(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one day after ending the four-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 640 points or 11.7 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 5,860-point plateau although it may turn lower again on Monda
(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one day after ending the four-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 640 points or 11.7 percent. The KOSPI now sits just beneath the 5,860-point plateau although it may turn lower again on Monda
Ministers admit carer’s allowance penalties will continue while review of more than 200,000 cases is carried out Thousands of unpaid carers will continue to be hit with hefty and potentially unfair benefit repayment demands, it has emerged, as a government initiative gets under way to fix welfare injustices that have drawn comparison to the Post Office scandal. Ministers will on Monday launch an a...
Ministers admit carer’s allowance penalties will continue while review of more than 200,000 cases is carried out Thousands of unpaid carers will continue to be hit with hefty and potentially unfair benefit repayment demands, it has emerged, as a government initiative gets under way to fix welfare injustices that have drawn comparison to the Post Office scandal. Ministers will on Monday launch an audit of more than 200,000 historical carer’s allowance benefit cases, with an estimated 25,000 carers issued with unlawful overpayments since 2015 likely to see their repayment debts cancelled or reduced as a result. Continue reading...
A typical UK household will be left nearly £500 ($672) worse off by surging energy prices, a setback for Prime Minister Keir Starmer ’s pledge to boost living standards. The Resolution Foundation warned on Monday that the median working-age household will suffer a 0.6% drop in income in the current financial year based on market forecasts for energy prices. That compares with a 0.9% increase previ...
A typical UK household will be left nearly £500 ($672) worse off by surging energy prices, a setback for Prime Minister Keir Starmer ’s pledge to boost living standards. The Resolution Foundation warned on Monday that the median working-age household will suffer a 0.6% drop in income in the current financial year based on market forecasts for energy prices. That compares with a 0.9% increase previously expected. While the think tank’s analysis showed the poorest fifth would still make gains, income growth for this group is expected to be much weaker at 1.2%, down from 2.8% before Israel and the US launched attacks on Iran. The ensuing conflict has also pushed UK business confidence to its lowest since the start of the Covid pandemic, according to a separate survey by Deloitte. The Iran war marks the biggest hit to household finances since the Labour government came to power promising to grow living standards over the parliamentary term. The conflict threatens to set back Britons’ personal finances, which had been steadily recovering from the inflation shock caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. While the promise to raise living standards this parliamentary term is seen as unambitious by economists, it would be an improvement on the 2019-2024 period when households suffered a decline in average disposable incomes. Resolution Foundation chief economist James Smith warned that the “damage to household finances this year is to a large degree already done” despite the recent easing in geopolitical tensions. “Energy prices remain well above pre-war levels, meaning many households face a decline in their purchasing power this year,” he said. “For those in the middle and toward the top of the income distribution, even the thin growth they had been expecting has tipped into negative territory.” Economists predict inflation could climb to almost double the Bank of England ’s 2% target. UK drivers have already been squeezed by rapid increases in motor fuel prices sin...
Good morning and welcome back. Escalating tensions with Iran are front and center today after the US and Iran failed to reach a deal in direct talks held in Pakistan over the weekend. Hours later, President Donald Trump said the US would begin a full naval blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, warning of retaliation if Iran resists. The developments come as economic policymakers from around ...
Good morning and welcome back. Escalating tensions with Iran are front and center today after the US and Iran failed to reach a deal in direct talks held in Pakistan over the weekend. Hours later, President Donald Trump said the US would begin a full naval blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, warning of retaliation if Iran resists. The developments come as economic policymakers from around the world gather in Washington for the IMF and World Bank’s spring meetings , where assessing the fallout for global growth will be high on the agenda. - Ainsley Thomson, Wellington Bureau Chief What’s happening now At home, the war has prompted Australia set up a government working group with the fertilizer industry to safeguard urea supplies at risk from disruptions, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said. About 60% of Australia’s urea — a key nitrogen fertilizer used to boost crop yields — typically passes through the Strait of Hormuz, Collins told Sky News Australia on Sunday. Australia and the US have offered potential financing of up to about A$849 million for a rare earths refinery project by Tronox Holdings, one of the clearest concrete commitments so far under their critical minerals partnership. Export Finance Australia and the US Export-Import Bank issued coordinated letters of support or interest of as much as A$424 million each for the project, which spans Western Australia and the US, according to a joint release late Sunday. New Zealand’s central bank will soon announce steps to increase the transparency of its monetary policy decisions, Governor Anna Breman said. The Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee’s determinations on the Official Cash Rate are currently reached either by consensus or after a vote, but the way individual members decide is not disclosed. What happened overnight The prospect that the Iran war will reintensify after the failure of peace talks threatens to spark fresh volatility across global markets. Global benchmark Brent crude gained ...
