Strikes on oil facilities burned thousands of tons of stored fuel, producing a pall of toxic smoke Black rain fell in Iran earlier this month, a grim phenomenon seen previously in other war zones. Strikes on oil facilities burned thousands of tons of stored fuel . Unlike the clean controlled combustion inside an engine, uncontrolled burning leaves many particles of unburned fuel, producing a pall ...
Strikes on oil facilities burned thousands of tons of stored fuel, producing a pall of toxic smoke Black rain fell in Iran earlier this month, a grim phenomenon seen previously in other war zones. Strikes on oil facilities burned thousands of tons of stored fuel . Unlike the clean controlled combustion inside an engine, uncontrolled burning leaves many particles of unburned fuel, producing a pall of toxic smoke over affected areas. Continue reading...
The party seems to have woken up to its need for an old-style intellectual heavyweight to counter the vacuousness of recent years Nature famously abhors a vacuum. So when Morgan McSweeney departed government, leaving a hole where much of Keir Starmer’s thinking used to be, it was always going to be filled eventually. And increasingly, that filling looks Ed Miliband-shaped. The energy secretary’s i...
The party seems to have woken up to its need for an old-style intellectual heavyweight to counter the vacuousness of recent years Nature famously abhors a vacuum. So when Morgan McSweeney departed government, leaving a hole where much of Keir Starmer’s thinking used to be, it was always going to be filled eventually. And increasingly, that filling looks Ed Miliband-shaped. The energy secretary’s influence has visibly grown in recent weeks, and not just because of a spiralling energy crisis in the Gulf . The idea that he is the real prime minister now – the one supposedly calling the shots over everything from whether Britain should join the war on Iran to how far it should pursue its “fatwa against fossil fuels”, as Michael Gove, the former Tory minister turned Spectator editor-in-chief, huffed recently – is on one level just another attempt by the opposition to humiliate Starmer, painting him as a lame-duck leader pushed around by underlings. But if the truth is a bit more nuanced than that, there’s no denying Miliband has grown in stature of late. Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Number fell 23% year on year in 2025 but waste companies say recycling systems still under strain from sheer volume More than 6m vapes and vape pods are still being discarded every week in the UK, with waste management companies warning the sheer volume continues to strain recycling systems despite the ban on disposable e-cigarettes. According to research by the recycling campaign group Material F...
Number fell 23% year on year in 2025 but waste companies say recycling systems still under strain from sheer volume More than 6m vapes and vape pods are still being discarded every week in the UK, with waste management companies warning the sheer volume continues to strain recycling systems despite the ban on disposable e-cigarettes. According to research by the recycling campaign group Material Focus, the 6.3m vapes and pods thrown away each week in 2025 represented a 23% reduction from the previous year . Continue reading...
Ildo Frazao/iStock via Getty Images By Jason Callan and Kris Moreton, CFA Over the past several years, private credit has moved from a niche allocation to a centerpiece of many income‑oriented portfolios. As interest rates rose and traditional fixed income struggled, investors increasingly turned to private lending strategies that promised attractive yields, floating‑rate exposure and insulation f...
Ildo Frazao/iStock via Getty Images By Jason Callan and Kris Moreton, CFA Over the past several years, private credit has moved from a niche allocation to a centerpiece of many income‑oriented portfolios. As interest rates rose and traditional fixed income struggled, investors increasingly turned to private lending strategies that promised attractive yields, floating‑rate exposure and insulation from public market volatility. That rapid growth is now being tested. Recent developments involving several private credit managers have reignited questions about liquidity, leverage, valuation transparency and underwriting discipline across parts of the private credit universe. While headlines have focused on just a few firms, the underlying dynamics are broader. For investors, the episode underscores a long-standing truth: not all credit behaves the same under stress. When markets turn, structure and discipline matter. A liquidity moment turns into a confidence test The private credit market experienced a significant shock recently when major asset managers moved to halt redemptions. Blue Owl Capital ( OWL ), for example, effectively ended quarterly redemptions for one of its flagship retail-focused funds and transitioned to an orderly liquidation model that distributes capital pro rata to all shareholders over time. To bridge the immediate liquidity gap and appease restless shareholders, Blue Owl orchestrated a $1.4 billion sale of loan assets to institutional buyers. Even so, the sequence of events unsettled investors. The combination of redemption limits, asset sales and heightened scrutiny of loan valuations fueled concerns and highlighted the inherent liquidity and transparency limitations of many private credit products. The market reaction extended beyond a single firm. Share prices of several alternative asset managers declined, and commentators began to question whether private credit was facing a broader reckoning after years of rapid expansion. How rapid growth ...
