This article was first published on February 26, 2021. By Mimi Lau Xi claims victory in eliminating extreme poverty China has declared complete success in eliminating extreme poverty, with President Xi Jinping hailing the lifting of 850 million people out of destitution as an “unprecedented accomplishment” unmatched by any nation in modern history. In a speech at a ceremony i...
This article was first published on February 26, 2021. By Mimi Lau Xi claims victory in eliminating extreme poverty China has declared complete success in eliminating extreme poverty, with President Xi Jinping hailing the lifting of 850 million people out of destitution as an “unprecedented accomplishment” unmatched by any nation in modern history. In a speech at a ceremony in Beijing yesterday (February 25, 2021) to commend poverty fighters, broadcast live by state...
Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, will use larger-than-expected mining revenues to start a stabilization fund this year, a senior treasury official said, ensuring the government has a buffer when a red-hot rally in the metal fades. The mechanism, which Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa referred to as a “rainy day” fund, is intended to capture state mining revenues expected t...
Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, will use larger-than-expected mining revenues to start a stabilization fund this year, a senior treasury official said, ensuring the government has a buffer when a red-hot rally in the metal fades. The mechanism, which Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa referred to as a “rainy day” fund, is intended to capture state mining revenues expected to surge with production rising to a record at a time when prices hover near all-time highs. Mineral revenues above what was budgeted for the year will flow into the account. “That differential will not be immediately used in the budget,” Nkulukusa said in an interview on Tuesday in Cape Town, where he was attending the African Markets Conference. “So that the time that we will have challenges on the price and the budget, we will then be able to use those revenues to smoothen the budget process.” The government will complete the fund’s framework this year, after which it can start depositing surplus cash, he said. Zambia’s State Mining Company Weighs Own Metals Trading Unit Foreign Demand Drives Outsize Returns on Zambian Local Debt Zambia to Seal New IMF Deal After August Vote, Minister Says The International Monetary Fund, meanwhile, said in a report this month that the government should prioritize introducing a fiscal rule and accelerate public financial management reforms. Yet constraints such as a fiscal rule would be politically difficult to implement ahead of the general elections scheduled for August, said Nkulukusa, who added the stabilization fund is essentially “the same thing” when looking at the outcomes. “The stabilization fund is saying even before we go to the fiscal rule, can we start preparing ourselves?” Nkulukusa said. “It’s not an issue of either or. It’s an issue of sequencing.” Zambia is seeking a fresh IMF program after successfully completing the prior one in January. A mission from the Washington-based lender arrives in Lusaka, the capital, on Wedne...
XtockImages Australia's annual inflation remained at 3.8% in January 2026, higher than the expected 3.7% and outside the central bank's target of 2–3%. Services inflation decreased to 3.9%, partly due to lower pharmaceutical prices. In contrast, goods inflation increased to 3.8%, largely due to a significant rise in electricity costs as state rebates ended. The trimmed mean CPI slightly increased ...
XtockImages Australia's annual inflation remained at 3.8% in January 2026, higher than the expected 3.7% and outside the central bank's target of 2–3%. Services inflation decreased to 3.9%, partly due to lower pharmaceutical prices. In contrast, goods inflation increased to 3.8%, largely due to a significant rise in electricity costs as state rebates ended. The trimmed mean CPI slightly increased to 3.4%, and the monthly CPI rose by 0.4%, down from a 1.0% rise in December. Separate data showed, Total construction work in Australia fell 0.1% quarter-on-quarter to A$80,011.8 million in Q4 2025, missing market expectations for a 0.9% increase and marking a second straight quarterly decline after a 0.7% drop in Q3. The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.9% to 9,106 on Wednesday, snapping a three-session losing streak. The Australian dollar strengthened to around $0.70 on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session as hotter-than-expected inflation data fueled expectations of additional interest rate hikes this year. More on Australia: EWA: Potentially Range Bound, Given The Mix Of Tailwinds And Headwinds U.S. dollar slips, precious metals rebound on fresh tariff fears Australia’s manufacturing and services growth moderates in February Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on iShares MSCI Australia ETF Dividend scorecard for iShares MSCI Australia ETF
(RTTNews) - Sanofi (SNY, SAN.PA) said FDA has approved Dupixent or dupilumab for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged 6 years and older with allergic fungal rhinosinusitis who have a history of sino-nasal surgery. The FDA evaluated Dupixent under priority review for
(RTTNews) - Sanofi (SNY, SAN.PA) said FDA has approved Dupixent or dupilumab for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged 6 years and older with allergic fungal rhinosinusitis who have a history of sino-nasal surgery. The FDA evaluated Dupixent under priority review for
(RTTNews) - Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD), on Tuesday, said its board determined that a revised proposal from Paramount Skydance Corp. (PSKY) could reasonably be expected to lead to a "Company Superior Proposal" under its existing merger agreement with Netflix, Inc. (NFLX).
(RTTNews) - Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD), on Tuesday, said its board determined that a revised proposal from Paramount Skydance Corp. (PSKY) could reasonably be expected to lead to a "Company Superior Proposal" under its existing merger agreement with Netflix, Inc. (NFLX).
