Finance news

Iran War: US Senate votes to end attacks on Iran

A bill to end US military action against Iran has passed the Senate. Four Republicans also voted in favor. Trump said the vote undermined Washington's position: it came at the wrong time and was "meaningless."

Trade policy: “Not a bad joke” – this is how the USA is putting pressure on Germany’s drug prices

The new US tariff threat against the German healthcare reform is described as an “absolute no-go” in the EU. What's behind it.

Bid-rigging trial over HK$700 million in renovation work set for 2028 at earliest

Eight companies and 12 individuals suspected of rigging bids for at least 11 building maintenance projects in Hong Kong, including at Wang Fuk Court where 168 people died in a fire last year, are expected to face a month-long trial no earlier than 2028. The Competition Tribunal held its first hearing on Wednesday for the companies and individuals accused by the Competition Commission of acting as a bid-rigging syndicate for building maintenance projects worth nearly HK$700 million (US$89.4...

US, Qatar Push Back against EU Methane Rules

The countries asked for a 'pragmatic approach' to clarifying the rules and adopting changes to allow importers to continue to obtain oil and gas needed by the EU.

Iran war: IAEA chief: Inspections in Iran will come

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog makes it clear: monitoring nuclear facilities is part of the US-Iranian framework agreement. But when and how IAEA experts will work in Iran remains unclear for the time being.

Singaporean woman jailed for slapping, punching helper over job performance

Upset with the way that her domestic worker had performed tasks such as hanging the laundry or cleaning bottles, a 67-year-old woman slapped, punched and scratched her, drawing blood. The victim, who earned S$470 (about US$360) a month, told staff members from Singapore’s Centre for Domestic Employees (CDE) during a routine call about the abuse, and a police report was made. Hazel Phang Fong Yen, a 67-year-old Singaporean woman, was sentenced to four months’ jail on Wednesday. She was also...

Thai officials caught altering exam scores for bribes of up to US$24,000

Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered an investigation into allegations of mass cheating in civil service exams to attain government jobs, after thousands of tests were allegedly tampered with to boost scores in exchange for fees of up to US$24,000 each time. The scandal erupted after police and anti-corruption officials raided a company address in Nonthaburi outside Bangkok on Tuesday and found at least 10 officials on site tampering with computerised scores “to help...

US Pacific Command name change risks damaging India ties: ‘senseless’

A Pentagon decision to strip “Indo” from the name of its largest unified military command eight years after it was initially added has raised questions about the United States’ continuing commitment to India. In a statement announcing the Indo-Pacific Command’s name change on June 16, US officials portrayed the move as a matter of “honour”, “pride” and respecting “historical roots”. But analysts told This Week in Asia that New Delhi would likely read the reversion to Pacific Command (PACOM) as..

New poll shows eroding global trust in Trump and America

Global confidence in US President Donald Trump’s leadership remains low around the world, while views of his country as a reliable partner continue to decline, a new survey from the Washington-based Pew Research Centre showed on Tuesday. The survey of 42,151 adults across 36 countries was conducted between February and May 2026, a period marked by geopolitical competition with China and the US-Israeli military conflict with Iran that began in late February. On average, just 23 per cent of adults

Anti-war protesters jeer Japan’s Takaichi over softening pacifist stance

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was heckled at a World War II memorial event by protesters angry about Tokyo’s further shift away from its decades-long pacifist stance, television footage showed. Close US ally Japan in April loosened rules on lethal arms exports and Takaichi, long seen as a security hawk who last year riled mainland China with comments about Taiwan, has said she wants to revise the constitution. A small but vocal number of demonstrators shouted slogans throughout...

+++ Football World Cup 2026 +++: Bellingham reassures England fans after disappointing zero number: “No drama, no stress”

Only Vogts and Derwall have a better national coaching record than Nagelsmann +++ US government relaxes travel requirements for Iran's World Cup team +++ The news blog.

Export: Netherlands warns USA against “coercion” in China export controls

A planned US bill is intended to force allies to impose stricter export controls. The Netherlands opposes this. A chip system manufacturer is also at the center of the dispute.

The geopolitics of US bases: The "Donroe Doctrine" and China's rise are changing Europe's military role/Translation of the article is in the comments

Thanks to its network of bases, Washington can wage wars worldwide. It also uses them as instruments of soft power – or punishes allies with troop withdrawals. China secures its geopolitical power in other ways. submitted by /u/Any-Original-6113 [link] [comments]

Banks are rushing to recruit AI leadership – but how will the tech be implemented?

Both regulators and clients could motivate banks to adopt artificial intelligence for greater efficiency gains in the coming years, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) executive has predicted, adding the trend could intensify the global race to embrace the cutting-edge technology. Over the past few months, multinational banks have approached AWS about how to grow their business in innovative ways, said Shaown Nandi, vice-president of technology at the US cloud computing giant, in an interview with the.

US migration policy: US judge stops ICE arrests in immigration courts

Setback for the US President: Trump relied on arrests of migrants in immigration courts for his aggressive deportation policy. A judge is now putting a stop to this nationwide.

US Senate joins House in voting to halt Iran war

It marks the first time both chambers approved directing a president to remove armed forces from hostilities since the War Powers Act was adopted in 1973.

