As the leaders of the world’s two largest economies meet in Beijing, energy markets will be watching closely for any breakthrough in a dispute that has reshaped global fuel flows: China’s tariffs on US oil and gas. Shortly after President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs in February last year, Beijing retaliated with levies on US energy — 15% on liquefied natural gas and 10% on crude oil. T...
As the leaders of the world’s two largest economies meet in Beijing, energy markets will be watching closely for any breakthrough in a dispute that has reshaped global fuel flows: China’s tariffs on US oil and gas. Shortly after President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs in February last year, Beijing retaliated with levies on US energy — 15% on liquefied natural gas and 10% on crude oil. The result was an almost immediate halt in imports of both fuels. In theory, the US and China should be natural energy partners. The US is the world’s largest LNG exporter and top oil producer, while China is the biggest buyer. Now, the Middle East crisis may be shifting the calculus. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted roughly a fifth of global oil and seaborne gas exports, driving prices higher. For LNG, China has been forced to sharply reduce imports following disruptions to Qatari supply, which accounted for about 30% of its deliveries last year. That could create an opening for US fuel to fill part of the gap. A thaw would also benefit the US, where LNG developers are racing to secure long-term buyers. Chinese demand, with its scale and relative consistency, is viewed as critical to underpinning multi-decade export projects. “China offers the world’s most predictable demand growth, providing the scale needed to anchor these US infrastructure investments,” Liu Jia, chief expert at the Economics & Technology Research Institute, a think tank at China National Petroleum Corp., told China Daily. LNG could be one area where China meaningfully increases purchases as a result of the presidential summit. US export capacity is set to double by 2030, and Chinese companies such as CNPC already hold long-term contracts with existing projects. If Beijing drops its tariffs, buyers could opt to absorb those cargoes domestically instead of diverting them to Europe and other Asian buyers, which is the resale strategy they adopted after the levies were imposed. Existing Cont...
Sarah Beran, Former US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission in Beijing and Partner at Macro Advisory Partners, says both Washington and Beijing have significantly lowered their expectations for the summit. She shares her outlook on the highly anticipated meeting between the world’s two largest economies. She speaks with Shery Ahn and Haidi Stroud Watts on "Bloomberg: The Asia Trade". (Source: Bloomberg...
Sarah Beran, Former US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission in Beijing and Partner at Macro Advisory Partners, says both Washington and Beijing have significantly lowered their expectations for the summit. She shares her outlook on the highly anticipated meeting between the world’s two largest economies. She speaks with Shery Ahn and Haidi Stroud Watts on "Bloomberg: The Asia Trade". (Source: Bloomberg)
Faced with rising costs and a lack of jobs, many young Indians are turning an online side hustle into an income The work begins at sunrise, ahead of her first Instagram post. Astha Chhetri starts the day on her phone, combing through supplier lists, checking shipment updates and preparing stock for her online store. The evenings find Chhetri, 26, with her mobile still in hand, photographing and po...
Faced with rising costs and a lack of jobs, many young Indians are turning an online side hustle into an income The work begins at sunrise, ahead of her first Instagram post. Astha Chhetri starts the day on her phone, combing through supplier lists, checking shipment updates and preparing stock for her online store. The evenings find Chhetri, 26, with her mobile still in hand, photographing and posting reels of clothes for sale and replying to customer messages. Continue reading...
In this week’s Hong Kong Edition, Shirley Zhao breaks down Li Ka-shing’s strategy after another major stake sale, Sohee Kim chats with one of the biggest stars of Cantopop and David Ingles spots a trend among Chinese tech stocks. For the Review, Sara Hemrajani discovers a new tapas place in Sheung Wan. To subscribe to this weekly newsletter for free, click here . The Next Generation In early 2021,...