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was under pressure on Wednesday after it emerged she gave congratulatory gift catalogues to lawmakers from her ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) following its landslide election victory this month. Each of her party’s 315 MPs was given the option to choose an item from the catalogue “as an expression of appreciation for their success at this very tough el...
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was under pressure on Wednesday after it emerged she gave congratulatory gift catalogues to lawmakers from her ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) following its landslide election victory this month. Each of her party’s 315 MPs was given the option to choose an item from the catalogue “as an expression of appreciation for their success at this very tough election”, Takaichi wrote in a social media post, saying that no taxpayer money was used. The...
President hails ‘turnaround for the ages’ but offers few policy pledges and repeats jibes against ‘crazy’ Democrats Donald Trump proclaimed his first year in office a success at the State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, even as his presidency is dogged by low public approval ratings before November’s midterm elections in which voters could hand control of Congress back to his Democratic o...
President hails ‘turnaround for the ages’ but offers few policy pledges and repeats jibes against ‘crazy’ Democrats Donald Trump proclaimed his first year in office a success at the State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, even as his presidency is dogged by low public approval ratings before November’s midterm elections in which voters could hand control of Congress back to his Democratic opponents. The annual address to a joint session of Congress came after months of turmoil for the Republican president, including a crackdown on immigrant communities in Minneapolis that resulted in the deaths of two US citizens, and faltering progress on his campaign promise of lowering the cost of living. Continue reading...
HSBC Holdings Plc overall bonus pool rose 10% to $3.93 billion, the highest in at least a decade after the bank delivered full year results that beat analyst estimates. After driving through one of the biggest restructurings in decades, and overseeing a surge in the bank’s share price, Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery was handed £6.62 million ($8.9 million) in pay for 2025, his first full ...
HSBC Holdings Plc overall bonus pool rose 10% to $3.93 billion, the highest in at least a decade after the bank delivered full year results that beat analyst estimates. After driving through one of the biggest restructurings in decades, and overseeing a surge in the bank’s share price, Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery was handed £6.62 million ($8.9 million) in pay for 2025, his first full year in charge. That was up from £5.58 million in 2024. The bank’s market value last year crossed £200 billion for the first time in its history. The bonus pool rose 10% compared to adjusted figures for 2024 and overall fixed pay increased by 3.2% in 2026. “Compensation has to be fair and has to be competitive, but it equally has to be differentiated to reflect talent contribution and performance,” Elhedery said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “And we expect this differentiation to continue as we embed the high performance culture at HSBC.” Since taking the helm in 2024, Elhedery has combined the lender’s commercial and global banking businesses and also shuttered most of its deals and equity underwriting operations in the US, UK and continental Europe. The former CFO has been trying to shake up the bureaucratic bank, seeking to emulate Wall Street rivals, with a more “eat-what-you-kill stance.” The new compensation structure will allow the bank “to attract, to hire and to retain talent,” Elhedery said. The UK lender, founded in 1865 to support trade, has doubled down on Hong Kong, it’s biggest market, with the privatization of Hang Seng Bank for about $14 billion
Dzmitry Dzemidovich/iStock via Getty Images Market review and outlook Global equities registered solid gains in the fourth quarter, helping the major, broad-based indexes record their third consecutive year of double-digit returns. Performance was uneven over the first half of the quarter due to concerns that AI-related stocks were in a bubble, but the market staged an impressive rebound and went ...
Dzmitry Dzemidovich/iStock via Getty Images Market review and outlook Global equities registered solid gains in the fourth quarter, helping the major, broad-based indexes record their third consecutive year of double-digit returns. Performance was uneven over the first half of the quarter due to concerns that AI-related stocks were in a bubble, but the market staged an impressive rebound and went on to achieve new all-time highs by year-end. A continued decline in inflation enabled the U.S. Federal Reserve to enact two quarter-point interest rate cuts, boosting sentiment. In addition, corporate earnings were robust and world economic growth remained positive. Emerging- and developed-market international equities outperformed the United States, continuing a trend that was in place for the full year. Within the U.S. market, the value style outpaced growth as investors rotated toward opportunities outside of AI-related stocks. Global bonds logged only slightly positive total returns amid a growing consensus that most central banks were largely finished easing policy. Credit-oriented market segments continued to outperform, primarily as a result of their yield advantage. Contributors and detractors The fund's overweight in equities versus bonds contributed to relative performance. An overweight in emerging-market stocks, the best-performing segment of the global equity markets in the quarter, was a further plus. On the other hand, the allocation to defensive equities was a modest detractor at a time in which more speculative stocks were in favor. An overweight in U.S. mid caps also cost the fund some relative performance. Positioning in fixed income had a neutral effect on results. An allocation to emerging-market bonds performed well, as the asset class strongly outperformed its developed-market peers in an environment of falling interest rates and rising commodity prices. Conversely, a position in U.S. Treasury STRIPS detracted amid a broader increase in long-term bon...