Culture
Alibaba takes major step to link Taobao shopping to main AI app
[HONG KONG] Alibaba Group Holding plans to link its flagship online shopping and travel services to its artificial intelligence (AI) app, taking its biggest step yet to build Qwen...
Gold slips as profit-taking, softer geopolitical tone hit safe-haven demand
[BENGALURU] Gold slipped on Thursday (Jan 15) as investors booked profits after three consecutive sessions of record highs, while an apparent softer tone from US President Donald Trump on...
Bank of Korea stands pat as board wary of weak won, property market rally
[SEOUL] South Korea’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged in a widely expected move, as authorities monitor the weakening won along with risks of financial imbalances stemming...
Oil prices sink more than 2% as Trump remarks calm concern about Iran
[TOKYO] Oil prices slid more than 2 per cent in early Asian trade on Thursday after US President Donald Trump said killings in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests were...
UOB prices S$850 million perpetual securities at 3%
[SINGAPORE] UOB has priced S$850 million in perpetual capital securities at 3 per cent under its US$30 billion Global Medium Term Note Programme, the bank announced on Wednesday (Jan...
Germany cautions flights over Iran as Lufthansa rejigs Middle East operations
GERMANY issued a new directive cautioning the country’s airlines from entering Iranian airspace, Flightradar24 said on Wednesday, shortly after Lufthansa rejigged its flight operations across the Middle East amid...
SK Hynix speeds up new chip fab opening to meet memory demand, executive says
[SEOUL] SK Hynix plans to accelerate the opening of a new factory by three months and will also begin operating another new plant in February, a senior executive said,...
Europe’s Stoxx 600 ends at record high, lifted by healthcare, chemical stocks
EUROPEAN shares closed at a record high on Wednesday, buoyed by gains in chemicals and healthcare stocks, while investors also monitored the repercussions of simmering geopolitical tensions globally.The pan-European Stoxx 600...
Wall Street slides at open as investors assess results from big banks
[NEW YORK] Wall Street’s main indexes fell at the open on Wednesday (Jan 14) as investors digested earnings from Bank of America and Citigroup, while retail sales and producer...
HSBC plans risk transfer linked to 2 billion euros of corporate loans
It enables the bank to boost its solvency ratios and reduce reliance on less shareholder-friendly options[LONDON] HSBC is gauging investor demand for a significant risk transfer (SRT), tied to...