Blackstone Group's logo on display during the opening of the company's new office in Singapore. Munshi Ahmed | Bloomberg | Getty Images Since the pandemic, private equity funds focused on Asia have struggled to raise money, as the industry sat on massive unsold assets and idle dry powder. Signs of growing confidence began to emerge late last year as exit values picked up and cash distribution for ...
Blackstone Group's logo on display during the opening of the company's new office in Singapore. Munshi Ahmed | Bloomberg | Getty Images Since the pandemic, private equity funds focused on Asia have struggled to raise money, as the industry sat on massive unsold assets and idle dry powder. Signs of growing confidence began to emerge late last year as exit values picked up and cash distribution for investors started flowing again, encouraging private equity to resume preparations to launch new funds after a multiyear lull in activity. But now, that glimmer of optimism is contending with economic disruption from the war in the Middle East. The turmoil sweeping global markets has introduced a new layer of uncertainty, threatening to sap investor appetite that had just begun to recover, according to several industry practitioners. "What we are seeing now is not unlike the tariff situation early last year — causing people to pause, slow down, and just wait — to avoid exposure to any sudden shocks," said Andrew Thompson, head of asset management and private equity for Asia Pacific at KPMG. "It's just that uncertainty that causes things to slow down a bit," he said in an interview with CNBC. Against a backdrop of heightened uncertainty, Middle Eastern investment funds, a major source of capital for private equity globally, may also be taking a pause with outbound commitments at least for the near term, Thompson said. "Now is just not the time to go there for a fundraising visit. They simply have bigger issues to worry about now." Asia-focused private equity firms saw new funds raised last year falling to the lowest level in over a decade, bagging just $58 billion, according to a Bain & Company report this week. That marked the fourth straight year of the downturn, as aging assets and underperforming funds overshadowed a modest recovery in increased liquidity from the rebounding exit values. watch now VIDEO 5:43 05:43 Positive signs in private equity exits despite macro even...
A Turning Point For Europe: Historic EU Parliament Votes Signal Rightward Realignment On Migration, Privacy, And Transatlantic Ties On Thursday, the European Parliament in Strasbourg delivered what many are calling one of the most significant setbacks in recent memory for the EU’s traditional bureaucratic and centrist consensus. In a single day, MEPs advanced stricter mass deportation rules, rejec...
A Turning Point For Europe: Historic EU Parliament Votes Signal Rightward Realignment On Migration, Privacy, And Transatlantic Ties On Thursday, the European Parliament in Strasbourg delivered what many are calling one of the most significant setbacks in recent memory for the EU’s traditional bureaucratic and centrist consensus. In a single day, MEPs advanced stricter mass deportation rules, rejected controversial mass surveillance of private communications (known as “Chat Control”), and moved forward on dropping tariffs on key U.S. goods as part of a broader transatlantic trade reset. This might be one of the worst days in history for the EU Bureaucrats: - Mass deportation proposal passed - Chat surveillance proposal rejected - All tariffs on US goods dropped The centrists have begun voting en masse with the nationalists… This has never been seen before. pic.twitter.com/UWokIJ4tjo — Inevitable West (@Inevitablewest) March 26, 2026 These outcomes reflect a pragmatic and unprecedented alliance between the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) and right-wing to so-called 'far-right' groups such as the Patriots for Europe (PfE), European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), and others . For the first time in years, traditional “firewalls” isolating nationalist voices have cracked , forcing Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s agenda into retreat on sovereignty, borders, digital rights, and economic realism. 1. Mass Deportations Advance: A Tougher EU Return Regulation The Parliament voted overwhelmingly to launch inter-institutional negotiations on a reformed EU Return Regulation - often called the “Deportation Regulation” by critics. The measure aims to make it far easier to deport rejected asylum seekers and irregular migrants. Key provisions include: Extended detention periods (potentially up to 24 months or more in some cases). EU-wide recognition of return decisions . Creation of “return hubs” - offshore detention and processing centers in third countrie...
