Woolton Hill, Hampshire: I visit an old friend in an old haunt, where a small herd of Shetlands has been set to work Thirty years on from the impassioned action of the road protests, the Newbury bypass soars above us on the old railway embankment. I can’t entirely accept it even now, having been part of the campaign . Today, walking in The Chase, the nature reserve that lies adjacent, the roar of ...
Woolton Hill, Hampshire: I visit an old friend in an old haunt, where a small herd of Shetlands has been set to work Thirty years on from the impassioned action of the road protests, the Newbury bypass soars above us on the old railway embankment. I can’t entirely accept it even now, having been part of the campaign . Today, walking in The Chase, the nature reserve that lies adjacent, the roar of traffic slips into a background hum, aided by other memories I’ve built up here. Many of those have been with my dearest friend, Sarah. She volunteers as a “cow watcher” for the National Trust, and I’ve come with her as she checks their whereabouts and wellbeing. They are conservation grazers; keeping coarser scrub in check, spreading seed and poaching areas, and encouraging greater biodiversity and plantlife. Continue reading...
Humanoid robots dressed in black, luxury hip-hop outfits snap into formation, moving in perfect sync to K-pop songs. It’s a simulation inside an office styled as a crash-landed spacecraft in the heart of Seoul’s financial district, complete with towering astronauts and floating robotic jellyfish. The performance is orchestrated by Choi Yong-ho, founder and chief executive officer of Galaxy Corp., ...
Humanoid robots dressed in black, luxury hip-hop outfits snap into formation, moving in perfect sync to K-pop songs. It’s a simulation inside an office styled as a crash-landed spacecraft in the heart of Seoul’s financial district, complete with towering astronauts and floating robotic jellyfish. The performance is orchestrated by Choi Yong-ho, founder and chief executive officer of Galaxy Corp., a Seoul-based startup trying to disrupt K-pop’s traditional idol system — a model built on years of recruiting, training and managing human performers. Galaxy is trying to build a new strategy that blends AI characters and life-size robot idols. The goal is to create content without the constraint of human performers. “We’re trying to do everything with AI from start to finish,” Choi said in a conference area that looks more like a Star Wars war room than a boardroom. “We want to prove what kind of impact this can have,” especially when combined with popular intellectual property like the group’s K-pop star, G-Dragon. The company, founded in 2019, is preparing for what could be the first overseas listing by a K-pop agency. It’s considering dual listings in New York and Seoul in 2027, according to Choi. Galaxy has so far raised about $150 million and is targeting an overseas pre-IPO round this year. Investors include G-Dragon and Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jay Chou , in addition to more than 30 Korean institutional investors. Choi owns about 20% of Galaxy, alongside eight longtime friends who are founding partners. South Korea’s music industry, known for major K-pop groups such as BTS and Blackpink, has grown more experimental as competition intensifies. Leading agencies such as JYP Entertainment Corp. and SM Entertainment Co. are developing virtual idol characters. Plave , a virtual K-pop boyband that uses 3D avatars combined with human motion-capture technology, held an Asia tour last year. And Netflix Inc. ’s KPop Demon Hunters underscored global demand for animated idol...
undefined China’s yuan strengthened against the U.S. dollar Tuesday, extending its yearlong appreciation despite a rally in the greenback. The onshore yuan rose 206 pips to 6.8597 at the close of the first trading day after the Qingming Festival holiday. It has gained about 6% since April 2025. Yuan Strengthens The move stands out as the U.S. Dollar Index has climbed more than 2% since March, whil...
undefined China’s yuan strengthened against the U.S. dollar Tuesday, extending its yearlong appreciation despite a rally in the greenback. The onshore yuan rose 206 pips to 6.8597 at the close of the first trading day after the Qingming Festival holiday. It has gained about 6% since April 2025. Yuan Strengthens The move stands out as the U.S. Dollar Index has climbed more than 2% since March, while the yuan has appreciated about 1.4% over the same period.
"Bloomberg: The Asia Trade" brings you everything you need to know to get ahead as the trading day begins in Asia. Bloomberg TV is live from Sydney with Haidi Stroud-Watts and Paul Allen, getting insight and analysis from newsmakers and industry leaders on the biggest stories shaping global markets. (Source: Bloomberg)
"Bloomberg: The Asia Trade" brings you everything you need to know to get ahead as the trading day begins in Asia. Bloomberg TV is live from Sydney with Haidi Stroud-Watts and Paul Allen, getting insight and analysis from newsmakers and industry leaders on the biggest stories shaping global markets. (Source: Bloomberg)
Bangladesh’s central bank sought to reassure investors that the nation’s foreign-exchange market remains stable and the taka faces no immediate risk of depreciation, even as the currency slid to a fresh low against the dollar. “Supply and demand of foreign currency are currently balanced” and “confidence and order exists in the market,” the central bank said in a statement late Tuesday night. The ...
Bangladesh’s central bank sought to reassure investors that the nation’s foreign-exchange market remains stable and the taka faces no immediate risk of depreciation, even as the currency slid to a fresh low against the dollar. “Supply and demand of foreign currency are currently balanced” and “confidence and order exists in the market,” the central bank said in a statement late Tuesday night. The comments highlight policymakers’ efforts to anchor expectations as persistent currency weakness raises concerns over external stability and reserve adequacy — a key issue for investors assessing frontier-market risk. The taka fell 0.1% to a record low of 123.0235 against the dollar on Wednesday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Read More: Bangladesh GDP Growth Slows to 3% as Industrial Output Shrinks Foreign currency liquidity in the banking system rose to $3.9 billion as of April 6, from $2.3 billion at the end of February, according to the statement. Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves stand at about $34.35 billion, which is a “strong shield against international payment pressure,” the central bank said. Remittance inflows have also strengthened, reaching about $3.8 billion in March, the highest monthly figure on record. In the first six days of April, inflows totaled $660 million, nearly 21% higher than a year earlier. Despite banks’ net open positions rising to about $1 billion — above the $600 million to $700 million threshold that would typically trigger dollar purchases — the central bank has not intervened in the market over the past month, according to the statement. Had it done so, reserves would have been closer to $36 billion, it said. Import payments and foreign debt repayments are proceeding normally, the central bank said, with $1.37 billion in Asian Clearing Union bills and about $180 million in government external debt paid last month.
A Malaysian court has granted an application by anti-corruption officials to issue an arrest warrant for two sons of former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, after they failed to comply with repeated requests to turn up for questioning over their family’s wealth. Daim and his clan have been at the centre of a years-long probe into alleged abuse of power and corruption by the country’s elites, who c...
A Malaysian court has granted an application by anti-corruption officials to issue an arrest warrant for two sons of former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, after they failed to comply with repeated requests to turn up for questioning over their family’s wealth. Daim and his clan have been at the centre of a years-long probe into alleged abuse of power and corruption by the country’s elites, who critics have accused of colluding with two-time prime minister Mahathir Mohamad to enrich themselves...