Investors in Asia are used to reacting to overnight headlines, but the war in Iran has made the start of the daily trading session an unusually fraught time. Just ask Amy Xie Patrick . By the time local markets shut last Friday, Australian benchmark bond yields had closed at around 5%. At the start of trading on Monday, yields jumped 18 basis points in minutes — reacting to worsening tensions in I...
Investors in Asia are used to reacting to overnight headlines, but the war in Iran has made the start of the daily trading session an unusually fraught time. Just ask Amy Xie Patrick . By the time local markets shut last Friday, Australian benchmark bond yields had closed at around 5%. At the start of trading on Monday, yields jumped 18 basis points in minutes — reacting to worsening tensions in Iran and the chaotic moves in Treasuries in the previous session. Traders are “just getting stopped out,” said Xie Patrick, a money manager at Pendal Group, referring to a situation where a bet is closed because it hit a pre-set loss limit. “In this market environment, clearly cash is king and everybody wishes that they had more cash,” she said, adding her fund has ramped up cash holdings to over 20% to help weather the volatility. Investors in Asia are struggling to adjust to the new normal, as they try to get to grips with the outsized swings precipitated by rising oil prices while the Iran war rages on. Volatility has climbed for virtually every asset class and the region has borne the brunt of the move. The opening gaps for Asian stocks and major bond markets this month show some of the most extreme moves of the last year, according to a percentile analysis compiled by Bloomberg. Asia has been hard hit because trading in the region tends to track the gyrations in US and oil markets , and investors are especially exposed given the region’s heavy reliance on Middle East energy. For example, Australia’s benchmark bond yields have opened up or down eight basis points or more five times this month, compared to just three times during the volatility generated by US tariffs last April. On average, Australian 10-year bond yields have moved by almost six basis points at the open this month, and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index by 0.3%, more than double the pace seen in February. “We’ve been forced to adjust risk and it becomes like forced selling at times,” said Shinji Kunibe , lead p...
Defeat against derby rivals Sunderland underlined failings in the team with manager needing to show he can get team back on track next season Eddie Howe seemed oblivious to the train hurtling down the track towards him. As Newcastle’s manager urged a team by now studded with substitutes to keep attacking, Enzo Le Fée came on for Sunderland and immediately slipped Brian Brobbey a sachet of energy g...
Defeat against derby rivals Sunderland underlined failings in the team with manager needing to show he can get team back on track next season Eddie Howe seemed oblivious to the train hurtling down the track towards him. As Newcastle’s manager urged a team by now studded with substitutes to keep attacking, Enzo Le Fée came on for Sunderland and immediately slipped Brian Brobbey a sachet of energy gel. Eighty-five minutes had passed on Sunday afternoon, the score at St James’ Park was 1-1 and Régis Le Bris had made his first change to a severely injury-hit visiting starting XI. As the clock hit the 90-minute mark, Le Fée surged into space and checked before threading a low, angled, cross through the legs of Lewis Hall and Dan Burn and on to Brobbey’s feet. Although Aaron Ramsdale blocked the former Ajax striker’s initial effort, Brobbey scored at the second attempt. Newcastle had been mugged by a double nutmeg and Howe’s season appeared thoroughly derailed. Continue reading...
Despite being 150th in the world rankings, the French overseas territory can dream of a truly astounding achievement Roussillon is a small town nestled in the Rhône valley, about 40 minutes south of Lyon by car, and a reminder that the most extraordinary stories can hide in the most ordinary of places. One player says “the town doesn’t ‘live’ for [its] club”, but as you head through the town centr...
Despite being 150th in the world rankings, the French overseas territory can dream of a truly astounding achievement Roussillon is a small town nestled in the Rhône valley, about 40 minutes south of Lyon by car, and a reminder that the most extraordinary stories can hide in the most ordinary of places. One player says “the town doesn’t ‘live’ for [its] club”, but as you head through the town centre and towards Salaise Rhodia’s stadium, you begin to doubt whether the town lives at all; welcome to a Sunday in rural France. Around 30 minutes before the start of the game, the single stand begins to fill. Everyone seems to know each other in some way. Entry is free for what is a top of the table encounter in the Régional 2, the seventh tier of French football, against Craponne AS. Continue reading...
