tanit boonruen HSBC ( HSBC ) and a joint venture led by Standard Chartered ( SCBFF ) are expected to be among the first companies to obtain Hong Kong’s stablecoin licences within two weeks, t he South China Morning Post reported. The number of licences and timetable had yet to be finalised and remained subject to change, but sources said a possible date was March 24. The Hong Kong Monetary Authori...
tanit boonruen HSBC ( HSBC ) and a joint venture led by Standard Chartered ( SCBFF ) are expected to be among the first companies to obtain Hong Kong’s stablecoin licences within two weeks, t he South China Morning Post reported. The number of licences and timetable had yet to be finalised and remained subject to change, but sources said a possible date was March 24. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) last month revealed that a small number of stablecoin licences would be granted this month after assessing 36 applications. Industry sources according to the report said, Hong Kong’s stablecoin licensing regime would likely focus initially on the local currency, with Standard Chartered having already stated plans to issue a Hong Kong dollar-pegged stablecoin. The potential approval of HSBC ( HSBC ), Hong Kong’s largest bank by assets, comes as a surprise given that it did not participate in the HKMA-led stablecoin issuer sandbox, unlike its peer Standard Chartered ( SCBFF ). Earlier this month a working paper released by the European Central Bank said broad adoption of stablecoins could weaken monetary policy transmission and potentially erode monetary sovereignty. The paper sought to study the effects of stablecoin adoption on bank intermediation and the transmission of monetary policy. Stablecoins are a crypto asset designed to hold a stable value against a reference asset, such as the euro or U.S. dollar. More on HSBC Holdings, Standard Chartered, etc. HSBC Remains A 'Hold' Following Its 2025 Earnings HSBC Holdings plc (HSBC) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript HSBC Holdings plc 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Banks ramp up Middle East security measures amid Iran conflict - report HSBC remains confident in the Gulf region despite Iran conflict - report
Hong Kong authorities have received 221 complaints about illegal petrol stations in the first two months of the year, averaging about 111 per month – 42 per cent higher than the monthly average in 2025 – as drivers continue to grapple with rising fuel prices caused by the US-Israel war with Iran. The Fire Services Department said on Friday that prosecutions in January and February had risen even m...
Hong Kong authorities have received 221 complaints about illegal petrol stations in the first two months of the year, averaging about 111 per month – 42 per cent higher than the monthly average in 2025 – as drivers continue to grapple with rising fuel prices caused by the US-Israel war with Iran. The Fire Services Department said on Friday that prosecutions in January and February had risen even more sharply, increasing 85 per cent over last year’s monthly average, with illegal operators deploying tactics such as modifying vehicles for use as mobile refuelling points. “Back in the day, it could be very large scale like a petrol station, but now the scale is smaller and it is scattered across different places. It could be places like cars and containers,” divisional officer Ng Wing-chit told a radio programme, adding that such methods made detection and enforcement more difficult. Advertisement As the war stretched into a second week, oil prices surged above US$100 a barrel, with Iran effectively shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply is transported. The volatility in the oil market has led to a sharp rise in fuel costs in Hong Kong. According to an oil price tracker by the Consumer Council, the pump price of standard petrol stood at HK$31.09 (US$3.97) per litre across the city’s five petrol station operators on Friday. Advertisement Hong Kong’s fire authorities have continued to combat illicit fuelling amid rising petrol prices. In the latest case on Wednesday, the department arrested a man and seized 850 litres (224 gallons) of petrol in a raid on a shop in To Kwa Wan.
Earnings Call Insights: Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (BBW) Q4 2025 Management View Sharon John, President, CEO & Director, announced her retirement effective June 11, 2026, with Chief Operations Officer Chris Hurt set to become CEO, highlighting "a multiyear planned succession process." John emphasized, "we ultimately delivered a solid year with both pretax income and revenue within our guidance ra...
Earnings Call Insights: Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (BBW) Q4 2025 Management View Sharon John, President, CEO & Director, announced her retirement effective June 11, 2026, with Chief Operations Officer Chris Hurt set to become CEO, highlighting "a multiyear planned succession process." John emphasized, "we ultimately delivered a solid year with both pretax income and revenue within our guidance range. In fact, we hit an important milestone for the company by delivering more than $0.5 billion in annual revenue for the first time in Build-A-Bear's history." Chris Hurt, Chief Operations & Experience Officer, reported, "we made significant progress, adding 11 net new experience locations across 4 continents, bringing our total to 64. For the year, we entered 8 new countries, following the 10 countries added in 2024. This doubles our international footprint to 36 countries in just 2 years." Hurt announced expansion plans: "we expect to open at least 50 net new locations in 2026, with the majority of those openings in our partner-operated asset-light model." John described a digital setback: "most of our focus last year was on evolving behind-the-scenes infrastructure... some of our previously planned e-commerce advancements... were delayed, contributing to disappointing online sales." John also noted a new IP initiative: "our KABU's character Plush has already surpassed $1 million in sales." Vojin Todorovic, Chief Financial Officer, stated, "we met our guidance and delivered our fifth consecutive year of record results, underscoring the durability of our business model. We grew across all segments, expanded gross margin and increased pretax income versus last year, even with the absorption of a negative tariff impact." Outlook Todorovic stated, "we expect total revenues to grow at a mid-single-digit rate, driven in part by the addition of at least 50 net new experience locations, the majority of which are expected to be international partner-operated." Revenue growth is ...
