Finance news

Tariffs: USA threatens India with additional tariffs because of forced labor - EU is also in its sights

A US investigation accuses numerous countries of forced labor. These failures by trading partners are “unacceptable”.

Indonesia's nutrition agency in turmoil as chief sacked, office raided

INEOS to Supply LNG to Asia under Marubeni Deal

The agreement with the Japanese trading and investment conglomerate represents INEOS' first LNG deliveries to the Asia-Pacific region.

Cryptocurrency: Record outflows from ETFs increase pressure on Bitcoin – price falls below $66,000

Investors have been continuously withdrawing money from Bitcoin ETFs for twelve trading days. According to experts, institutional investors in particular are losing patience.

Markets: Dax weaker – Iran war dampens mood

The German leading index got off to a weaker start at the start of trading on Wednesday. Oil prices continue to rise towards the $100 mark.

Japan Commits $19.4 Billion to Fighting Its Energy Crisis

Japan will spend an additional $19.4 billion to cushion the inflation blow to Japanese households resulting from the oil and gas export flow disruption in the Middle East. The package, approved by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi this week, includes a $16-billion reserve fund specifically created for controlling energy commodity prices through additional subsidies, Bloomberg reported. The publication added that the fund will first be used to cap the price of gasoline at the pump. Reuters reported t

Dax current: Dax starts in the red - and falls below the 25,000 point mark

The uncertainty surrounding the Iran war is higher again - and so are oil prices. A well-known pattern is repeating itself on the German stock market.

Australian LNG Strike Begins to Disrupt Cargo Loadings at Ichthys

Industrial action at the Ichthys LNG project offshore Australia has started to affect loadings, with Reuters reporting that one tanker has been delayed as a result of the limited strike. The strike, limited to two hours in the mornings and two hours in the evenings, began earlier this week, after trade unions representing workers at Ichthys and the operator of the project, Japan’s Inpex, failed to reach an agreement on wages and working conditions. The Pacific Breeze LNG carrier docked at Ichthy

Tensions Broil Again as Iran Hits US Mideast Allies

U.S. forces intercepted Iranian ballistic missiles and drones aimed at neighboring Middle East countries and struck a command center in the Islamic Republic in response - the latest flare-up to test a fragile ceasefire.

Warning over home births, vaccine refusal after unregistered baby case in Hong Kong

Unassisted home births and vaccine refusal put mothers and newborns at life-threatening risks, a Hong Kong doctor and a children’s rights group have said, stressing that parental choice must not come at the expense of an infant’s well-being. Their warnings followed the arrest of a Hong Kong couple on suspicion of child neglect. The pair claimed to have given birth to their third child, Danny, at home and had not registered his birth, citing privacy concerns in refusing to submit to a DNA...

Customs policy: USA is planning new tariffs on imports from almost all over the world

The Supreme Court actually stopped Trump's tariff plans in February. Now he is trying again – with a different legal basis. But there should be exceptions.

Goldman Sachs CEO Warns Oil Shock Could Alter Consumer Behavior

Tightening crude oil supply will lead to consumer behavior changes in the second half of the year as the imbalance with demand pushes inflation higher, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs has warned. Speaking at an industry event in New York, David Solomon suggested consumers are already changing their behavior in response to higher energy prices, and those changes could become more pronounced after July. He added, as quoted by Reuters, that the Fed will likely keep interest rates unchanged bec

Luxury: 8000 lights and a little walnut - that's what the new Rolls-Royce Specter can do

Model maintenance is also often sold as a fresh cell treatment. In the case of the Rolls-Royce Specter Series II, this can even be understood literally. How the British are modernizing the luxury liner.

Adminstrator to ‘review’ tribunal decision on Wang Fuk Court owners’ meeting

An administrator appointed to oversee the affairs of Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court has said it will arrange an extraordinary general meeting at the request of displaced owners, but stopped short of providing a time frame. In a written statement on Wednesday, Hop On Management Company said it was studying the Lands Tribunal’s reasons for dismissing its application to extend the statutory deadlines for convening and holding the meeting. It did not indicate whether the company would lodge

voo vs. voo/vxus - is voo higher risk, but higher reward?

opening a $400k brokerage. deciding between voo or voo/vxus. a lot of people recommend two or three funds, including international... but i've been running test numbers (https://testfol.io/?s=lCKpRn6Bv9x), and over a 20+ year period, it looks like voo by itself would win out. obviously we can't predict what happens in the future, but is the idea here that voo historically outperforms, but including the international helps lower the risk potential in case the s&p 500 crashes like it did in the ea

CBS fires veteran correspondent Scott Pelley amid turmoil over direction of '60 Minutes'

CBS News has fired high-profile "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley amid debate about the direction of the show, a mainstay of the network.

Fugitive Hong Kong charity director sued in US over real estate ‘shell game’

A wanted director of a scandal-hit Hong Kong charity who fled the city is facing a sweeping 14-count civil lawsuit in the United States over an alleged multimillion-dollar property scheme that the plaintiff described as a “shell game”. In a complaint for damages and equitable relief seen by the South China Morning Post, developer Joseph Lee Daniell accused Jacob Lam Hay-sing, the founder and director of the now-defunct Hong Kong charity, Christian Zheng Sheng Association, of defrauding him of...