A two-day selloff in memory-chip stocks is revealing a split in the artificial intelligence trade, as Google touts a breakthrough that analysts say may curb demand for certain types of storage while leaving others largely unscathed. On Friday, losses extended for the makers of flash memory — longer-term storage used to run AI — including Kioxia Holdings Corp. , which have soared in past months. Me...
A two-day selloff in memory-chip stocks is revealing a split in the artificial intelligence trade, as Google touts a breakthrough that analysts say may curb demand for certain types of storage while leaving others largely unscathed. On Friday, losses extended for the makers of flash memory — longer-term storage used to run AI — including Kioxia Holdings Corp. , which have soared in past months. Meanwhile, leaders in high-bandwidth memory used in Nvidia Corp. AI accelerators stabilized, with Samsung Electronics Co. shares erasing all their losses and SK Hynix Inc. close to doing the same. The market is beginning to realize that Google’s “TurboQuant” technique, which makes operating AI more efficient, poses more of a threat to the first group, analysts say. “By shrinking memory usage and data movement, TurboQuant significantly improves inference efficiency,” Morgan Stanley analysts including Tiffany Yeh wrote in a note. “Yet it does not reduce demand for core memory like HBM.” Investors in past months piled into the makers of flash and storage products on the belief that demand would skyrocket as artificial intelligence goes mainstream. Sandisk shares were up more than 1,000% since the end of August, while Japan’s Kioxia had gained over 600%. They soared past Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron Technology Inc. , the traditional leaders of the memory sector that became early darlings of the AI trade. Their lucrative high-bandwidth memory chips were a hot investment topic when the focus was on the training of large language models like ChatGPT. Now, the flash memory firms are taking the brunt of an industry-wide selloff that began this week when investors cottoned on to Google’s breakthrough. The US company said the algorithm can cut the amount of memory required to run a specific aspect of large language models by at least a factor of six, helping reduce the overall cost of artificial intelligence. Investors feared this could reduce the need for memory from hyperscalers like ...
(RTTNews) - SSY Group Ltd., (LJUIF, 2005.HK), a Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturer, reported Friday lower profit in fiscal 2025 with weak revenues. The company also announced a cut in dividend.
(RTTNews) - SSY Group Ltd., (LJUIF, 2005.HK), a Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturer, reported Friday lower profit in fiscal 2025 with weak revenues. The company also announced a cut in dividend.
tadamichi Asian equity markets traded mixed on Friday as investors remained cautious amid conflicting reports on the Middle East In its latest development, US President Donald Trump announced he would extend a pause on attacks against Iran’s energy infrastructure into April and described talks with Tehran as ‘going very well.’ However, an Iranian official dismissed a reported US proposal to end th...
