BANGKOK:  , A Thai court on Friday ( Jan 31 ) granted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra permission to leave the country, a court statement said, a rare exception for a defendant facing royal insult charges. After spending 15 years in exile in Thailand, the 75-year-old tycoon was pardoned byContinue Reading
In a raid on a suspected online scam farm in Manila on Friday ( Jan 31 ), Philippine authorities detained around 100 people, according to reports that they had extorted victims. The Makati financial city raid was a part of a crackdown against website crime syndicates that frequently operate underContinue Reading
SINGAPORE: Ah La, a 31-year-old marketing communications director, chose to spend the holidays in a digital nomad group in Shenzhen, along with nine people, playing games and having late-night gatherings over cuisine by the water.  ,
Chinese New Year may be a day for family gatherings but for youngsters, the annual vacation is growing increasingly , “repetitive”.  ,
Going home ( every year ) means repeating events from the previous year all over again, she said, adding that the festive atmosphere “had truly faded.”
Being able to communicate with others who have related hobbies is what I value most, she said.  ,
Like Ah La, more youths are opting to invest the eight-day people getaway- from Jan 28 to March 4- in different ways.
According to experts, China’s most significant trip is increasingly being upended by the monthly turbulent journey rush, changing family interactions, and new lifestyles.  ,
Jiang Ningzhi, a 35-year-old business specialist from Suzhou area in the northeast Jiangsu province, is also celebrating the Chinese New Time away from home.  ,
His family travels to a nearby resort each year to prepare a lavish reunion dinner for friends and family, a custom he claims has since become monotonous.
He traveled to Shuiku Village in Shanghai, a remote location that has grown mainly well-known with fresh digital nomad looking to reconnect with nature and get away from the stresses of city life this year because he wanted to celebrate the new year in a more traditional means.
He had a basic supper, a chat with locals, and watched fireworks in the peaceful town.
Malaysia-bound class from Myanmar said they had paid Thai work agents B50, 000 a mind
PUBLISHED: 31 Jan 2025 at 17: 22
NAKHON SI THAMMARAT- A vehicle carrying 53 improper migrants from Myanmar who were traveling to Malaysia crashed on Friday, leading to the abandonment of one of the drivers, who fled.
The accident happened on Asia Highway Not 41 on the Thung Song-Surat Thani course in tambon Kaew Saen, said Pol Lt Col Phanuwat Rattanaphan, an investigator at the Na Bon place, who was alerted at about 7am.
A six-wheel vehicle with its top severely damaged in the ditch dividing the road was discovered by officers and rescue personnel at the field. Before crashing into the drain, it had hit a roadside energy shaft.
When authorities removed the canvas covering the base of the vehicle, they found 53 men and women, all Myanmar citizens, crammed in. One person suffered a broken hip, while others had minor injuries. Nothing could converse Thai, so they appeared worn out.  ,
They were being interrogated and told police that a vehicle had been sent to pick them up from the Myanmar borders as they were headed to Malaysia, according to an interpreter. They had paid 50, 000 ringgit each to Indian work broker. The truck struck the Na Bon area while traveling, and the pilot fled.
Authorities were pursuing the pilot in order to file a lawsuit. The migrants may return to their home countries.
Following a collision in the Na Bon city of Nakhon Si Thammarat on Friday day, officers pulled back a tarpaulin and discovered 53 Myanmar nationals lying in a truck’s bed. ( Photo: Nujaree Rakrun )
After the truck’s driver fled, the refugees from Myanmar are removed. ( Photo: Nujaree Rakrun )
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB ) presented the idea behind its pavilion design and its message at the final international participants ‘ meeting in January.
” From far, it looks like a dark circle. However, as you look closely, you can see that more than 17, 000 recovered discs really cover the World Expo and Special Project at STB, Carrie Kwik, senior director of the organization.
” We genuinely believe that dreams produce potential possibilities, and Singapore as a nation should reflect this,” according to our statement.
The “red dot” is one of Singapore’s names, and is derived from how the little state is usually depicted on earth charts.  ,  ,
However, the celebration is even drawing condemnation for rising costs and slower design.
