Asian stocks rise as US rate hopes soothe nerves after torrid week

Asian markets mostly rose Monday as fresh hopes for a US interest rate cut provided some calm after last week’s rollercoaster ride fuelled by worries of a tech bubble. The scramble to snap up all things AI has helped propel equities skywards this year, pushing several companies to records — with chip titan Nvidia last […]
Return to bad days of hyperinflation looms in Venezuela

Venezuelans are grappling with political and economic chaos, a mass population exodus and fears of a US military attack. Now, their wallets are ever thinner as a return to hyperinflation looms. Increasingly, people live hand to mouth, buying a tomato here, a few onions there as they manage to scrape together enough bolivars for just […]
Guinness maker Diageo picks new CEO after US tariffs cloud

Diageo, the maker of Guinness beer and Smirnoff vodka, announced Monday a new chief executive as it seeks to improve performance hit partly by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Dave Lewis, presently chairman of consumer healthcare firm Haleon, will become CEO in January, replacing Debra Crew after her resignation in July. “The market faces some […]
‘Netflix House’ marks streaming giant’s first theme park

After years of temporary pop-up events, streaming giant Netflix will make its first foray into the theme park space this week, rivalling entertainment giants Disney and Universal Studios. The company’s “Netflix House” theme park will open its doors Wednesday at the King of Prussia mall — one of the largest shopping centers in the United […]
Asian stocks rise as record US shutdown nears end

Most Asian markets rose for the second day in a row Tuesday as US lawmakers edged towards ending a record government shutdown. The prospect of an end to the Washington standoff, which moved into its 41st day Monday, came amid a revival of demand for tech giants despite growing fears of an AI-fuelled bubble. Senators […]
US Fed official backed rate pause because inflation ‘too high’

A senior member of the US Federal Reserve on Friday said he voted against cutting interest rates this week because inflation was “too high” for comfort. Kansas City Fed president Jeff Schmid was one of two people who dissented on Wednesday’s vote, at which the US central bank backed a quarter percentage-point rate cut. The […]
Most Asian markets rise on lingering trader optimism

Most stocks rose in Asian trade Monday after a busy last week, with optimism supported by another AI-led tech rally on Wall Street. Investors returned from the weekend in relatively good spirits after an upbeat end to October that saw China-US tensions ease, a Federal Reserve interest rate cut and healthy earnings from market darlings […]
Trump’s global tariffs to face challenge before Supreme Court

The US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Wednesday on the legality of Donald Trump’s unprecedented use of powers for sweeping global tariffs in a case striking at the heart of the president’s economic agenda. Since returning to the White House, Trump has invoked emergency economic powers to impose “reciprocal” tariffs over trade practices […]
Google to invest $15 bn in India, build largest AI hub outside US

Google said Tuesday it will invest $15 billion in India over the next five years, as it announced a giant data centre and artificial intelligence base in the country. “It is the largest AI hub that we are investing in anywhere outside of the US,” Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said at a ceremony in New […]
China’s economic growth slows amid sputtering domestic demand

China’s economic growth slipped below five percent in the third quarter of 2025, the slowest pace in a year as trade headwinds and a domestic consumer slump continued to weigh. The data comes as the country’s ruling Communist Party kicks off a closely watched four-day meeting in Beijing focused on long-term economic planning. It also […]