Rebuking Trump, US Senate joins House in vote to end Iran war

The US Senate backed legislation on Tuesday directing US President Donald Trump to halt US military action against Iran, the latest rebuke of the Republican president from an increasingly restive Congress. The Senate voted 50–48 in favour of the war powers resolution, which passed the House of Representatives early this month, reflecting growing concern even among some of Trump’s Republicans about the unpopular conflict that began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched an attack on...

Property was Australia’s favourite wealth builder. A tax overhaul aims to end that

Just a short ⁠stroll from Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach, auctioneer Clarence White struggles to drum up bids for an ⁠airy three-storey home that boasts five bedrooms and an alfresco lounge – price tag, A$5.2 million (US$3.64 million). “We know everyone’s cagey at the moment, but that’s OK … all power to those who are registered and those who take action,” the veteran auctioneer tells a small group of prospective buyers and onlookers, none of whom bids. Failed auctions like this were once the...

America’s ‘biggest risk’ on AI is China getting ahead, Bessent says

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said China surpassing the United States on artificial intelligence was the “biggest risk” of the technology – outweighing concerns over safety or job losses. “The biggest risk to AI is China getting ahead of us,” Bessent said at the Economic Club of New York, adding that China’s willingness to discuss AI underscored America’s technological lead. “I am one of the point people on our AI policy. I am the point person in terms of the economic...

India’s military self-reliance push hits private sector tech deficit

India’s private defence companies are poised to expand their footprint in the sector, but analysts warn they still lack the technology and capabilities needed to produce cutting-edge weapons for the country’s military or export markets. In the 2025-26 financial year, the private sector accounted for 24 per cent of India’s defence output, or US$4.4 billion out of a record US$18.7 billion, according to a defence ministry statement released last week. The figures reflect a gradual shift away from a

ASML EUV in China? The rumour is ridiculed but it reveals a tougher reality on the ground

For anyone closely watching the semiconductor industry, the recent saga around ASML’s denial of possible EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography shipments to China, in an apparent response to US concern, may sound almost absurd at first. The machine at the centre of the discussion is not a laptop-sized piece of equipment that can be easily packed into a shipping carton. ASML’s EUV lithography systems weigh about 180 tonnes, contain a vast number of precision components, are shipped to customers in

+++ Iran War +++: Damper for Trump – US Senate calls for an end to the US attacks on Iran

Trump insists on Iranian commitment to nuclear inspections +++ 11,000 sailors to be evacuated through the Strait of Hormuz +++ The news blog.

Rakuten to offer satellite-to-cell service in Japan with US startup

‘China Initiative 2.0’: US crackdown on Chinese scholars intensifies

Leading immigration lawyers and activists say the US government has intensified its crackdown on Chinese scientists and researchers – a campaign they argue is even more aggressive than the controversial “China Initiative” launched during US President Donald Trump’s first term. “I think now we are clearly in an era of China Initiative 2.0,” said Robert Fisher, a former Assistant US Attorney and a partner at Nixon Peabody, a Boston-based international law firm. The initiative, launched by the...

US Anthropic ban is best advert for Chinese AI

Bankers working for JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong must have been miffed when they were shut off from using artificial intelligence (AI) models from Anthropic, a pioneering American firm in the field. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase pulled the plug in April and last week respectively, based on a strict interpretation of Anthropic’s terms of use, which reflect Washington’s stringent restrictions on China’s access to frontier American AI models. The banks’ decisions are seen as a..

US stocks slide, as Wall Street gets AI wake-up call

Wall Street got a reality check as a bruising sell-off in several technology giants fuelled concern the artificial intelligence frenzy that has powered the equity bull market might be overblown. The tech rout engulfed global stocks as worries about frothy valuations ignited a fresh bout of volatility after a nearly three-month surge in riskier assets. The S&P fell 1.4 per cent. The benchmark index is coming off 11 weekly gains out of the last 12, led largely by technology stocks. The Dow Jones..

Alibaba sues Pentagon over China military blacklist

Chinese technology and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding has sued the US Department of Defence, seeking to be removed from a blacklist of companies deemed to support China’s military. In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in a district court in San Jose, California, the Hangzhou-based company said the Pentagon had added Alibaba to a list of companies that allegedly aid the People’s Liberation Army without providing substantial evidence or explanation. The Pentagon’s move violated constitutional due

US Crude Oil Inventories Continue To Falter, SPR Struggling To Pick Up the Slack

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 765,000 barrels in the week ending June 19. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories fell by 8.33 million barrels. Although commercial crude oil inventories excluding the SPR have been falling rapidly for the last 2+ months, shedding 53 million barrels over the last ten weeks, US crude inventories are only down 2.1 million barrels so far this year, according to API data, kept in check by d

US targets Cuba mining sector in move with implications for China-linked supply chains

The Trump administration expanded its sanctions campaign against Cuba on Tuesday, targeting a state-owned mining company and other key economic entities in a move that comes as Washington seeks to build alternative supply chains for critical minerals and reduce reliance on geopolitical rivals. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against five entities and one individual, including state-owned mining company GeoMinera, which oversees foreign-backed mining ventures and manages...

Rastafarian man can’t sue prison guards who shaved him bald, US Supreme Court says

The US Supreme Court refused on Tuesday to let a Rastafarian man sue state prison officials in Louisiana after guards held him down and shaved him bald in violation of his religious beliefs in a case brought under a federal law protecting incarcerated people from religious discrimination. The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling powered by its conservative majority, upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss Damon Landor’s lawsuit, agreeing that he could not sue the individual prison officials and...