As of mid-January, Chinese media said only three towers out of 47 had been completed, and 10 may never make it in time for the exhibitors starting in April.
Ex-prime minister proposes B5-million security to enter the Asean gathering in Malaysia.
PUBLISHED: 31 Jan 2025 at 17: 01
Thaksin Shinawatra requested that the Criminal Court grant him a 5-million-baht money guarantee to temporarily leave Thailand.
The former prime minister was given permission to travel to Malaysia on Sunday and Monday by the court on Friday.
Thaksin designated himself as a witness and former prime minister Maris Sangiampongsa as one, and supported records from the ministry of foreign affairs to support his need to leave the country.
He was required to set up 5 million ringgit in money as loan by the court. Within three weeks of returning home, he was even required to turn himself in and inform the immigration office when he entered the country.
” I am going for a meeting, not for a vacation”, Thaksin told reporters after leaving the court.
His lawyer, Winyat Chartmontri, said Thaksin would attend a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( Asean ) in Malaysia, which holds the Asean chairmanship this year.
Thaksin was previously chosen as one of Anwar Ibrahim’s unofficial experts on Asean matters.  ,
Thaksin’s second request to travel abroad was made on Friday at the courtroom hearing, which came after his 17-year exile in August 2023.
On the day he returned to Thailand in August 2023, Thaksin was given an eight-year prison sentence that was later reduced to a month by a royal pardon. Before being granted parole in February of last year, he always spent a day behind bars, serving his time at the Police General Hospital. He was granted a few days before deadline last month, and a royal forgive made him a free man.
He also needs court permission to travel overseas and is facing charges of lese-majeste and computer violence violations. In July this time, the judge has scheduled seven hearings for the case’s testimony, which resulted from an interview he conducted in South Korea in 2015.  ,
Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Ministry official did not respond to a request for comment right away. The government has recently disputed environmentalists ‘ claims about forestry and claimed estimates overestimate forest loss by misinterpreting changes in estates as deforestation. Although Auriga Nusantara claimed its count excluded loss of timber plantationsContinue Reading
Not only Brahmadutt’s neighbors are seeking tax breaks.
Some small and medium-sized businesses are also hoping that the state will change its mind about the GST.  ,
They said great levies are being passed on to customers, which in turn, is leading to lower consumer spending.
India’s client spending next year grew by 3.5 per cent from 2023, according to federal data.
According to World Bank characters, it was the slowest rate of growth since 2021, when investing increased by more than 18 %.
Harsh Bhomara is one of the business entrepreneurs who is trying to relieve themselves.  ,
His floor tile and sanitary ware store Shri Devnarayan Tiles ‘ profit margins are down 15 %, he said.  ,
Bhomarat wants the government to lower GST costs from 18 to 15 per cent on non-luxury products, and from 28 to 20 per cent on luxury items. He claimed that this will enable him to sell at more affordable rates.  ,
He added that easier access to funding may even go a long way.  ,
” Getting easier enterprise loans is important. He claimed that the document needs to be simplified to allow a layperson to access much funding.
” Little companies don’t need the kind of support that they do now. However, if you consider large corporations, you will see that they receive a lot more support from the government, which enables them to grow their business.
The Indian government’s interim budget released on February 1st, 2013, with wishes from the company group on top of that assistance.  ,
India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of new methods, including government revenue and tech support for micro, platform and small companies.
However, many retailers and traders claimed that the measures primarily benefited the manufacturing industry.
According to experts, investing more in infrastructure will improve the upcoming annual budget and support small businesses and India’s stressed middle class.
” If you make roads and corridors, logistics cost comes down ( and ) efficiency of the supply chain goes up”, said Feroze Azeez, deputy CEO at Anand Rathi Wealth Limited.  ,
This would promote growth while reducing inflation, he pointed out.  ,
” That’s what the government is doing. So I would want them to continue the thrust on infrastructure”, he said.  ,
Global traders are faced with a string each new month that they must play out in real time. As the Donald Trump 2.0 administration hits the ground running in 2025, punters will fight three.