In this week’s Hong Kong Edition, Shirley Zhao breaks down Li Ka-shing’s strategy after another major stake sale, Sohee Kim chats with one of the biggest stars of Cantopop and David Ingles spots a trend among Chinese tech stocks. For the Review, Sara Hemrajani discovers a new tapas place in Sheung Wan. To subscribe to this weekly newsletter for free, click here . The Next Generation In early 2021, Li Ka-shing warned his long-time confidante and partner Solina Chau that a storm was brewing. In the midst of the pandemic, the Hong Kong billionaire saw the world on the brink of prolonged turmoil, before it entered years of inflation, trade tensions and geopolitical conflicts. His advice to Chau, a venture capitalist, was to raise cash reserves. As she recounted the conversation at a conference in 2023, Chau said her takeaway from Li was: Never get stuck. No surprise, then, that Li’s eldest son, Victor, is following the same strategy as he embarks on remaking his father’s business empire. He is cashing out of most of CK Group’s key operations to build a war chest of at least $41 billion for the next version of the conglomerate — provided all the deals go through. “Cash is king” in the face of global uncertainties, one of the group executives told investors last month. It rings particularly true today when Li’s own attempt to sell 43 global ports for more than $19 billion in cash has become a geopolitical flashpoint amid the US-China rivalry. Now all eyes are on this week’s meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for signs of a political breakthrough that can move the deal forward. Li Ka-shing Is Remaking His Empire as a Generational Shift Looms Li Ka-shing and his family set in motion a series of deals this year that stand to completely transform his business empire. Read more For context, a stockpile of that size would be equivalent to about a tenth of Hong Kong’s cash reserves, which itself is one of the biggest in the world. The L...
SpaceX is set to be the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history this summer. The company aims to raise $75 billion in capital at a valuation of $1.75 trillion. That's a lot of cash that could soon hit the company's balance sheet, giving it the opportunity to ramp up significant capital expenditures, benefiting multiple companies. Meanwhile, the IPO excitement has spread to other aerospace...
SpaceX is set to be the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history this summer. The company aims to raise $75 billion in capital at a valuation of $1.75 trillion. That's a lot of cash that could soon hit the company's balance sheet, giving it the opportunity to ramp up significant capital expenditures, benefiting multiple companies. Meanwhile, the IPO excitement has spread to other aerospace stocks, bolstering the entire sector. Several companies could come out as winners thanks to SpaceX's IPO. Here are three that investors should keep an eye on this summer. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Mass Casualty Event After Israeli Airstrikes On Beirut Highway Another mass casualty event has occurred in Lebanon, as national media says that on Wednesday eight people died, including two children, when Israeli strikes targeted cars on a highway south of Beirut . Israeli media itself described that "The three separate airstrikes were carried out well beyond the main theater of conflict in the so...
Mass Casualty Event After Israeli Airstrikes On Beirut Highway Another mass casualty event has occurred in Lebanon, as national media says that on Wednesday eight people died, including two children, when Israeli strikes targeted cars on a highway south of Beirut . Israeli media itself described that "The three separate airstrikes were carried out well beyond the main theater of conflict in the south, targeting vehicles on the coastal highway in an area around 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Beirut, security sources said." The attack was reportedly carried out by drones. EPA image "Images showed a burnt-out car in the middle of the road and rescuers carrying a body at one of the sites, near Jiyeh," Times of Israel continues. "On Saturday, similar strikes targeted two other cars in the same area." There was no immediate comment or explanation from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in wake of the bombings. Photographs of bombed-out and charred cars have widely circulated in the aftermath. Hezbollah has meanwhile remained opposed to formal talks between the Israeli and Lebanese governments, with the Iran-backed Shia paramilitary group not participating. The next round of negotiations are expected in Washington on Thursday , and they will be overseen by the State Department. From Israel's perspective, this means the ceasefire doesn't extend to Hezbollah, and it currently has an IDF ground force inside southern Lebanon, amid tit-for-tat drone and missile strikes. According to the latest on evacuation orders in the south, Al Jazeera writes : On Wednesday morning, the Israeli military issued forced displacement orders for the residents of Meiss el-Jabal, Yanouh, Burj Shemali, Hula, Debl and Aabbasiyyeh, warning that it will soon act against these six southern Lebanese villages “forcefully”. Anyone who remains “endangers their life,” the military said, warning residents to move at least 1,000 metres (0.6 miles) away to “open areas”. At least seven villages in the area have ...