Ukraine records more than 2,000 violations, Russia claims 1,900. Zelenskyy congratulates Hungary’s Peter Magyar. What we know on day 1,510 A ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine to mark the Orthodox Easter formally expired on Monday , with both sides having accused each other of thousands of violations, despite a lull in Russian air raids. The truce lasted 32 hours, from 4pm (1300 GMT) on Saturday...
Ukraine records more than 2,000 violations, Russia claims 1,900. Zelenskyy congratulates Hungary’s Peter Magyar. What we know on day 1,510 A ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine to mark the Orthodox Easter formally expired on Monday , with both sides having accused each other of thousands of violations, despite a lull in Russian air raids. The truce lasted 32 hours, from 4pm (1300 GMT) on Saturday until the end of the day on Sunday. Both sides had agreed to observe the ceasefire, which Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered on Thursday and which Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed more than a week earlier. But as with a similar agreement last year, only relative calm reigned along the 1,200km (745-mile) frontline. The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said on Sunday it had recorded 2,299 ceasefire violations by 7am , including assaults, shelling and small drone launches. It said in the statement that the use of long-range drones, missiles or guided bombs had not been reported. A Ukrainian military officer told the Associated Press on Saturday that Russian forces had continued to attack their positions. Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday it had recorded 1,971 ceasefire violations by Ukrainian forces, including drone strikes. The head of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said rescuers uncovered the bodies of two civilians who were killed in a Ukrainian attack on Saturday afternoon. Zelenskyy congratulated Hungary’s Peter Magyar on his “resounding victory” in parliamentary elections on Sunday , pledging to work with the country’s new leadership “for the benefit of both nations”. “Congratulations to [Peter Magyar] and the TISZA party on their resounding victory … We are ready for meetings and joint constructive work for the benefit of both nations, as well as peace, security, and stability in Europe,” the Ukrainian president said on X. The EU will be waiting to see how Magyar changes Hungary’s approach to Ukraine. Orbán repeatedl...
Chinese carmakers are rapidly gaining ground in Europe, squeezing out Asian rivals such as Japan and South Korea as exports to the region surge past 1 million units for the first time, according to an industry report. Imports of Chinese-made cars into the European Union in 2025 jumped 30.7 per cent from a year earlier to 1.006 million vehicles, according to the report published by the European Aut...
Chinese carmakers are rapidly gaining ground in Europe, squeezing out Asian rivals such as Japan and South Korea as exports to the region surge past 1 million units for the first time, according to an industry report. Imports of Chinese-made cars into the European Union in 2025 jumped 30.7 per cent from a year earlier to 1.006 million vehicles, according to the report published by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, known as the ACEA, on April 2. The value of those imports,...
While China’s electric vehicle (EV) makers are struggling amid fierce competition, battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) is consolidating its dominance, building its profits while erecting technological barriers to increase its pricing power. The world’s bestselling power battery maker for nine years in a row, CATL in March reported a net profit of 72.2 billion yuan (US$10.6 bil...
While China’s electric vehicle (EV) makers are struggling amid fierce competition, battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) is consolidating its dominance, building its profits while erecting technological barriers to increase its pricing power. The world’s bestselling power battery maker for nine years in a row, CATL in March reported a net profit of 72.2 billion yuan (US$10.6 billion) for last year, up 42 per cent from a year earlier. The figure is only 8 per cent lower than...