They are: the direction of the US dollar, Xi Jinping’s ideas for the renminbi, and how business tensions may play out in the end.
Making matters worse, each relies in piece on three more imponderables: Trump’s propensity for , plan chaos, how China might reply, and the ways in which Washington might react against Beijing’s retaliation— and vice versa.
” As we step into 2025, the global market stands at a perilous juncture, greatly shaped by an overall theme: uncertainty”, says Marcello Estevao, chief economist at the Institute of International , Finance.
Estevao adds that “from political choices to plan implementations, the lack of quality emanates mostly from the new Trump presidency. This confusion extends far beyond the United States, permeating world markets, business relationships and regulatory systems”.
This year, Jerome Powell’s board successfully defied the leader, adding urgency to the first wildcard. Trump stated to the crowd in Davos earlier this month that he would “demand that interest rates drop soon.”
In the days before the Fed’s January 29 determination to remain touch, Trump let it be known that lower levels are a vital second-term goal.  , Team Powell , ignored the jawboning, sparking an instant response. Trump even accused , Powell’s team , of letting diversity, equity and inclusion ( DEI ) considerations get in the way.
As Trump wrote on cultural media:” If the Fed had spent less time on DEI, female ideology,’ clean’ power and false climate change, inflation would never have been a problem”.
Trump complained that “because Jay Powell and the Fed failed to stop the difficulty they created with inflation, I will do it by unleashing American power output, slashing rules, rebalancing global trade and reigniting American manufacturing”.
Investors know better than to reject Trump’s babblings. In his first word from 2017 to 2021, Trump went after his hand-picked Fed chair early and often. Trump encouraged Powell to reverse the Fed’s tightening pattern and reduce costs in 2019. It worked.
Since then, Trump has made a place of slamming the Fed at every opportunity. On the campaign route last October,  , Trump , mocked Powell’s Fed. ” I think it ‘s , the , greatest job in government”, Trump , told , Bloomberg. ” You show up to , the , department once a month and you say,’ this state flip a coin ‘ and everybody talks about you like you’re a heaven”.
Trump , even argues that leaders should have a strong claim in financial decisions. ” The Federal Reserve is a very , interesting , thing and it’s kind of gotten it wrong a lot”, Trump told an audience next year.
He added that,” I feel , the , leader should have at least stayed that, yeah. I feel that clearly. I think that, in my situation, I made a lot of money. I was extremely prosperous. And I believe I have a better sense of instinct than those who would frequently serve as the president of the Federal Reserve.
Commandeering , Fed policy , choices may be a way to weaken the money. Trump and his officials make it clear that the Fed’s liberation is in jeopardy. The” Project , 2025″ scheme that Republican operatives cooked up for Trump 2.0 includes curbing the Fed’s autonomy.
Some economists believe that a part of the reason for lower rates is because Trump is more easily finance his governmental programs. The$ 1.7 trillion tax cut that Trump signed in his first term and additional cuts that his Republican party is considering are among them.
With the federal loan now topping$ 36 trillion, Trump’s management will need to keep costs as low as possible. However, Trump and the Fed may soon have a strained relationship, which could lead to dollar-neutrality.
The yuan string may be quite , Trump-dependent, also. The Xi government is currently restraining itself from stifling the renminbi for trade advantage. Investors have a unique view of China’s path, betting on a strongly lower exchange rate.
In recent months, the difference between 10-year royal Chinese bill provides and similar US securities reached an unprecedented , 300 , basis , points. Despite Team Xi’s storm of signal efforts, that’s despite. It suggests owners think , China’s worst move of deflation , since the late 1990s amid the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis is here to stay.
It suggests, also, that investors think a Taiwanese devaluation was soon rock world markets.
The People’s Bank of China has been keeping a lid on the renminbi for a variety of factors. One goal is to maintain Beijing’s current efforts to devalue the financial system. PBOC Governor , Pan Gongsheng , may fear that cutting costs does incentivize poor banking and saving decisions.
Another: Property developers could mistake as a result of a weaker yuan because they find it more difficult to pay off offshore debt. Global traders are now keeping an eye on China Vanke’s cash issues.