Iran War – the current situation: USA and Iran attack each other in the Gulf region

Despite the ceasefire in force, there are renewed attacks on each other. Tehran says it is retaliating after a US attack on an unloaded oil tanker.

China’s anti-corruption watchdog targets its former senior official Li Xiaohong

Li Xiaohong, a former senior disciplinary official in charge of national inspection, has been placed under investigation for suspected severe disciplinary and legal violations, China’s top anti-corruption authorities said on Tuesday. The downfall of the 73-year-old veteran – known for spearheading high-level anti-corruption crackdowns and his top disciplinary roles at the securities regulator – underscores Beijing’s continued efforts to target corruption among its most senior disciplinary...

China’s AI chip demand pushes South Korea into a rare surplus with top trade partner

South Korea has emerged as a rare bright spot among East Asian economies trading with China, as booming demand for memory chips pushes its balance with its largest trading partner back into a surplus. The country’s trade position with China had strengthened steadily this year, swinging from a US$764 million deficit in December 2025 to a US$1.1 billion surplus in February, before widening further to US$3.8 billion in May, according to data from South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and...

Oil Prices Climb as U.S. Strikes Tanker and Downs Iranian Drones

Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Wednesday after yet another escalation in the Middle East, with Iran firing missiles at Kuwait and Bahrain, and the U.S. firing on and disabling an oil tanker heading toward Iran. At the time of writing, Brent front-month futures had climbed 1.09% to trade at $97.05 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate had risen 1.19% to $94.88 per barrel. Both benchmarks are trading near one-week highs after posting strong gains in the previous session. According to

Where is the Uber of the AI era?

We keep talking about what roles will be replaced with AI and where gains will be made etc. but I’m kinda surprised by the fact I’ve not yet seen any major markets or industries totally revamped due to AI similar to the way Uber revamped the taxi model. Ride sharing all but replaced taxi services due to mobile apps, gps tracking and P2P matching. Surely the efficiencies inherent with AI means certain services or industries will be totally revamped as an AI powered disruptor arrives. Where has it

Oil climbs as U.S.-Iran trade strikes while Trump says negotiations with Tehran underway

U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that it had defeated multiple Iranian ballistic missiles following "attempted attacks" by Iran.

Iran War: US military: Iranian attacks repelled in the Gulf region

Despite the ceasefire in force, the situation between the USA and Iran is escalating again. Tehran says it is retaliating after a US attack on an unloaded oil tanker.

Found out a trader made $1M betting on US military strikes before they happened and its completely legal

I saw this on the house.gov website earlier, and I thought it was wild. Basically, there's documented evidence of a single trader who made nearly a million dollars betting on US military strikes against Iran. 93% success rate. He was placing bets hours before each attack happened. October 2024, June 2025, February 2026. Congress is now investigating, and subpoenas are being discussed. On top of that 38 separate accounts made over 2 million dollars on one strike alone after loading their accounts

Japanese MP’s claim China eyes Antarctic ‘treasure trove’ dismissed

A Japanese lawmaker’s claim that China has its eyes on “a treasure trove” of resource wealth hidden beneath the Antarctic ice sheet has been dismissed by a polar law expert as a misreading of international obligations. But the claims made in parliament by Mitsuhiro Yokota, a member of the Japan Innovation Party, have also raised questions about what might happen to the world’s last great wilderness in future. “Beneath Antarctica lies a treasure trove of oil, natural gas, coal, iron ore, gold and

How Long Can Demand Destruction Keep a Lid on Oil Prices?

In a somewhat puzzling market development, oil prices haven't spiked yet to record highs amid the worst supply disruption in history. That's because the market still hopes for a quick resolution to the Strait of Hormuz crisis (for more than three months now), global inventories have offered a supply buffer, the world's top crude importer, China, is staying away from spot purchases, and last but not least, demand destruction is accelerating amid the high prices. Beyond the near-term supply chaos

Asia-Pacific markets set to open mixed as concerns over Middle East conflict rise

Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mixed amid concerns over volatile oil prices with the Strait of Hormuz remaining closed.

US government appeals against judge’s order for Trump tariff refunds

The Trump administration on Tuesday formally appealed against a judge’s order for refunds of the US president’s global tariffs after they were struck down by the Supreme Court earlier this year. At stake is some US$166 billion in revenue. A refunds system handled by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has already begun to process repayments. Last month, the CBP said in a court filing that it was on track to process about US$85 billion in repayments, with US$20.6 billion approved for...

How China’s ‘Excalibur of the East’ souvenir swords sparked airport security warning

During mainland China’s recent May Day holiday, a 2,500-year-old sword went viral on Chinese social media – but not for the reason you might think. Lasting from May 1 to 5, the May Day holiday – also known as “Golden Week” – sees large numbers of domestic tourists flocking to popular travel destinations across China, including the Hubei Provincial Museum, which houses the famous Sword of Goujian. Many of them end up buying a replica of the sword in the souvenir shop. As a result, the main...