Artificial intelligence is reshaping Southeast Asia’s economic architecture — influencing how businesses scale, how small enterprises access capital and how essential services are delivered. At the South China Morning Post’s China Conference: Southeast Asia 2026, leaders across technology, finance, healthcare and insurance explored what it will take to turn digital momentum into inclusive growth. ...
Artificial intelligence is reshaping Southeast Asia’s economic architecture — influencing how businesses scale, how small enterprises access capital and how essential services are delivered. At the South China Morning Post’s China Conference: Southeast Asia 2026, leaders across technology, finance, healthcare and insurance explored what it will take to turn digital momentum into inclusive growth. Held on February 10-11 at The St Regis Jakarta, the conference brought together policymakers and...
Singaporean stocks are close to reclaiming their record high, with the country’s assets seen as a haven in the face of global volatility. Equities in the city-state have suffered the least in the region since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February sent global energy prices soaring. They’re on the cusp of being the first major Asian market to reclaim new highs since, aided by the Singapore d...
Singaporean stocks are close to reclaiming their record high, with the country’s assets seen as a haven in the face of global volatility. Equities in the city-state have suffered the least in the region since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February sent global energy prices soaring. They’re on the cusp of being the first major Asian market to reclaim new highs since, aided by the Singapore dollar’s outperformance versus Southeast Asian peers. The US and Iran failed to reach a deal over the weekend, and President Donald Trump said the US will begin a full naval blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, setting the stage for a renewed bout of global market turmoil. Singapore has a couple of factors in its favor. One, its Equity Market Development Programme, created last year, is expected to pour in billions of dollars to boost valuations and appeal to investors. Two, the composition of Singapore’s main stock index adds to the appeal, with high dividend-paying stocks such as DBS Group Holdings and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. making up more than 40% of the gauge. “The relative strength of the Singapore dollar offers safe-haven status” to local equities, said Daniel Lau , a fund manager at Eastspring Investments in Singapore. The EQDP efforts offer valuation support amid the global uncertainty as well, he said. The Straits Times Index is broadly unchanged from the beginning of the war, compared with a 4.9% drop in MSCI’s Asian gauge. Asian stocks are still nearly 5% away from erasing the losses from the conflict. That said, the city-state’s stock market has underperformed Asian stocks this week after a ceasefire announcement triggered a relief rally globally. The region’s rebound, led by technology stocks, has brought Taiwan’s stock market close to surpassing its previous record — and an end to the war might bolster gains for tech, putting Singapore at a relative disadvantage. Still, analysts bet that further strength in the currency could provide a platform fo...
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images News President Donald Trump is considering renewed military action against Iran, including limited strikes, following the breakdown of negotiations in Pakistan, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing officials familiar with the discussions. A broader bombing campaign remains an option but is seen as less likely, given concerns about escalation and prolonged conf...
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images News President Donald Trump is considering renewed military action against Iran, including limited strikes, following the breakdown of negotiations in Pakistan, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing officials familiar with the discussions. A broader bombing campaign remains an option but is seen as less likely, given concerns about escalation and prolonged conflict. The U.S. has already imposed a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy chokepoint, while Trump continues to signal openness to diplomacy. Still, he warned of potential escalation, saying, “I would hate to do it, but it’s their water, their desalinization plans, their electric-generating plants, which are very easy to hit.” White House officials emphasized that no final decision has been made, the Journal reported. U.S. demands in any renewed talks include reopening the strait without tolls, ending uranium enrichment, dismantling nuclear facilities and halting support for regional proxy groups. Talks led by Vice President JD Vance collapsed after Iran refused to abandon its nuclear program. Some advisers see the blockade as the most effective near-term strategy, aiming to pressure Iran economically by restricting oil exports. Others warn it could provoke retaliation, including missile or drone attacks on U.S. naval forces in the region. Trump has argued that economic disruption is a necessary tradeoff to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, even as rising energy prices and political pressure at home complicate the path forward, the Journal reported. Dear Readers: We recognize that politics often intersect with the financial news of the day, so we invite you to click here to join the separate political discussion. More on iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF, State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF, etc. U.S. Defense Stock Underperformance: What The Market Is Telling Us Macro Insights: The Hormuz Crisis Says No, But The Market Says...