Hong Kong will expand a travel scheme that allows mainland Chinese motorists to enter the city for leisure, opening it to drivers from five more Greater Bay Area cities and doubling the daily quota for urban trips. Authorities said on Monday that the Southbound Travel Scheme for Guangdong Vehicles would be extended to all nine mainland cities under the Greater Bay Area scheme, up from the current ...
Hong Kong will expand a travel scheme that allows mainland Chinese motorists to enter the city for leisure, opening it to drivers from five more Greater Bay Area cities and doubling the daily quota for urban trips. Authorities said on Monday that the Southbound Travel Scheme for Guangdong Vehicles would be extended to all nine mainland cities under the Greater Bay Area scheme, up from the current four, while the daily quota for urban trips would be doubled to 200 from July 25 from 100 at...
Photo: IC Photo (London) — About 16,000 Chinese victims of a multibillion-dollar investment fraud have registered in the U.K. to seek a share of roughly 60,000 bitcoins seized by British authorities, according to a Friday hearing at the U.K. High Court. These bitcoins are currently worth about $3.8 billion. The registration window closed on May 22, leaving 16,000 claimants in the U.K. civil recove...
Photo: IC Photo (London) — About 16,000 Chinese victims of a multibillion-dollar investment fraud have registered in the U.K. to seek a share of roughly 60,000 bitcoins seized by British authorities, according to a Friday hearing at the U.K. High Court. These bitcoins are currently worth about $3.8 billion. The registration window closed on May 22, leaving 16,000 claimants in the U.K. civil recovery process under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The act allows claimants to assert ownership over seized assets.
Tiffany & Co. has reopened its stores in Indonesia, following a temporary closure by customs authorities over alleged import violations, CNN Indonesia reported on Monday, citing Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa . Purbaya visited the luxury jeweler’s boutique at Plaza Indonesia in Central Jakarta to personally oversee the removal of the customs seal, he was cited as saying. All Tiffany & Co. o...
Tiffany & Co. has reopened its stores in Indonesia, following a temporary closure by customs authorities over alleged import violations, CNN Indonesia reported on Monday, citing Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa . Purbaya visited the luxury jeweler’s boutique at Plaza Indonesia in Central Jakarta to personally oversee the removal of the customs seal, he was cited as saying. All Tiffany & Co. outlets previously closed by the authorities have now resumed normal operations. The reopening comes after Customs and Excise Director General Djaka Budi Utama said Friday that authorities had completed an audit and issued a 97.49 billion rupiah ($5.4 million) tax and penalty bill against the company. The customs agency originally sealed three Tiffany stores in the Indonesian capital in February over suspected under-invoicing and undeclared luxury shipments. The enforcement is part of a broader crackdown on high-value smuggling under President Prabowo Subianto ’s administration. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton , the parent company of Tiffany & Co., didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
GamePH/iStock via Getty Images High-Quality Dividend Stock Investable Universe On September 1, 2024, I started tracking an investable universe of what I believe to be 50 high-quality dividend growth stocks. You can find out more about the formation of this investable universe in the original article . The goal for this investable universe is to identify high-quality companies and track them to ide...
