Taiwanese chip designer MediaTek said it has appointed former TSMC executive Douglas Yu as a part-time adviser as it steps up advanced packaging work and expands into the AI chip market. • Yu joined TSMC in 1994 and retired in 2025, holding a range of roles in backend research and development. He played a key part in developing TSMC's advanced packaging technologies, including its CoWoS (Chi...
Taiwanese chip designer MediaTek said it has appointed former TSMC executive Douglas Yu as a part-time adviser as it steps up advanced packaging work and expands into the AI chip market. • Yu joined TSMC in 1994 and retired in 2025, holding a range of roles in backend research and development. He played a key part in developing TSMC's advanced packaging technologies, including its CoWoS (Chip on Wafer on Substrate).
Ultra-low-priced Hong Kong tour packages reliant on commissions and pushing mainland Chinese visitors to make additional purchases remain prevalent despite tighter government regulations, the South China Morning Post has found. The business model has come under renewed scrutiny after the Travel Industry Authority revoked the licences of a travel agency and its tour guide over four cases of suspect...
Ultra-low-priced Hong Kong tour packages reliant on commissions and pushing mainland Chinese visitors to make additional purchases remain prevalent despite tighter government regulations, the South China Morning Post has found. The business model has come under renewed scrutiny after the Travel Industry Authority revoked the licences of a travel agency and its tour guide over four cases of suspected coerced shopping between January and March. The practice has also prompted concerns about the...
The SECURE Act of 2019 dramatically changed the rules governing inherited IRAs. Rather than stretch withdrawals from the IRA out over the course of your life expectancy, you may now be required to withdraw the entire balance by Dec. 31 of the 10th year following the original account owner's death. Unless you're the surviving spouse, a minor child of the original account holder, are chronically ill...
The SECURE Act of 2019 dramatically changed the rules governing inherited IRAs. Rather than stretch withdrawals from the IRA out over the course of your life expectancy, you may now be required to withdraw the entire balance by Dec. 31 of the 10th year following the original account owner's death. Unless you're the surviving spouse, a minor child of the original account holder, are chronically ill, permanently disabled, or no more than 10 years younger than the original account holder, the 10-year rule applies to you. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Yackers1/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Note: I have covered SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc., or "Seacor Marine" ( SMHI ), previously, so investors should view this as an update to my earlier articles on the company. Q1/2026 Earnings Review Last week, leading offshore services vessel provider SEACOR Marine Holdings reported another set of mediocre quarterly results, with revenues coming in below co...
Yackers1/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Note: I have covered SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc., or "Seacor Marine" ( SMHI ), previously, so investors should view this as an update to my earlier articles on the company. Q1/2026 Earnings Review Last week, leading offshore services vessel provider SEACOR Marine Holdings reported another set of mediocre quarterly results, with revenues coming in below consensus expectations and substantial cash burn from operations. Company Press Releases / Regulatory Filings Please note that GAAP results included a $7.3 million gain from the sale of a platform supply vessel ("PSV"). Without this one-time benefit, earnings per share would have missed analyst estimates by a wide margin. Performance across regions was mixed at best, with Africa and Europe being the sole bright spot: Company Press Releases In the press release, management attributed the company's weak operating performance to a number of issues: fewer available days following recent asset sales vessel repositionings idle time for a number of vessels ahead of long-term contract commencements two premium liftboats in the Middle East undergoing repairs Adding insult to injury, the escalation of the Middle East conflict has increased labor and insurance costs in the region and delayed the conclusion of the above-discussed liftboat repairs. As a result, these vessels won't be available for work in the second quarter. At the end of Q1, excluding the liftboats, SEACOR Marine had nine vessels in the region, of which seven have continued to operate for customers in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with one vessel being held for sale and one vessel undergoing scheduled maintenance. Cash burn from operating activities increased to a new multi-year high of $15.1 million. The company used another $6.1 million for capital expenditures. However, these outflows were partially offset by $12.8 million in asset sales proceeds. SEACOR Marine ended the quarter with $75.4 million in cash, cash equivalents,...
