Finance news

Hong Kong developer Lai Sun seeks note swap in bid to ease liquidity pressure

Hong Kong developer Lai Sun Development, chaired by businessman Peter Lam Kin-ngok, who also chairs the city’s Tourism Board, has launched an exchange offer for its outstanding US$493 million worth of 5 per cent guaranteed notes due July 2026, in an effort to relieve short-term liquidity pressures, the company said Monday in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange. Eligible noteholders can swap their existing holdings for new, US dollar-denominated senior guaranteed notes carrying an 8 per cent

Guest commentary: Why Commerzbank is more successful without Unicredit

A takeover by the Italians sounds like European integration. But it is above all a risk for employees and medium-sized businesses, warns Commerzbank supervisory board Frederik Werning.

Australian girl dies after Pakistani police ‘mistakenly’ shoots family, officer arrested

Police shot and killed an Australian child in eastern Pakistan, authorities said, with Canberra calling on Monday for an investigation into the incident that also wounded two of the girl’s family members. Police in Pakistan’s most populous eastern province, Punjab, said that officers responding to a robbery exchanged fire with the suspects who were holding the passengers of a family’s car at gunpoint on Wednesday. “In the ensuing chaos, the officer involved mistakenly assessed that the suspects.

LNG Tanker Heads for Hormuz Amid News of Reopening

A liquefied natural gas tanker has headed for the Strait of Hormuz, following an announcement by President Trump that he had struck a deal with Iran for the reopening of the chokepoint. Itan confirmed the preliminary agreement. The agreement is scheduled to be signed on Friday, with details yet to be revealed. There will also be a 60-day ceasefire period until negotiations are completed on all conditions of the end of the war. Iran has demanded and received commitment for an end to the war in Le

The US-Iran deal has bought time, but what remains to be achieved?

The United States, Iran and their mediator Pakistan each announced on Sunday that Washington and Tehran had reached an agreement intended to end the conflict between them that has lasted more than 100 days. Writing on social media on Sunday, US President Donald Trump stated: “This Great Deal will bring Peace and Security to the whole Region.” Representatives for the warring countries said they would formally sign a document in Switzerland on Friday that Iran’s Supreme National Security Council..

France prepares Ukraine-inspired ‘kill web’ for battlefield awareness

The kill web will be part of the broader Arcadia AI-powered battlefield command and control structure, a top French commander said.

Balance sheet check: 19,000 jobs cut by the end of the year: How VW is downsizing - and still becoming more expensive

CEO Blume is cutting investments, cutting jobs and making savings at plants. But central cost blocks of all things continue to rise. The balance sheet check explains why.

Observatory could issue red rainstorm warning, monitoring thundery showers

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The Hong Kong Observatory is considering whether to issue a red rainstorm warning, less than two hours after sending out the amber signal on Monday morning. The forecaster said at 12.55pm that areas of intense thundery showers were affecting Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta. “Whether the red rainstorm warning signal needs to be issued depends on the...

From watches to sake, Japanese retailers try new tourist lures

Asian stocks leap as Trump says Strait of Hormuz will reopen

Indonesian business lobby warns confusing policies sow 'dangerous distrust'

Few months, even a year: Energy prices to remain elevated on US-Iran deal

Zhipu soars and Minimax stumbles as China's AI stocks diverge

Pakistani gig workers' exports to hit record high but AI threats loom

USA: Bloody cage fights in front of the White House on Trump's 80th birthday

It's a martial arts spectacle just like the president: on his 80th birthday, martial fights will be held in front of his official residence. What stood out.

Media: BBC cuts hundreds of newsroom jobs

In total, around 2,000 jobs will be lost. The background is the upcoming negotiations with the British government about the financing of the public broadcaster.

Chinese man climbs out of 27th-floor flat to ‘seek immortality’ after eating magic mushrooms

A Chinese man climbed out of his 27th-floor flat after eating self-cooked jianshouqing mushrooms at home and having hallucinations. The man, surnamed Xue, from southwestern China’s Yunnan province, said he believed his family was inviting him to “train himself to cross the tribulation and attain immortality”, a practice often seen in Chinese fantasy novels. Xue said he unconsciously clambered out of the window of his flat and climbed down a water pipe, scratching his belly as he did so. Luckily,

Trump says France must scrap tech 'sales tax' or face 100% wine tariffs: NY Post

President Donald Trump issued the threat ahead of this week's G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France.

Brazilian woman killed after being thrown off bridge without rope is buried in Sao Paulo

A 21-year-old woman who died in dramatic fashion, when two rope jumping instructors threw her from a bridge without first harnessing her to security equipment, was buried on Sunday in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state. Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas was going rope jumping on Saturday at Ponte do Esqueleto, an abandoned bridge in the municipality of Limeira where tourists practice extreme sports. The young woman, who aspired to become a physical education teacher, had asked to be launched from the...

So is SPCX price discovery even real right now?

I keep seeing people talk about the SpaceX price like it already proves demand is insane, but I’m still stuck on the selling side. If IPO allocated holders risk losing access to future IPOs by flipping, and insiders/large holders aren’t really selling yet, then how much of this is actual price discovery? A price can go up fast when buyers are excited and natural sellers are basically discouraged from selling. Maybe that’s just how IPOs work, but it feels weird watching everyone treat the first f

Exclusive: The John Lee interview

Care reform: Coalition disagrees about the burden on relatives in the event of care

Should children of people in need of care continue to be financially protected up to a certain income limit? Six years after their introduction, the rules are up for discussion in the coalition.

Consumers: New rights for passengers? That should change

Anyone who travels by plane and arrives late will receive compensation - in the future, too, according to similar rules as before. Details change, such as the price display on the Internet.

Top meeting: What the G7 summit is about

Wars and crises are once again the focus when Merz, Trump and Co. meet. The summit starts with a signal of hope. Whether it will be a success depends above all on one thing.

Markets: Asian stock exchanges celebrate agreement between USA and Iran

There is relief on the markets about the agreement between the USA and Iran. Oil prices are falling and the stock markets in Japan and South Korea are rising sharply.

Stock markets: Dax expected higher after agreement between Iran and USA

After weeks of negotiations, the USA and Iran agreed on a framework agreement to end the war. The main stock markets in Asia rose on Monday. The Dax is also expected to be higher.

Controversial spectacle: Bloody cage fights in front of the White House on Trump's 80th birthday

It is a controversial martial arts spectacle that suits the president's taste: on his 80th birthday, martial fights will be held directly in front of his official residence. What stood out.

Hong Kong aims to publish first 5-year plan in third quarter

Hong Kong plans to publish its first “strategic, forward-looking and operable” five-year blueprint in the third quarter of this year, the city’s constitutional affairs chief has said, as authorities launched a public consultation while rejecting concerns that the move signalled a shift towards a planned economy. As the government launched a two-month public consultation on the blueprint on Monday, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Janice Tse Siu-wa stressed that the road map,...

Nikkei, Yen, Hang Seng: Hope for Middle East peace inspires Asia's stock markets

The relief over the agreement between the USA and Iran is driving prices in China, Japan and South Korea. Analysts urge caution despite the record levels.

Palestinian death toll tops 73,000 despite ongoing Gaza truce

The Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Gaza war has surpassed 73,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, as Israeli military operations continue despite a stalled and fragile ceasefire in place since October. Israel says it is targeting Hamas and other militants who pose a threat, and in response to ceasefire violations, including occasional attacks. Nearly 1,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire, the health ministry said on Sunday. Five Israeli soldiers have