(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Friday halted the three-day winning streak in which it had added more than 110 points or 0.4 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 26,550-point plateau although it's likely to see renewed support on Monday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting among the technology companies likely to lead the markets high...
(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Friday halted the three-day winning streak in which it had added more than 110 points or 0.4 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 26,550-point plateau although it's likely to see renewed support on Monday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting among the technology companies likely to lead the markets higher. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead. The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the insurance, property and technology sectors. For the day, the index stumbled 325.29 points or 1.21 percent to finish at 26,559.95 after trading between 26,295.03 and 26,710.34. Among the actives, Alibaba Group plummeted 2.88 percent, while Alibaba Health Info retreated 1.61 percent, ANTA Sports rose 0.19 percent, China Life Insurance declined 1.46 percent, China Mengniu Dairy soared 3.03 percent, China Resources Land shed 1.00 percent, CITIC climbed 1.14 percent, CNOOC jumped 1.87 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical lost 0.82 percent, Galaxy Entertainment gained 0.23 percent, Haier Smart Home stumbled 1.82 percent, Hang Lung Properties and Xiaomi Corporation both advanced 0.74 percent, Henderson Land slumped 1.42 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas sank 1.05 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.46 percent, JD.com tumbled 1.75 percent, Lenovo slipped 0.64 percent, Li Auto surged 3.61 percent, Li Ning fell 0.65 percent, Meituan plunged 2.56 percent, New World Development tanked 2.45 percent, Nongfu Spring skidded 1.18 percent, Techtronic Industries dropped 1.15 percent, WuXi Biologics added 0.43 percent and CK Infrastructure was unchanged. The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened firmly higher on Friday and continued to accelerate throughout the day, ending at session highs. The Dow surged 1,206.97 points or 2.47 percent to finish at a record 50,115.67,...
(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,100 level, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, with energy and materials stocks leading the gains. Traders also await Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe's speech on the economic outlook later in the day. Me...
(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,100 level, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, with energy and materials stocks leading the gains. Traders also await Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe's speech on the economic outlook later in the day. Meanwhile, concerns over the domestic Covid-19 cases have softened as the daily new cases are on a steady decline. New South Wales reported 11,807 new cases and 27 deaths on Monday and Victoria also reported 14,553 new cases and 25 deaths. Queensland recorded 9,630 new cases and 16 deaths, ACT reported 549 new cases, South Australia reported 1,723 new cases and Tasmania reported 666 new cases. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 96.40 points or 1.38 percent to 7,102.40, after touching a high of 7,107.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 99.70 points or 1.36 percent to 7,412.50. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday. Among major miners, BHP Group is adding more than 2 percent, OZ Minerals is gaining more than 3 percent and Fortescue Metals is surging more than 4 percent, while Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are advancing almost 3 percent each. Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Petroleum is gaining 2.5 percent, while Santos and Beach energy are adding more than 2 percent each. Origin Energy is edging down 0.4 percent. In the tech space, WiseTech Global and Xero are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Zip is losing more than 2 percent and Block is declining more than 3 percent. Appen is flat. Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.3 percent each. Among gold miners, Newcrest Mining and Evolution Mining are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is surging more than 5 percent and Northern Star Resources is addin...
The Idiocracy That Is California Politics Authored by William Andersen via The Mises Institute, After having lived in California the past four years, I can attest to the near-insanity of progressive politics in this state, yet California’s very progressive governor, Gavin Newsom, is considered a front-runner for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in 2028. Given how the Trump administr...
The Idiocracy That Is California Politics Authored by William Andersen via The Mises Institute, After having lived in California the past four years, I can attest to the near-insanity of progressive politics in this state, yet California’s very progressive governor, Gavin Newsom, is considered a front-runner for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in 2028. Given how the Trump administration has helped to tank the economy through its tariffs, inflation, and outright regime uncertainty, there is a real possibility that Newsom can make California governance a reality for the entire country. In other words, politically speaking, there seems to be no ceiling for the damage that progressive politicians in California can do with no objections from their constituents. Thanks to the state’s governance, the cost of living here is well above the national average, even though there is no reason as to why that should be the case. The highly-abstract worldview from which progressives draw their governing ethos continues to claim victims, but Democrats — who make up the overwhelming voter bloc in this state—do not care about the damage being done , since they can always blame Republicans and capitalism just like Big Brother blamed Goldstein . The latest legislative caper is a wealth tax on the state’s 200 or so billionaires that is so onerous that, should voters approve it in November of this year, will drive businesses and their owners out of the state altogether. However, California’s mostly-Democratic voters have signaled they are more than willing to approve the tax even though they know it will cause economic harm. While I wrote the following piece more than four years ago, it still holds true and there is no chance that the political and legislative balances in this state will change — except for moving further to the left. * * * My colleague from the philosophy department at my former employer, Frostburg State University, was becoming increasingly angry. He was ...
The Australian white supremacist who murdered 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch in 2019, in the worst mass shooting in the New Zealand’s history, is asking one of the country’s highest courts to vacate his guilty pleas and hold a new trial. Brenton Tarrant pleaded guilty in March 2020 to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and a terrorism charge, after initially s...
The Australian white supremacist who murdered 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch in 2019, in the worst mass shooting in the New Zealand’s history, is asking one of the country’s highest courts to vacate his guilty pleas and hold a new trial. Brenton Tarrant pleaded guilty in March 2020 to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and a terrorism charge, after initially saying he would defend the charges. In August 2020, Tarrant became the first person in New Zealand under current laws to be sentenced to life in prison without the chance of ever walking free. But in 2022 he filed an appeal at the court of appeal for both his convictions and his sentence. The court will consider whether the appeal can proceed because it was filed outside the legislated time frame to do so. The 35-year-old is expected to give evidence via video link during the week-long hearing in Wellington, which begins on 9 February. According to court documents, the court will be primarily considering the application to vacate the guilty pleas. “The central issue before the Court will be whether at the time Mr Tarrant entered his guilty pleas he was incapable of making rational decisions as a result of the conditions of his imprisonment, which he says were torturous and inhumane,” it said. If the court grants the application to vacate the pleas, the case will be sent back to the high court for the terrorist to stand trial. If it declines the application then a further hearing will consider the sentence appeal later this year. Security has been ramped up at the court, with only media, counsel and authorised people permitted to attend the hearing inside the courtroom. Limited space for the public has been made in an adjoining room, while provision has been made for victims and family members to view the hearing in Christchurch via a delayed broadcast. Tarrant’s legal counsel have been granted permanent name suppression. Aya Al-Umari, whose brother Hussein al-Umari was murde...