It’s been a strange day in Washington, as top intelligence officials and even US President Donald Trump appeared to question his own statements on the firing of FBI director James Comey. Andrew McCabe, the FBI acting director, contradicted Mr Trump over the firing of Mr Comey, denying in testimony to the Senate intelligence committee that the ousted chief had lost the support of employees as he insisted […]
BT’s own goals cost the boss dearly. FT Opening Quote, with commentary by Matthew Vincent, is your early Square Mile briefing. You can sign up for the full newsletter here. Two months ago, all Paris St Germain had to do to reach the quarter finals of the European Champions League was not concede three goals in the final 2 minutes of their match against Barcelona. Barcelona’s ensuing […]
A consortium led by Macquarie Group is buying a controlling stake in one of Australia’s biggest public energy companies in a deal that will deliver a A$7.6bn windfall to the New South Wales government. The sale of a 50.4 per cent stake in Endeavour Energy to the Advance Energy consortium completes a trio of energy sales in NSW under an “asset recycling” policy, which the US administration […]
By Douglas Busvine | DHARAMSALA, India DHARAMSALA, India Top U.S. lawmakers delivered a blunt message to China on Wednesday that they would not relent in their campaign to protect human rights in Tibet, calling for legislative and trade steps to press home their point. Nancy Pelosi, leading a bipartisan Congressional delegation to meet the Dalai Lama, vowed to stand by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader even as […]
Stock markets in the Asia Pacific region were mixed on Thursday as energy stocks enjoyed a boost from improved crude prices. In Sydney the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.7 per cent as energy stocks climbed 1.1 per cent. Shares in major banks were recovering from a drop brought on by a new levy announced on Tuesday night, with National Australia Bank up 1.1 per cent. Tokyo’s Topix […]
With passive investing passing the $4tn mark in April, things aren’t exactly looking up for active asset managers. New product launches and investor inflows mean there are now almost 7,000 exchange-traded products managed by 313 providers and total assets of $4.002tn at the end of April, according to fresh figures from ETFGI, an industry data provider. The relentless flood of money into passive investment vehicles is a […]
Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs of the UAE 09 May 2017 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs of the UAE, the 1st edition of ATech World Conference & Exhibition and World Game […]
By Nichola Saminather | SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian stock markets edged down on Tuesday following a flat close on Wall Street, as investors searched for the next catalyst following France’s presidential election, while oil inched higher on expectations OPEC supply cuts will be extended. Financial spreadbetters expect Britain’s FTSE 100 .FTSE, Germany’s DAX .GDAXI and France’s CAC 40 .FCHI to all open flat. The South Korean stock market, […]
By Venus Wu and Stefanie McIntyre | HONG KONG HONG KONG A former senior Hong Kong official and a billionaire property tycoon arrived in court on Tuesday to appeal against a corruption charge more than two years after they were jailed in one of the city’s most high profile corruption cases. Rafael Hui, who headed the Hong Kong government civil service from 2005 to 2007, was sentenced […]
Tuesday 02:50 BST Overview Stocks around Asia were mostly lower following a flat lead from Wall Street and as momentum after the French presidential election faded. Hot topic Emmanuel Macron, the independent centrist, was elected France’s president in the country’s election at the weekend, beating far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. Although Mr Macron’s victory was a cause for relief in markets and is seen as a broad […]
Monday 16:30 BST What you need to know • The euro is losing momentum after touching a six-month high, down 0.6 per cent at $1.0925 • New York equity markets are muted; European equities markets are falling back, led by banks after early momentum from the French election continues to fade • Oil prices have also been volatile with both Brent and WTI seesawing either side of […]
Shipment volumes and market shares for the Chinese market. (Image: IDC) Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has overtaken Oppo as the number one smartphone seller in China for Q1 2017, research firm IDC has revealed. Of the total 103.1 million smartphones shipped to China during the first quarter, Huawei’s shipment volume reached 20.8 million units, a year-over-year increase of 25.5 percent, according to IDC’s Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. […]