GamePH/iStock via Getty Images High-Quality Dividend Stock Investable Universe On September 1, 2024, I started tracking an investable universe of what I believe to be 50 high-quality dividend growth stocks. You can find out more about the formation of this investable universe in the original article . The goal for this investable universe is to identify high-quality companies and track them to identify opportune entry points. As share prices swing up and down and business fundamentals change daily, my custom tracking tool updates the valuation ratings for each stock and helps me figure out where to focus my attention. The investable universe started the year strong, outperforming the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) in January and February, but since March it has struggled to keep up with the ETF. Year-to-date through month-end May, the universe is up 5.64% , while SPY is up 11.25% . For additional perspective, I compare the universe to the Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF ( SCHD ); the fund has enjoyed a very strong run in 2026; through month-end May, it is up 19.47% and outperforming SPY and my universe. Here are cumulative returns since 1/1/25: Investable Universe: +16.79 %. SPY: +30.15 %. SCHD: +21.04%. The universe as a whole is not performing well, but several individual companies within the universe are on a strong run. Here are the top 10 performers from the universe since inception: Lam Research Corporation ( LRCX ) +343.36% KLA Corporation ( KLAC ) +207.86% Applied Materials, Inc. ( AMAT ) +179.72% Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. ( MPWR ) +165.90% Amphenol ( APH ) 115.56% Qualcomm ( QCOM ) 66.35% Mueller Industries ( MLI ) 63.09% NXP Semiconductor ( NXPI ) +56.90% Ross Stores, Inc. ( ROST ) +54.44% Eli Lilly ( LLY ) 44.46% Below is an update for this investable universe as of June 7, 2026. Investable Universe Let's start with a snapshot of the full investable universe, including share price as of 6/7/26, current valuation rating, forward rate of ret...
South Korean stocks sank on Monday, with the benchmark Kospi index plunging more than 8% soon after market open, as investors pulled back AI bets after the recent rally. Friday's tech selloff in the U.S. was also a factor, as strong jobs data fueled expectations of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. The Kospi's sharp decline prompted the Korea Exchange to activate a circuit breaker, halti...
South Korean stocks sank on Monday, with the benchmark Kospi index plunging more than 8% soon after market open, as investors pulled back AI bets after the recent rally. Friday's tech selloff in the U.S. was also a factor, as strong jobs data fueled expectations of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. The Kospi's sharp decline prompted the Korea Exchange to activate a circuit breaker, halting trading for 20 minutes. "South Korean stocks, the poster child of AI concentration risk, tumbled more than 8%, extending a three-day decline to 13.5%, as investors pulled back from AI bets that have fueled the global bull market in equities," Saxo analysts noted. "The key question is whether this remains a valuation reset or becomes a broader risk-off move." The Seoul-listed shares of index heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped as much as 11% and 10% each. The memory chipmakers were the main drivers for the Kospi's recent rally, with their market capitalizations crossing $1T this year. The Kospi has seen outsized gains lately, notching a fresh intraday record high last week, and is up 77.6% this year. But the index fell 5.5% on Friday amid a pullback in chip stocks. Foreign capital outflows also accelerated, with overseas investors selling more than $800M worth of Kospi-listed shares on Monday. Meanwhile, the won rebounded slightly against the U.S. dollar ( USD:KRW ) on Monday after hitting its lowest level since 2009 in the previous session. More on South Korea All The Classic Signs Of A Bubble In South Korea Samsung: Strike Relief Is Good For Revenue, But It Removes A Margin Catalyst KORU: Tuesday's 22% Drop Is A Warning For This 3x Levered Fund Most global central banks remain above inflation targets, BofA says
PhonlamaiPhoto/iStock via Getty Images I have admired ASML Holding NV ( ASML ) for years, having first invested in the company in 2018. ASML is, by today's standards, one of the best quality industrial monopolies the world has ever seen. Every advanced chip that reaches your hands has passed through an ASML machine at some point in its creation. Couple that with consistent and compounding EPS grow...
