Market

Relief efforts should cushion economy in months ahead, White House report says
26Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, USA, World

Relief efforts should cushion economy in months ahead, White House report says

WASHINGTON: Increased transfer payments and expanded liquidity measures aimed at companies should help buffer U.S. households and businesses from the worst of the economic crisis unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic in coming months, the White House Council of Economic Advisers said in a report on Thursday. Nonetheless, the economy would recover faster and with less scarring if agreement were reached on additional support, Tyler Goodspeed, the CEA's acting chair, told reporters in a briefing on the report. Republicans and Democrats in Congress are at an impasse over the size of another coronavirus aid package, with talks having broken down in the past week. "Very substantial headwinds remain," Goodspeed said. "What is going to be absolutely essential for continued economic recovery...
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Canada’s Trudeau says he has confidence in finance minister after report of policy clash
26Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

Canada’s Trudeau says he has confidence in finance minister after report of policy clash

related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 2 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. OTTAWA/TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday (Aug 11) said he had "full confidence" in Finance Minister Bill Morneau amid reports of a clash over policy between the two men, who also both face an ethics probe. The Globe and Mail newspaper cited unnamed sources as saying Trudeau was uncertain whether Morneau was the right person to handle the recovery from the coronavirus outbreak, prompting analysts to fret about Ottawa's becoming distracted. "Of course the Prime Minister has full confidence in Minister Morneau and any statement to the contrary is false," said a statement from Trudeau's office, praising Mornea...
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Robinhood valuation surges to US$11.2 billion after latest funding round
23Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

Robinhood valuation surges to US$11.2 billion after latest funding round

related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 2 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. Robinhood Markets Inc, the fintech startup credited with helping popularize trading among millennials, said on Monday it has raised US$200 million from investment firm D1 Capital Partners at a valuation of US$11.2 billion. REUTERS: Robinhood Markets Inc, the fintech startup credited with helping popularize trading among millennials, said on Monday it has raised US$200 million from investment firm D1 Capital Partners at a valuation of US$11.2 billion. Robinhood is one of the hottest fintech startups in Silicon Valley, having consistently raised large sums at higher valuations from several marquee investors including Sequoia Capital, Ri...
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Taiwanese firms shift focus to India amid fallout with China
19Aug By Mike Trudell1 Comment
China, Market, World

Taiwanese firms shift focus to India amid fallout with China

Drawn by India’s giant market, inexpensive skilled workforce and tax breaks, Taiwanese firms are apparently pivoting to India and leaving China behind.According to media reports, firms from Taiwan are seeking to reduce their reliance on mainland China. A Taiwanese company Pegatron, an assembly partner for the US tech giant Apple, earlier in July announced that it was applying for permits to set up its first plant in India.The firm, which reported revenue of USD 44.8 billion in 2019, normally offshores its orders to its factories in mainland China. But analysts and the Taiwanese government said the firm’s swing into India is only the latest example of a trend that has been gaining pace over the past four years as ties between India and Taiwan strengthened.According to the Taiwan Bureau of F...
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Federal Reserve’s US$3 trillion virus rescue inflates market bubbles
3Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

Federal Reserve’s US$3 trillion virus rescue inflates market bubbles

NEW YORK: The Federal Reserve's US$3 trillion bid to stave off an economic crisis in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak is fuelling excesses across US capital markets. The US central bank has pledged unlimited financial asset purchases to sustain market liquidity, increasing its balance sheet from US$4.2 trillion in February to US$7 trillion today. While the vast majority of these purchases have been limited to US Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, the Fed's pledge to bolster the corporate bond market has been enough to spur a frenzy among investors for bonds and stocks. "COVID-19 is now inversely related to the markets. The worse that COVID-19 gets, the better the markets do because the Fed will bring in stimulus. That is what has been driving markets," said Andrew Brenne...
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Stock market live Tuesday: Dow pops 500 points, best day in two weeks, bets on economy lead the way
2Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

Stock market live Tuesday: Dow pops 500 points, best day in two weeks, bets on economy lead the way

Wells Fargo chief financial officer John Shrewsberry said on "Closing Bell" that the asset cap imposed on the bank by the Federal Reserve is potentially costing the firm billions in revenue and earnings. He said working to satisfy the central bank enough to have the cap lifted is "the most important work that we're doing." "We've had to do a few things that have definitely cost us interest income at the margins to be able to navigate through that, and we'll continue to as long as the cap is in place," Shrewsberry said. "It's hard to put a number on it, but if our balance sheet as 10% bigger — call it $2.2 trillion versus of just under $2 trillion — there's a few billion dollars worth of revenue, most of which probably falls to the bottom line." Shrewsberry also said that the credit lines...
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MAS revokes capital markets services licence of financial institution Apical Asset Management
31Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, Singapore, World

MAS revokes capital markets services licence of financial institution Apical Asset Management

SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has revoked the capital markets services licence of Apical Asset Management (AAMPL) on Tuesday (Jul 28). The revocation of the company's license is due to "serious breaches of MAS' anti-money laundering/countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements", according to the authority's media release. For a company to conduct financial activities under the Securities and Futures Act, it has to hold a capital markets services (CMS) licence. 'SEVERE DEFICIENCIES' The MAS said it uncovered "severe deficiencies" in the company’s AML/CFT controls from 2013 to 2018. The financial institution did not have the relevant basic policies and procedures in place which exposed it to the "risk of receiving and/or laundering the proceeds of...
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## RCEP is China’s strategy to gain access to Indian market ##
30Jul By Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Market

## RCEP is China’s strategy to gain access to Indian market ##

The Government of India has decided “not to review” its stand to not join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which benefits China disproportionately and opens Indian market to economic threats, especially from Chinese preys.Despite claims that India’s decision is influenced by the initial inaction of China to curb the outbreak of the wide-spread coronavirus, and keeping its information hidden, and the unprovoked killing of 20 Indian soldiers by Chinese troops in a brutal clash on June 15, the Central government has maintained that the recent incidents do not have any bearing on India's decision to not join RCEP. The decision was based solely on economic reasons after multiple Ministerial discussions in November 2019.Most of the countries that are part of the RCEP, incl...
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Hong Kong’s competitive edge blunted by US-China storm
29Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Market, World

Hong Kong’s competitive edge blunted by US-China storm

HONG KONG: Beijing's tough new security law and President Donald Trump's order to rescind special trading privileges have blunted Hong Kong's competitive edge and risk turning the finance hub into just another Chinese city, analysts warn. Once lauded as an oasis of predictability in Asia, Hong Kong has been plunged into crisis over the past year, threatening its status as a reliable world-class business centre. As 2019 came to a close, the city was already deep in recession because of spiralling US-China trade tensions and months of huge, often violent protests. And the jolts to business sentiment have not let up. Late last month Beijing blanketed the city in a game-changing anti-subversion law aimed at ending protests against its increasingly authoritarian rule. Then on Tuesd...
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Individual investors are a ‘big part’ of the market over last few months, NYSE president says
29Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

Individual investors are a ‘big part’ of the market over last few months, NYSE president says

NYSE President Stacey Cunningham said Friday that individual investors have participated in a big way during the market's record rally that's seen the S&P 500 jump 48% from its March 23 low. "The retail investor has been a big part of the market over the past several months for a variety of reasons," Cunningham said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." She pointed to several reasons for the spike, including zero-commission trading platforms, as well as consumers having more time on their hands amid stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic. "They're engaging in this tremendous rebound from the market," she said. Her comments come after e-brokers TD Ameritrade and Interactive Brokers reported record retail trading volumes in the second quarter. Some, including Social Capital's Chamath Palih...
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