Dayton Webber, 27, accused over shooting death of Bradrick Wells in Maryland, reportedly after argument inside car A Maryland man who made history as the first quadruple amputee to compete in the professional televised American Cornhole League has been arrested on suspicion of shooting and killing a passenger in his car during an argument. Dayton Webber – who became a champion cornhole player afte...
Dayton Webber, 27, accused over shooting death of Bradrick Wells in Maryland, reportedly after argument inside car A Maryland man who made history as the first quadruple amputee to compete in the professional televised American Cornhole League has been arrested on suspicion of shooting and killing a passenger in his car during an argument. Dayton Webber – who became a champion cornhole player after losing his limbs and nearly dying from a bacterial infection in his infancy – faces murder charges in connection with the death of Bradrick Wells, authorities said on Monday. Continue reading...
In recent years, Hong Kong has introduced a wealth of measures to attract well-educated, skilled professionals from around the world to develop their careers in the city. Between late 2022 and the end of last month, the city welcomed more than 270,000 talented professionals – a number of whom also brought along their families as they began a new chapter in their lives. These efforts continue to pl...
In recent years, Hong Kong has introduced a wealth of measures to attract well-educated, skilled professionals from around the world to develop their careers in the city. Between late 2022 and the end of last month, the city welcomed more than 270,000 talented professionals – a number of whom also brought along their families as they began a new chapter in their lives. These efforts continue to play a major part in driving Hong Kong’s transition to a new economic model, which emphasises the...
Listen to Odd Lots on Apple Podcasts Listen to Odd Lots on Spotify Watch Odd Lots on YouTube Subscribe to the newsletter Nobody knows when or if AI will lead to mass displacement of white-collar work. But the anxiety is clearly here now, and there's very little evidence that our politicians are taking it seriously. Of course, there are at least two questions operating at once here. The first is wh...
Listen to Odd Lots on Apple Podcasts Listen to Odd Lots on Spotify Watch Odd Lots on YouTube Subscribe to the newsletter Nobody knows when or if AI will lead to mass displacement of white-collar work. But the anxiety is clearly here now, and there's very little evidence that our politicians are taking it seriously. Of course, there are at least two questions operating at once here. The first is whether or not AI really poses a significant threat to the existing labor market. And then the second one is about the correct policy response. This was the subject of a recent Odd Lots episode recorded live at SXSW in Austin, Texas. In this conversation, we were joined by David Shor, a political consultant, pollster and founder of Blue Rose Research, as well as Byrne Hobart, the writer of TheDiff newsletter, and a general partner at Anomaly Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm. We discuss the prospects of a labor market disaster, what David's polling says about the public view, and possible policy considerations that could be palatable to both industry and the general public.
Prae_Studio/iStock via Getty Images Investment environment U.S. shares rose on positive corporate earnings news and hopes for Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts. The Fed followed up a September rate cut with two 25 basis point (bp) reductions, in October and December, respectively. Despite slower-than-expected employment growth, economic growth remained resilient. Wage growth remained strong and comp...