PhonlamaiPhoto/iStock via Getty Images I have admired ASML Holding NV ( ASML ) for years, having first invested in the company in 2018. ASML is, by today's standards, one of the best quality industrial monopolies the world has ever seen. Every advanced chip that reaches your hands has passed through an ASML machine at some point in its creation. Couple that with consistent and compounding EPS growth, strong fundamentals, unique competitive advantages, and catalysts for future growth, and you have yourself a quality growth stock. However, today, there are too many uncertainties, both internal and external to ASML, for me to have this stock as a buy at current prices. At what is a very expensive valuation, I don't think investors have seriously considered marketability risks for High-NA EUV, continued China tariff and export restriction risks, and the big word of Taiwan in an increasingly hostile global climate. I would love to have ASML as a buy; its business model deserves it. But until some of these uncertainties have cleared themselves up, or until ASML's entry point becomes more reasonable, I am staying on the sidelines. Let's explore why in greater detail. The Business: Let's Give Credit Where It's Due ASML is the definition of a quality growth business. As you may well know, the company is the sole manufacturer of Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, which use light with wavelengths of just 13.5 nanometers to etch the most advanced chip patterns onto silicon. ASML has many competitive advantages linked to its patent-protected EUV platform, and the physics, engineering, supply chain relationships, and historical Capex investment embedded in each machine provide an Alcatraz-like moat for the company. And it's not like ASML is operating in a legacy industry. I first bought the stock back in 2018, when investors began truly appreciating the scale of the opportunity set within the semiconductor industry. Since then, AI has opened the door to even further ...
Companies such as Apple and Google have until September to install software or face legislation, says PM UK politics live – latest updates Apple and Google have been given until September to install software that blocks explicit images on children’s mobile phones or face legislation enforcing its requirement, Keir Starmer said on Monday. The prime minister said tech companies must activate nudity-...
Companies such as Apple and Google have until September to install software or face legislation, says PM UK politics live – latest updates Apple and Google have been given until September to install software that blocks explicit images on children’s mobile phones or face legislation enforcing its requirement, Keir Starmer said on Monday. The prime minister said tech companies must activate nudity-detection algorithms or other technical solutions on smartphones and tablets to prevent users taking photos or sharing images of genitalia unless they are verified as adults. Continue reading...
Romania’s largest bank shares tumbled after the nation’s competition watchdog imposed a record fine over alleged collusion in setting money-market rates. Banca Transilvania , which received the biggest fine from the competition authority, fell as much as 2.6% on Monday in Bucharest, while BRD-Groupe Societe Generale SA dropped as much as 3.6%. The country’s Competition Council fined 10 banks a com...
Romania’s largest bank shares tumbled after the nation’s competition watchdog imposed a record fine over alleged collusion in setting money-market rates. Banca Transilvania , which received the biggest fine from the competition authority, fell as much as 2.6% on Monday in Bucharest, while BRD-Groupe Societe Generale SA dropped as much as 3.6%. The country’s Competition Council fined 10 banks a combined 3.73 billion lei ($819 million) for exchanging confidential information and coordinated submissions used to set the Romanian Interbank Offered Rate, or Robor, according to a statement Sunday. Both banks as well as most of the other lenders penalized in the probe plan to challenge the decision in court. Local units of Raiffeisen Bank International AG , Erste Group Bank AG , UniCredit SpA , ING Groep NV and Intesa Sanpaolo SpA , as well as Libra Internet Bank and state owned Exim Banca Romaneasca and CEC Bank were also fined. Robor rates are set as a reference for the economy based on short-term lending between banks. They typically move within the interest-rate corridor set by the central bank’s deposit and lending facilities. They have also been used as a benchmark for mortgages and other loan contracts. Banca Transilvania said it was confident it could overturn the penalty that would hurt efforts to boost lending and help Romania’s economy recover from a bout of elevated inflation and three quarters without growth. The country is feeling the impact of a prolonged period of austerity needed to trim the European Union’s widest budget deficit. Read more: Political Gridlock Saps Romania’s Fight Against Stagflation “A decline in the future capitalization of banks could lead to a potential drop in lending by up to €5 billion ($5.76 billion) across the banking system,” Banca Transilvania said in a statement. The Romanian probe follows scrutiny of the way lenders set interbank rates in some of the world’s largest markets, and regulatory efforts to overhaul the price-setting ...
Christian Eriksen is "in good spirits" following his collapse against Ukraine and is expected to be discharged from hospital soon, says Denmark's national team doctor Morten Boesen.
Christian Eriksen is "in good spirits" following his collapse against Ukraine and is expected to be discharged from hospital soon, says Denmark's national team doctor Morten Boesen.