Nikada/E+ via Getty Images Asian stocks traded lower on Friday after Wall Street’s overnight weakness as the U.S.–Iran conflict entered its 14th day. Investors reacted sharply to a pledge from Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, to maintain a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with intensified strikes on regional oil infrastructure. The resulting surge in crude prices has reignited...
Nikada/E+ via Getty Images Asian stocks traded lower on Friday after Wall Street’s overnight weakness as the U.S.–Iran conflict entered its 14th day. Investors reacted sharply to a pledge from Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, to maintain a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with intensified strikes on regional oil infrastructure. The resulting surge in crude prices has reignited global inflation fears, WTI crude futures traded around $95 per barrel on Friday after a sharp two-day rally. Furthermore, the Trump administration is weighing a temporary waiver of the Jones Act, the century-old law requiring U.S.-flagged ships to carry goods between domestic ports, as part of efforts to ease surging oil and gasoline prices. The commodities and digital asset desks saw a surge in defensive positioning with Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) rose nearly 1% toward $71,200 in mid-February, extending its rally to a fifth consecutive session. Gold prices rose to around $5,110 per ounce on Friday, following a two-day drop. The benchmark KOSPI slipped 1.30% to around 5,510 on Friday, extending losses for another consecutive session. The South Korean won ( USD:KRW ) weakened just below 1,490 per dollar, extending losses near its weakest level since 2009. Japan ( NKY:IND ) fell 1.42% to around 53,700, while the broader Topix Index lost 1% to 3,612 on Friday, sliding for the second straight session. The Japanese yen traded around 159.4 per dollar on Friday, hovering near its weakest levels since July 2024, raising concerns of possible intervention by authorities. The Nikkei fell, impacted by a more than 6% drop in Honda Motor Co Ltd ( HMC ), which expects an annual loss from restructuring costs. Japan 10 Year Government Bond Yield increased to 2.24%, the highest since February 2026. China ( SHCOMP ) fell 0.13% near 4,129 on Friday and was poised to finish the week largely unchanged, and the offshore yuan depreciated to around 6.88 per dollar on Friday, extending losses from the pr...
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the 11 Best Large-Cap Tech Stocks to Invest In. On March 5, TheFly reported that Jefferies analyst Brent Thill reiterated his Buy rating on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) while maintaining a price target of $675. Thill’s price target of $675 is higher than the average price target of $600 from 60 analysts covering MSFT, indicating an upside of ove...
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the 11 Best Large-Cap Tech Stocks to Invest In. On March 5, TheFly reported that Jefferies analyst Brent Thill reiterated his Buy rating on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) while maintaining a price target of $675. Thill’s price target of $675 is higher than the average price target of $600 from 60 analysts covering MSFT, indicating an upside of over 47%. Thill’s price target represents an upside of almost 66%. Asif Islam / Shutterstock.com Jefferies remains bullish on Microsoft as it views MSFT’s enterprise AI spending as key to the firm’s success ahead, citing Azure and Microsoft 365 as major catalysts for the firm as enterprises roll out AI tools. Microsoft’s enterprise distribution network supports more than 450 million paid M365 users. The analyst pointed out three major areas for MSFT’s AI network: AI expanding the total addressable market in M365, infrastructure monetization, and AI margin tracking. MSFT currently trades at nearly 21 times FY2027 earnings per share, which is lower than its 10-year average of 23.5, Jefferies noted. Of the 60 analysts covering Microsoft, 55 have a Buy rating, while 5 rate the stock a Hold. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a leading technology company that develops and sells a wide range of software, cloud services, devices, and business solutions, serving both individual users and enterprise customers worldwide. Its flagship products include Windows, Microsoft 365, Azure, LinkedIn, and Xbox. While we acknowledge the potential of MSFT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey ...
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is one of the 11 Best Large-Cap Tech Stocks to Invest In. A February 27 report from the Wall Street Journal highlighted that NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is developing a new processor platform for AI inference workloads. This new processor is specifically being designed for OpenAI and other major customers to build faster and more reliable tools through AI that...
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is one of the 11 Best Large-Cap Tech Stocks to Invest In. A February 27 report from the Wall Street Journal highlighted that NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is developing a new processor platform for AI inference workloads. This new processor is specifically being designed for OpenAI and other major customers to build faster and more reliable tools through AI that generate responses to user queries, as per WSJ. Nvidia Set to Enter Next Phase as It Plans to Launch New AI Processing Chip, WSJ Reports According to the report, Nvidia will reveal the system at the upcoming GTC in San Jose, scheduled for March 16 to March 19, 2026. The new inference will incorporate technology from AI chip startup Groq, designed to offer faster and more efficient AI responses for customers. OpenAI is said to be one of the largest customers of this new Nvidia processor, with sources indicating that it would potentially handle 10% of OpenAI’s inference computing needs. This is a major development amid the rapidly growing AI hardware market and intense competition from rivals, including Amazon and Google, who are building their own AI chips. Out of 69 analysts covering NVDA, 64 analysts rate the stock as Buy, while 4 have a Hold rating. The average price target of $265 highlights an upside potential of more than 43% as of March 10. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is a fabless semiconductor and AI computing company that designs GPUs, AI accelerators, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), and system-on-a-chip units. Through its CUDA ecosystem, the company enables industries ranging from autonomous vehicles to scientific research by advancing AI, accelerated computing, and data center infrastructure. While we acknowledge the potential of NVDA as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump...