 6) made a conditional exit offer at S$30.15 per share for the 6.28 per cent stake in Great Eastern it does not own, in a bid to delist the insurer. The offer, which OCBC said was made “at the request of Great Eastern”, was deemed “fair and reasonable” by the…
Read MorePrivate assets giant Brookfield expects alternative investments to replace public markets in 25 years
[SINGAPORE] Bruce Flatt, the billionaire chief executive officer of Toronto-based Brookfield, is understandably bullish on the prospects of alternative investments. The Canadian investment giant has, after all, amassed more than US$1 trillion in assets under management (AUM), and is one of the world’s largest managers of alternative assets, also commonly known as private markets. Flatt…
Read MoreUS, China to resume trade talks with focus on rare earth exports
[WASHINGTON] Top trade negotiators from the US and China are set to hold fresh talks in London on Monday (Jun 9), offering a glimmer of hope that the world’s two largest economies can defuse tensions over Chinese dominance in rare-earth minerals. Both sides have accused the other of reneging on a deal in Geneva in…
Read MoreBaltic Exchange Shipping Insights
Capesize The Capesize market enjoyed a strong upward trajectory this week, driven by consistent gains in the Pacific and mounting support in both South Brazil and the North Atlantic. The BCI 5TC rose steadily from $19,071 on Monday to $23,572 by week’s end, reflecting robust demand and tightening tonnage across both basins. In the Pacific,…
Read MoreChinese managers take reins at TikTok Shop in US as sales miss goal
[SEATTLE] ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, has been replacing US-hired staff near Seattle with managers connected to China, aiming to replicate its e-commerce success in Asia after sales fell short in America. TikTok Shop initially set a goal to increase its US e-commerce business tenfold last year to US$17.5 billion in transaction volume, but had to…
Read MoreECB’s Schnabel says now is right time to boost role of euro
[DUBROVNIK] European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel sees a favourable moment now to strengthen the euro’s global role as investors turn to Europe. There is a “window of opportunity” to increase the international role of the euro, she said in a question to a panel at the 31st Dubrovnik Economic Conference on Saturday…
Read MoreMeta in talks for scale AI investment that could top US$10 billion
[NEW YORK] Meta Platforms is in talks to make a multibillion-dollar investment into artificial intelligence startup Scale AI, according to people familiar with the matter. The financing could exceed US$10 billion in value, some of the people said, making it one of the largest private company funding events of all time. The terms of…
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