Market Snapshot USD/INR ₹94.92 +0.1% Nifty 50 Index 23,997.55 -0.7% India 10-Year Bond Yield 7.03% -0.00 Spot Gold ($/oz) $4,602.46 -0.3% S&P 500 Futures 7,264.00 +0.1% Market data as of 08:17 AM IST, May. 4, 2026, or the previous close for Indian markets. Data is subject to provider delays. Good morning... I’m Chiranjivi Chakraborty in Mumbai, with a quick pulse check as traders return after a lo...
Market Snapshot USD/INR ₹94.92 +0.1% Nifty 50 Index 23,997.55 -0.7% India 10-Year Bond Yield 7.03% -0.00 Spot Gold ($/oz) $4,602.46 -0.3% S&P 500 Futures 7,264.00 +0.1% Market data as of 08:17 AM IST, May. 4, 2026, or the previous close for Indian markets. Data is subject to provider delays. Good morning... I’m Chiranjivi Chakraborty in Mumbai, with a quick pulse check as traders return after a long weekend. Asian stocks are trading near record highs after President Donald Trump said the US will begin guiding some neutral ships trapped in the Persian Gulf out through the Strait of Hormuz from Monday. Investors are keen to see how this will play out, given that a senior Iranian official has warned that Tehran would consider any US interference in the waterway a ceasefire breach. It’s a mixed outlook for Indian markets. The benchmark Nifty rose 7.5% in April, its strongest month in over two years, but lagged Asian and US peers. Elevated oil prices, a weak rupee and persistent foreign outflows remain headwinds. Still, small caps have outperformed, and there are signs their rally may have further to run. State election results are the big talking point today — particularly West Bengal . A win there would mark a significant milestone for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party. Meanwhile, the earnings season is gathering pace, with heavyweights like Bharat Heavy Electricals, Larsen & Toubro, and auto majors Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto set to report this week. In today’s newsletter, we write about: The bullish signal for small caps How Kotak earnings may bolster bank stocks India’s AI losers: who’s most at risk But first, here’s how a weaker rupee is making bonds harder to own. Markets Buzz: Costly Currency Hedges Local debt is losing ground to peers in emerging markets and developed ones alike. The rupee’s depreciation has pushed up hedging costs, which now exceed the gap between Indian bond yields and US Treasuries. Put simply, the extra yield investors earn is ...
Emerging-market assets gained, with strong tech earnings and hopes of a resumption in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz lifting sentiment. MSCI’s emerging market index rose 2.9% to a record high, with South Korean stocks leading the gains. A similar gauge for developing world currencies advanced 0.3% while Bloomberg’s dollar spot index edged lower. “At this juncture, markets appear to be opera...
Emerging-market assets gained, with strong tech earnings and hopes of a resumption in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz lifting sentiment. MSCI’s emerging market index rose 2.9% to a record high, with South Korean stocks leading the gains. A similar gauge for developing world currencies advanced 0.3% while Bloomberg’s dollar spot index edged lower. “At this juncture, markets appear to be operating on two axes of differentiation — AI/tech momentum and oil/geopolitical risk,” said Vivek Rajpal , Asia strategist at JB Drax Honore in Singapore. “With no incrementally negative news on the geopolitical or oil-price front, markets are finding more latitude to refocus on the AI cycle.” Some of the largest technology companies in the world delivered strong earnings in the previous week, including Alphabet Inc. , Apple Inc. and Amazon Inc. Stock indices in regions seen as key drivers of the AI trade rallied, with Korea’s Kospi advancing to a fresh high. Taiwanese stocks opened more than 2% higher. In China, shares of electric vehicle makers rose after they reported sales that beat estimates. Meanwhile, the dollar bond market in Asia-Pacific witnessed its strongest April in five years, with $38 billion of offerings. Investor sentiment got a boost as President Donald Trump said the US will begin guiding ships not involved in the Iran conflict through the Strait of Hormuz from Monday. He described discussions with Tehran as “very positive” after it received Washington’s response to its latest proposal to end the war. Steps to guide neutral ships out through the Strait of Hormuz could pave the way for smoother energy flows after a near-full blockade for two months which roiled global markets.