Prae_Studio/iStock via Getty Images Investment environment U.S. shares rose on positive corporate earnings news and hopes for Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts. The Fed followed up a September rate cut with two 25 basis point (bp) reductions, in October and December, respectively. Despite slower-than-expected employment growth, economic growth remained resilient. Wage growth remained strong and companies maintained confidence in continued capital spending. Also, inflation remained relatively subdued. Excitement around artificial intelligence (AI) was a strong driver of returns early in the quarter. The market started to broaden in the second half of October as concerns over valuations and potential investment returns led to volatility in some, but not all, AI-related stocks. Despite this volatility, stocks ended the year on a strong note. Portfolio review In the fourth quarter, dividend stocks lagged the broader market, and our emphasis on high-quality, dividend-growth stocks modestly hindered relative performance. In terms of individual stock performance, Lam Research Corporation ( LRCX ) was among the top relative contributors. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment company benefited from growing optimism around AI infrastructure spending and wafer fabrication equipment demand. Lam has gained market share by positioning itself with more exposure to higher growth segments and has recovered from a deeper valuation discount relative to peers. The company's outlook is bolstered by a strong position in the memory market, which is seeing demand exceed supply. Eli Lilly ( LLY ) was also among the top relative contributors. The pharmaceutical company reached a favorable pricing agreement with the administration that will dramatically expand access to its glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) products in 2026. The pricing terms proved more favorable than earlier concerns suggested, helping the stock recover. Strong fundamentals across the entire portfolio have continued, with p...
Oracle AI World Tour -- Oracle today announced new agentic AI innovations for Oracle AI Database that will help customers rapidly build, deploy, and scale secure agentic AI applications that are suitable for full-scale production workloads. Oracle AI Database architects agentic AI and data together across operational databases and analytic lakehouses. It enables AI agents to securely access real-t...
Oracle AI World Tour -- Oracle today announced new agentic AI innovations for Oracle AI Database that will help customers rapidly build, deploy, and scale secure agentic AI applications that are suitable for full-scale production workloads. Oracle AI Database architects agentic AI and data together across operational databases and analytic lakehouses. It enables AI agents to securely access real-time enterprise data wherever it resides and easily use business data with LLMs trained on public dat
AMSTERDAM, March 24, 2026--KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2026--Mirantis, delivering Kubernetes-native infrastructure for AI, today announced support for the NVIDIA NCX Infra Controller, an open-source technology to build next-generation AI cloud platforms, plus progress with an ecosystem of partners delivering an open, composable infrastructure platform based on k0rdent — purpose-built to suppor...
AMSTERDAM, March 24, 2026--KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2026--Mirantis, delivering Kubernetes-native infrastructure for AI, today announced support for the NVIDIA NCX Infra Controller, an open-source technology to build next-generation AI cloud platforms, plus progress with an ecosystem of partners delivering an open, composable infrastructure platform based on k0rdent — purpose-built to support AI workloads.
PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 11: The Amazon Web Services (AWS) logo, a division of Amazon.com's US e-commerce group is displayed during the 9th edition of the VivaTech show at Parc des Expositions Porte de Versailles on June 11, 2025 in Paris, France. VivaTech, the biggest tech show in Europe but also in a unique digital format, for 4 days of reconnection and relaunch thanks to innovation. The event bring...
PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 11: The Amazon Web Services (AWS) logo, a division of Amazon.com's US e-commerce group is displayed during the 9th edition of the VivaTech show at Parc des Expositions Porte de Versailles on June 11, 2025 in Paris, France. VivaTech, the biggest tech show in Europe but also in a unique digital format, for 4 days of reconnection and relaunch thanks to innovation. The event brings together startups, CEOs, investors, tech leaders and all of the digital transformation players who are shaping the future of the Internet. The annual technology conference, also known as VivaTech, was founded in 2016 by Publicis Groupe and Groupe Les Echos and is dedicated to promoting innovation and startups. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images) Chesnot | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images Amazon Web Services said it was once again facing service disruptions in Bahrain on Monday, as a result of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. "We are working closely with local authorities and prioritizing the safety of our personnel throughout our recovery efforts," a spokesperson said in a statement shared with CNBC. AWS advised customers to migrate their applications to alternate AWS Regions, and said it had already helped a large number of users to do so. It comes after the cloud provider reported service disruption related to the Iran conflict in Bahrain and the UAE earlier in March. In the UAE, two AWS facilities were directly struck by drones. In Bahrain, a drone strike landed in close proximity to company facilities and caused physical damage. These previous AWS disruptions caused reported outages of apps and digital services in the UAE. In recent weeks, Iran has continued to launch missile and drone strikes on its Middle East neighbors as part of its retaliation against Israel and the U.S. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.