tadamichi Asian equity markets traded mixed on Friday as investors remained cautious amid conflicting reports on the Middle East In its latest development, US President Donald Trump announced he would extend a pause on attacks against Iran’s energy infrastructure into April and described talks with Tehran as ‘going very well.’ However, an Iranian official dismissed a reported US proposal to end the conflict as “one-sided and unfair.” WTI crude futures fell toward $93 per barrel on Friday, trimming gains from the previous session. Gold prices rose above $4,400 per ounce on Friday after a sharp decline in the previous session. Japan ( NKY:IND ) fell 0.18% to below 52,700, while the broader Topix Index dropped 0.9% to 3,610 on Friday. The Japanese yen held its recent decline to around 159.5 per dollar on Friday, close to the critical 160 level. China ( SHCOMP ) stock markets rose on Friday, with the Shanghai index up 0.75% and the Shenzhen Component gaining 0.4%, driven by positive economic data. The offshore yuan remained weak, trading at 6.91 per dollar. Markets are watching for upcoming US–China talks, with Trump set to meet Xi Jinping in May. Industrial profits in China surged 15.2% year-on-year to CNY 1.02 trillion in early 2026. Hong Kong ( HSI ) rose 0.82% to around 24,753 on Friday, extending losses from the previous session. India ( SENSEX ) fell 1.45% to around 74,335 in early trade on Friday, reversing the gains of the past two sessions . The Indian rupee strengthened to around 94.1 per dollar, recovering from a record low. Australia ( AS51 ) fell 0.11% and edged down on Friday, finishing at 8,516 and marking the second straight session of losses. The Australian dollar weakened to around $0.687 on Friday, hitting a two-month low. Separately, the OECD warned Australia could face one of the highest inflation rates among advanced economies and severe fertilizer supply disruptions amid geopolitical risks. In the U.S. on Thursday, all three major indexes ended lo...
Japan’s trade minister said the country will sell oil from its reserves to domestic refiners as a general rule, signaling that the government isn’t currently planning to channel national supplies directly to other Asian nations seeking assistance. “Regarding the sale of strategic petroleum reserves, we are certainly targeting domestic oil and refining companies,” Trade Minister Ryosei Akazawa said...
Japan’s trade minister said the country will sell oil from its reserves to domestic refiners as a general rule, signaling that the government isn’t currently planning to channel national supplies directly to other Asian nations seeking assistance. “Regarding the sale of strategic petroleum reserves, we are certainly targeting domestic oil and refining companies,” Trade Minister Ryosei Akazawa said Friday, pointing out that they were legally established to secure Japan’s own energy supplies. “However, the situation may differ somewhat for joint reserves with oil-producing countries. We intend to closely monitor developments and make appropriate decisions on a case-by-case basis.” Japan began releasing its oil stockpiles this month to ease a supply crunch as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively blocked, disrupting a key route for the nation’s crude imports. In talks with International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol earlier this week, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi also discussed the possibility of an additional coordinated release of oil reserves should it become necessary. Other Asian countries are facing similar oil supply challenges. The Philippines and Vietnam have reportedly sought support from Japan, which holds some of the world’s largest oil reserves. In addition to its own reserves, Japan also has reserves held with oil producing nations like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Read more: How Prepared Is Japan for an Energy Crisis?: Explainer Akazawa said he is well aware of the Philippines’ dire situation, noting that its reserves are far smaller than Japan’s while it relies heavily on the strait to secure oil, as Japan does. “There is no doubt that Asia is facing an extremely difficult situation,” Akazawa said. “The oil market is global, and maintaining supply-demand balance in the Asian market is crucial not only for ensuring a stable energy supply in our country, but also for maintaining and strengthening Japan’s industrial supply chain...
After eight years in the deep freeze, the European Parliament is sending an official delegation to China next week in the clearest sign yet that Beijing’s targeted lobbying blitz on European members is paying off. Seven members from the parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee will travel to Beijing and Shanghai alongside Engin Eroglu, head of its China delegation. They will ...
After eight years in the deep freeze, the European Parliament is sending an official delegation to China next week in the clearest sign yet that Beijing’s targeted lobbying blitz on European members is paying off. Seven members from the parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee will travel to Beijing and Shanghai alongside Engin Eroglu, head of its China delegation. They will meet officials, customs and port authorities, lawmakers and companies, including Shein, Temu and...