HANOI: Vietnam is not facing fuel shortages, its trade and industry minister said on Friday (Oct 28), seeking to calm concerns after some gas stations in southern cities cut or limited sales, citing financial difficulties. The move was because of fluctuation in the foreign exchange rate and because some fuelContinue Reading
Elon Musk’s proposed US$44 billion deal to acquire Twitter and take it private is reportedly coming together as a court’s October 28, 2022, deadline is upon us. Musk told his bankers he intends to complete the deal by then – and his lenders have reportedly already begun funding the deal. If he doesn’t, Twitter’s lawsuit […]Continue Reading
TOKYO – Shigeyuki Goto isn’t getting much of a honeymoon as Japan’s newly minted economic revitalization minister. Tokyo rolled out its latest stimulus package the same week he’s moving into his new office.
Goto’s first task is implementing the 29.1 trillion yen (US$199 billion) stimulus plan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Friday (October 28). It’s aimed at boosting growth and easing the impact of rising prices on consumers and companies as Kishida’s year-old government loses more and more support. It also increases incentives for companies to boost wages.
“I will do my best to deliver various measures in this comprehensive economic package to the people so that they can feel that we are supporting their lives,” Kishida told reporters Friday. Then – in what may be an inauspicious sign – hours after his press briefing, he tested positive for Covid-19.
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and President Joe Biden’s pledge that the United States would defend the island have escalated tensions in the Taiwan Strait. At the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of reunifying with Taiwan. The escalating US-China technology rivalry and global chip shortage make Taiwan’s role as […]Continue Reading
This past Monday (October 24), the Hong Kong China 50 Index, which includes the top 50 Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, dropped nearly 6% on heavy volume. Stocks with significant foreign holdings were hit particularly hard, with Alibaba, Tencent and Meituan each tumbling more than 10%. Overseas investors sold a record […]Continue Reading
Nokia has won important contracts in both India and China recently, demonstrating that “both-and” still works in the “either-or” world of decoupling from China. That may be a lesson for Sweden’s Ericcson, which has taken a different route. On October 17, Finland’s telecom infrastructure company announced that it had been selected by Reliance Jio Infocomm […]Continue Reading
SEOUL – In a less-than-seismic corporate development, one of the world’s biggest and most important companies officially got a new leader today. Samsung Electronics’ former vice chairman Lee Jae-yong, the only son of deceased second-generation Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, took on his late father’s title, according to a terse statement posted by the company. Some […]
Something has got to change in Ukraine, for sure. The plea by 30 left-wing US lawmakers from President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party on Monday seeking a negotiated settlement with Russia to end the Ukraine war was an extraordinary event. In the US Congress, they form part of a nearly 100-member block called the Congressional Progressive […]Continue Reading
Despite more companies making efforts, only two in five workers in Singapore feel that their employers provide adequate support for mental well-being.Continue Reading
China’s economic aspirations have evolved rapidly. What has remained constant for centuries is a determination to return to the domestic wealth and international power that most Chinese view as the only acceptable norm for a civilization that long led the global economy. Under Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin (1978– 2003), the leadership’s model of how […]Continue Reading