SINGAPORE – Sea Limited’s e-commerce business Shopee faces boycott calls from Philippine consumers after naming a staunch supporter of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr as its brand ambassador. Shopee announced on Thursday that Filipina actress and singer Toni Gonzaga, who hosted campaign rallies for Mr Marcos, was its new brand ambassador. This led to calls on social […]
SYDNEY – Singtel’s Optus will pay to replace passports of Australians caught up in a major cyber attack that saw the telco lose the personal information of millions of current and former customers. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that Optus would cough up after demands from the federal government. “Optus has responded to the request that I […]
BEIJING – China’s factory activity continued to struggle in September while services slowed, as the country’s economic recovery was challenged by lockdowns in major cities and an ongoing property market downturn. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.1 from 49.4 in August, according to a statement from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on […]
BEIJING – China’s factory activity continued to struggle in September, while services slowed, as the country’s economic recovery was challenged by lockdowns in major cities and an ongoing property market downturn. The official manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 50.1 from 49.4 in August, according to a statement from the National Bureau of Statistics on […]
SEOUL – South Korea’s semiconductor output fell for the first time in more than four years in a sign that chipmakers are bracing for a slowdown in global demand. Semiconductor production slid 1.7 per cent in August from a year earlier, a sharp reversal from the 17.3 per cent gain reported in July, Statistics Korea […]
SAN FRANCISCO – Meta Platforms chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg outlined sweeping plans to reorganise teams and reduce headcount for the first time ever, calling an end to an era of rapid growth at the social media giant. In what would be the first major budget cut since the founding of Facebook in 2004, Mr […]
SINGAPORE – Innovation within and collaboration among nations can ensure that the global economy comes out of the current economic crisis intact, said Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Thursday. Speaking at the Milken Institute’s Asia Summit 2022 at the Four Seasons Hotel, Mr Tharman said there are no quick fixes for the crisis the world […]
WASHINGTON – The Biden administration is alarmed over the market turmoil triggered by the new British government’s economic programme and is seeking ways to encourage Prime Minister Liz Truss’ team to dial back its dramatic tax cuts. Officials inside the US Treasury Department are concerned about the volatility in financial markets and potential spillovers to the […]
SINGAPORE – The concept of sustainability goes beyond climate change and runs through the whole gamut of policies that ensure economic stability, said the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Speaking at a virtual conference on Wednesday, Mr Ravi Menon said sustainable use of resources is key to reversing the negative impacts of […]
SINGAPORE – The World Bank has slashed its 2022 growth projection for China to 2.8 per cent compared with its forecast of 5 per cent in April, according to the October update of its report on the economic prospects for East Asia and the Pacific (EAP). The projections are the lowest among international institutions. In […]
LONDON – Deals for house purchases are collapsing in Britain after lenders pulled mortgage offers as concerns rise that the Bank of England (BOE) will have to hike interest rates to support the pound. The Guardian reported on Tuesday that nearly 300 mortgage deals have been pulled in the last 24 hours by banks and […]
LONDON – Deals for house purchases are collapsing in Britain after lenders pulled mortgage offers as concerns rise that the Bank of England (BOE) will have to hike interest rates to support the pound. The Guardian reported on Tuesday that nearly 300 mortgage deals have been pulled in the last 24 hours by banks and […]
SYDNEY – Australian mobile phone company Optus said the authorities are investigating an online ransom demand following a major data hack that exposed the personal details of as many as 10 million customers. The Singtel-owned company is still trying to retrieve the data and is working with police and cyber security officials, Optus chief executive […]
WASHINGTON – United States Federal Reserve officials on Monday sloughed off rising volatility in global markets, from slumping US stocks to currency turbulence abroad, and said their priority remained controlling domestic inflation. “There are interactions there,” Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said, noting that financial market volatility can affect investor decisions and the value of […]
NEW YORK – Monday brought a stark warning for Wall Street daredevils: Stocks are still in free fall and bearish sentiment is far from getting exhausted – especially when hike-or-be-damned central bankers jawbone recession-obsessed markets like this. The S&P 500 just sank to the lowest since December 2020, bringing this month’s losses to nearly 8 […]
SHANGHAI – The cost of shipping goods from China has slumped to the lowest level in more than two years as the world economy stumbles, dimming prospects for container carriers that turned in record profits during the pandemic. A 40-foot shipping box from the world’s largest port of Shanghai to Los Angeles fetched US$3,779 (S$5,420) […]
TOKYO – The British pound tumbled to a record low on Monday as traders scampered for the exits on speculation that the new government’s economic plan will stretch its finances to the limit. The pound tumbled as low as US$1.0327, an all-time nadir, and last traded 3.34 per cent weaker at US$1.0490. This extended Friday’s […]
WASHINGTON – Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said on Sunday he still believes the US central bank can tame inflation without substantial job losses given the economy’s continued momentum. “If you look over history … there is a really good chance that if we have job losses it will be smaller” than in past […]
NEW YORK – LinkedIn ran experiments on more than 20 million users over five years that, while intended to improve how the platform worked for members, could have affected some people’s livelihoods, according to a new study. In experiments conducted around the world from 2015 to 2019, LinkedIn randomly varied the proportion of weak and […]
SINGAPORE – Marriage breakdowns often spark wrangling over who owns – and owes – what, but spouses making claims that have little or no basis in fact can reap severe legal repercussions. It is not just one spouse demanding a greater share of some asset; it can often work the other way as well, with […]