Putting , renminbi internationalization , in trouble is another issue. The Xi’s government has been working to improve the dollar’s use in industry and finance for almost a decade.
Beijing stepped up cooperation with the BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa— and International South countries to tilt away from the dollar-centric world order.
Reverting to the old beggar-thy-neighbor guidelines may irritate foreign investors. And tarnished the dollar’s chances of securing reserve-currency position.
A weaker rmb could lead to the belief that Japan, South Korea, and other leading Asian nations have the right to ingrain them on trade prices. That could lead to a turbulent descent in money markets. The Trump White House, which is in danger of starting the biggest trade conflict in world past, do not ignore that.
The Trump issue feeds into string No 3: where trade hostilities might keep the , world economy , by the end of 2025.
This is unquestionably the least foreseeable policy outlook. Trump, after all, continues to change his mind about the direction of US tariffs. One day, they’re coming. The next day, Trump is stating that he hopes taxes on Chinese goods won’t be necessary.
” For the sake of business certainty and visibility, particularly for small businesses, figure out what you’re doing with tariffs as quickly as possible”, Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Financial Group. ” Right now, it’s just a , giant global cloud , overhead that has businesses around the world on edge”.
The US economy, says Desmond Lachman, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, “is not an economic island, and serious economic problems abroad could come back to harm our financial system, our export sector and adversely impact our companies ‘ earnings”.
According to US media reports, the billionaire brigade surrounding Trump’s second administration is lobbying Trump not to start a , tariff arms race , with Beijing. The impact of global growth, aside from being inflationary for the US, could devastate the bottom lines of businesses from Amazon to Apple to Tesla.
According to economist Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics, “any of these suggested tariffs would lead to a rebound in consumer price inflation this year, taking it even higher above target and making it more difficult for the Fed to resume loosening monetary policy.”
II F’s Estevao adds that” the complex interplay of these factors has already begun to reshape expectations for growth, inflation, and investment. The early days of the Trump administration’s second term have been marked by a flurry of executive orders and , policy signals , that underscore its intent to recalibrate US trade and immigration policies. The administration has indicated plans to target key industries, including European automobiles and Asian electronics, despite not having any new tariffs yet in place.
So far, Trump is keeping markets guessing on China tariffs. Though Canada and Mexico could be hit with , 25 % levies , on February 1, China appears to be getting a reprieve. Question is, can it last? Many policymakers, investors, and corporate CEOs are hopeful that Trump will prioritize a significant US-China trade agreement over tariffs.
According to ING Bank’s chief economist for China, Lynn Song believes that Trump’s trade war threats are merely” a bargaining chip” in achieving his China policy objectives, which include limiting the flow of fentanyl, agreeing to a deal for a TikTok sale, etc.
Team Trump also may realize that today’s China is markedly less reliant on the US economy than in 2017, when Trump’s first term began, notes economist Louis Gave at Gavekal Dragonomics. China, Gave argues, “is probably more productive than any economy has ever been”.
China’s innovative game, meanwhile, is on display with the sudden emergence of DeepSeek , as an artificial intelligence game changer. Nvidia’s shares alone lost$ 600 billion, the biggest deluge of red ink in corporate history.
Investors are pondering how to invest in the remainder of 2025 as a result of the general stock plunge. Vivek Arya, an analyst at Bank of America, says many clients “view the recent selloff as an enhanced buy opportunity” for Nvidia shares.
Others sense that this” Sputnik moment” in AI speaks to China’s huge investments in semiconductors, electric vehicles, renewable energy, robotics, biotechnology, aviation, high-speed rail and other sectors finally gaining traction in ways the Trump 2.0 gang might not realize.
However, asset classes across asset classes will be in control of how this trifecta of risks develops this year. And how much of the dollar, yuan, and Trumpian assaults on the global trading system change.
Follow William Pesek on X at @WilliamPesek
A day before the four-year anniversary of a coup that plunged the nation into chaos after a decade of tentative democracy, Myanmar’s ruling military announced on Friday ( Jan 31 ) that it has declared a state of emergency for another six months. Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel PeaceContinue Reading