Monday UN focus on migrants The UN will meet in Geneva to address the “human rights of all migrants, social inclusion, cohesion and all forms of discrimination, including racism, xenophobia and intolerance”. Organisers say they are working towards an ambitious global policy on migration, an issue high on the political agenda after the Mediterranean migrants’ crisis and US President Donald Trump’s clampdown on migration into the US […]
Why Macau? There are two very different faces to this former Portuguese enclave a short boat ride from Hong Kong. There’s the Macau that has been transformed since its return to China in 1999 into the Las Vegas of the East by the construction of giant hotel casinos on a vast land-reclamation project. And there’s my kind of Macau, still a wonderfully exotic destination, where there are […]
Emirates has announced that all of its flights to Spain will be operated by the A380 superjumbo from September. In addition to the existing double daily A380 service to Barcelona, the airline said in a statement that it will operate a double daily A380 service to Madrid, significantly boosting seat capacity from Dubai to Spain. Commencing on September 1, Emirates flights EK143/144 will be operated by an […]
North America, the UK, Germany and Australia remain the top property investment destination for UAE residents, according to a YouGov survey conducted by IP Global, the property investment firm. The survey results showed that when it comes to investing in property abroad, the US and Canada are the most popular markets among UAE citizens. Chicago and Los Angeles were highlighted as popular investment destinations in the US. […]
A first for Hilton in Jordan Visitors to Jordan can now stay at Hilton Hotels & Resorts’ first hotel in the country, the new Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa. The 285-room property is on the north-east shore of the Dead Sea, next to the King Hussein bin Talal Convention Centre, also managed by Hilton since 2010. The hotel’s spa is due to open in September. Rooms […]
By Saikat Chatterjee | HONG KONG HONG KONG Asian stocks declined for a third consecutive day on Friday as fresh falls in commodities raised concerns about the health of the global economy, though the euro bucked the broad weakness on receding concerns about France’s presidential election. Chinese stocks led regional losers, falling to a three-month low as concerns about tighter financial regulations weighed on banking shares while […]
Throw them into the bay, or throw them into jail? Those were two possible replies to a poll set up by a user on Twitter. He wanted to know how to deal with “treacherous journalists” – the journalists in question were reporters working for the Panamanian daily newspaper La Prensa. The paper’s newsroom lies just 7.2 miles away from the offices of Mossack Fonseca, the law firm […]
By Sumeet Chatterjee | HONG KONG HONG KONG UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) plans to hire about 100 wealth management client advisors over the next two years in Hong Kong, the biggest wealth hub in Asia-Pacific, to grab a bigger share of the fast-growing mid-tier millionaire segment. The Swiss bank’s sharpening focus on the middle of the wealth market comes as some global banks including Standard Chartered (STAN.L) […]
HSBC has beaten analysts’ expectations for its first-quarter results as strong trading conditions, rising interest rates and a weaker dollar lifted earnings, bringing welcome relief from its heavy miss at the end of last year. Pre-tax profits, adjusted for one-offs and currency moves, reached $5.9bn, surpassing consensus forecasts of $5.3bn. Shares opened up 3.4 per cent in London trading, hitting 668.30p. Europe’s biggest bank by assets, which […]
HONG KONG Hong Kong’s next leader, Carrie Lam, vowed on Thursday to heal political and social divides, pledging to return the global financial hub to its “normal course of development”. Lam takes office on July 1 after being selected in March amid widespread concern that Beijing’s meddling had sealed her victory and denied the freewheeling former British colony a more popular leader. The former civil service chief […]
China has rapidly emerged as the leading issuer of green bonds, spurring excitement among the green finance community that they will help the world’s largest emitter reduce its choking pollution. But although the amount raised is carefully tracked, how the money is being spent is less clear. China issued $36bn of green bonds in 2016, up from almost none the year before, and analysts expect it to […]
Apple CEO Tim Cook (Image: CNET/CBS Interactive) Apple CEO Tim Cook has said he remains enthusiastic about business opportunity in China, the world’s largest smartphone market, despite the company’s Greater China sales falling 14 percent year-on-year to $10.7 billion in the quarter ended April 1, from $12.5 billion in the same period last year. This figure was also down 34 percent from revenue of $16.2 billion recorded […]
