The Philippines’ sovereign wealth fund says investing in physical assets like metals makes increasing sense against the backdrop of a war in Iran that’s playing havoc with the nation’s fuel market. With money slowly losing its ability to buy things over time, Maharlika Investment Corp. is interested in tangible assets that will better hold their value and provide investment gains that last, Presid...
The Philippines’ sovereign wealth fund says investing in physical assets like metals makes increasing sense against the backdrop of a war in Iran that’s playing havoc with the nation’s fuel market. With money slowly losing its ability to buy things over time, Maharlika Investment Corp. is interested in tangible assets that will better hold their value and provide investment gains that last, President and Chief Executive Officer Rafael Consing Jr. said in an interview on Wednesday. The Philippines is seen by economists as one of Asia’s most vulnerable to inflation risks from higher energy costs considering it imports around 98% of its oil from the Middle East. “Within the context of what is happening in the world where there is massive liquidity that’s being injected into the system, whether it’s Japan, China, or the United States, that will result into a long-term purchasing power debasement,” Consing said. The antidote to that is securing hard assets, he said. “Being able to buy not just gold, but to actually buy the company that makes gold.” The wealth fund last year extended a $76.4 million loan to Philippine gold and copper producer Makilala Mining Co., an affiliate of Australian miner Celsius Resources Limited . This year, it’s looking at three to four deals worth as much as $150 million each in sectors like energy, agriculture and mining, Consing said. “2026 is about execution. We’re now looking at quite a number of investment opportunities.” The just over two-year-old sovereign wealth fund has more than 75 billion pesos ($1.3 billion) in investible funds, infused by state lenders Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines. The national government has also committed to inject 50 billion pesos. Maharlika was among the economic priorities of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. when it was created in 2023 as a “vehicle for growth” to spur what was one of Asia’s fastest-expanding economies. It only made its first investment in January 2025, wh...
(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is sharply lower on Wednesday, recouping the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,400 level, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, with weakness across most sectors, particularly materials and technology, on the back of tumbling commodity prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is lo...
(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is sharply lower on Wednesday, recouping the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,400 level, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, with weakness across most sectors, particularly materials and technology, on the back of tumbling commodity prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 86.00 points or 1.14 percent to 7,441.90, after hitting a low of 7,437.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 90.50 points or 1.16 percent to 7,742.70. Australian stocks ended slightly higher on Tuesday. Among major miners, OZ Minerals is losing almost 3 percent and Mineral Resources is down almost 1 percent, while Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals and BHP Group are declining almost 2 percent each. Oil stocks are weak. Origin Energy is edging down 0.3 percent and Woodside Petroleum is declining more than 1 percent, while Santos and Beach energy are losing almost 2 percent each. In the tech space, WiseTech Global is losing more than 2 percent, Xero is declining almost 3 percent, Block is plunging more than 6 percent, Appen is down more than 3 percent and Zip is declining almost 5 percent. Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are edging up 0.1 percent each, while National Australia Bank are edging down 0.2 percent. Westpac is flat. Among gold miners, Gold Road Resources, Evolution Mining, Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining are all losing more than 2 percent each, while Resolute Mining is slipping 1.5 percent. In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.758 on Wednesday. On Wall Street, stocks moved significantly lower over the course of the trading day on Tuesday, offsetting the upward move seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a particularly steep loss. Selling pressure intensified in the final hour of trading, dragging the major average...
(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Wednesday snapped the four-day losing streak in which it had dropped almost 85 points or 2.1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 4,060-point plateau although it may hand those gains back on Thursday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on pessimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets we...
(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Wednesday snapped the four-day losing streak in which it had dropped almost 85 points or 2.1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 4,060-point plateau although it may hand those gains back on Thursday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on pessimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion. The SCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the insurance companies were offset by weakness from the properties and energy companies. For the day, the index added 13.08 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 4,062.98 after trading between 4,023.03 and 4,065.37. The Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 25.84 points or 0.97 percent to end at 2,680.88. Among the actives, Agricultural Bank of China slid 0.30 percent, while China Merchants Bank slipped 0.50 percent, Bank of Communications sank 0.58 percent, China Life Insurance improved 0.82 percent, Jiangxi Copper lost 0.54 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) stumbled 2.92 percent, Yankuang Energy fell 0.35 percent, PetroChina declined 1.33 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) surrendered 2.08 percent, China Shenhua Energy shed 0.54 percent, Gemdale tumbled 1.92 percent, Poly Developments tanked 2.15 percent, China Vanke retreated 1.49 percent and Huaneng Power, Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were unchanged. The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and moved deeper into the red as the day progressed, ending at session lows. The Dow tumbled 768.11 points or 1.63 percent to finish at 46,225.15, while the NASDAQ dropped 327.11 points or 1.46 percent to close at 22,152.42 and the S&P 500 sank 91.39 points or 1.36 percent to end at 6,624.70. The weakness early in the day came following the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. increased b...
The People’s Liberation Army has announced a new AI-assisted task dispatch system for China’s aerial refuelling tankers, days after a US military tanker crashed in the Middle East. According to the official PLA Daily , the Chinese air force has streamlined its aerial refuelling operations with a smart artificial intelligence (AI) system to improve efficiency and safety. The report on Monday came j...
The People’s Liberation Army has announced a new AI-assisted task dispatch system for China’s aerial refuelling tankers, days after a US military tanker crashed in the Middle East. According to the official PLA Daily , the Chinese air force has streamlined its aerial refuelling operations with a smart artificial intelligence (AI) system to improve efficiency and safety. The report on Monday came just days after a US Air Force Boeing KC-135 “Stratotanker” aerial refuelling tanker crashed in western Iraq during America’s Operation Epic Fury against Iran Advertisement According to the PLA Daily report, the “aerial refuelling area management system” – developed by technicians from the PLA Air Force – was first introduced during training at the end of last year. The system monitors real-time airspace situations and employs built-in algorithms to automatically calculate real-time fuel levels for all participating aircraft within the area. A US Air Force KC-135 “Stratotanker” flies over northern Alaska on March 4. Photo: Handout Based on the fuel levels, airspace capacity and flight duration of each aircraft, the system generates the most optimised pairing plans between tankers and fighters, issuing recommendations to pilots.
A man in China who had a 12cm-long metal chopstick lodged in his throat for eight years recently had surgery to remove the object. The man, surnamed Wang, underwent the surgery at Dalian Municipal Central Hospital in northeastern Liaoning province in early March. His experience has shocked internet users, the Daxiang News reported. Advertisement Eight years ago, Wang swallowed the chopstick by acc...
A man in China who had a 12cm-long metal chopstick lodged in his throat for eight years recently had surgery to remove the object. The man, surnamed Wang, underwent the surgery at Dalian Municipal Central Hospital in northeastern Liaoning province in early March. His experience has shocked internet users, the Daxiang News reported. Advertisement Eight years ago, Wang swallowed the chopstick by accident while eating and drinking alcohol. It is unclear how the man was able to swallow the 12cm-long metal chopstick, above. Photo: baijiahao.baidu.com At the time he felt pain but did not have any breathing problems.