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Hong Kong’s rapidly greying population is creating both policy headaches and fresh business opportunities, from stronger demand for health insurance and retirement products to a growing market for medical services across the border, according to industry leaders.“The ageing population of Hong Kong brings challenges, but at the same time it also adds new business opportunities,” said Stephen Yiu Kin-wah, chairman of the Insurance Authority, at the Asian Insurance Forum on Monday.The government projects that by mid-2036, the city will have 2.4 million elderly residents – around one-third of the population. As more people grow older, Hong Kong faces mounting pressure…

US President Donald Trump has announced a long-anticipated US$12 billion farm aid package to assist farmers caught in US-China trade tensions, crediting his tariff strategy for making the bailout possible and asserting that his negotiations with China had led to the resumption of massive soybean sales.But the announcement has not pleased all farmers, particularly those still struggling with low prices and lost markets. Some said it was too little, too late, and that a bailout wouldn’t be necessary if there were no tariffs.John Bartman, a soybean farmer from Illinois, said the aid was a “drop in the bucket” and “roughly…

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet is all set to revise margins of Oil of three-year-old cars — brought into the country under schemes meant for overseas Pakistanis — more restrictive, sources in the Ministry of Commerce told Business Recorder. Sources said, Ministry of Commerce placed the summary before ECC of the Cabinet for its consideration for the amendments in procedure for import of vehicles under the Personal Baggage, Transfer of Residence and Gift Schemes Policy Order (IPO), 2022 – Appendix-E, Import Policy Order (IPO), 2022. The ECC of the Cabinet in its meeting held on October…

ISLAMABAD: The Directorate General of Customs Valuation, Karachi, has fixed new Customs values for 11 different medical items/equipment being imported from China for the assessment of duties and taxes. In this regard, the directorate has issued a fresh ruling number 2030 of 2025 to re-determine the values of the import of certain medical equipment. The new Customs values have been fixed on the import of Alcohol Swab/Pad; Heparin Cap; Nebulizer Mask/Oxygen Mask; Nasal Oxygen Cannula / Tube; 3-way Stopcock without Tube; 3-way Stopcock with Tube (10 cm); Spinal Needle; Aneroid; Disposable Skin Stapler (Surgical); ECG Electrodes and 3ball Spirometer. The…

The US Congress is readying votes on a sprawling bill that would restrict US outbound investment to China in sensitive sectors as well as federal government contracting with Chinese biotechnology companies, two controversial measures that were left out of similar legislation last year.The provisions were included in a compromise defence bill released on Sunday after months of negotiation.Votes on the annual bill, known as the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA), could happen this week. Lawmakers in both the US House of Representatives and Senate have two weeks left before they go out of session until January.Enacted annually for over six…

The market expects the Federal Reserve this week to cut interest rates for the third time in 2025. That could be good news for dividend-paying stocks — and we have a lot of them in the portfolio. The reason for that dynamic? Fed rate cuts can weaken the appeal of assets that compete with dividend stocks for investment dollars, such as bank CDs, money market funds, and U.S. Treasurys. The interest rate offered by those assets typically follows policy rates lower. If those assets start to look less attractive than before, investors who are looking for income may look to…

Broadcom shares hit an all-time high during Monday’s trading session after the emergence of another encouraging sign that the company’s custom chips are all the rage on the AI scene. The newest development comes from the tech website, The Information, which said Microsoft could be looking to move its custom chip business from Marvell Technology to Broadcom. The report is the latest in a string of recent good news for Broadcom, which delivers quarterly earnings after Thursday’s close. Shares of Marvell were understandably falling more than 7%. Also weighing on Marvell stock was a note from Benchmark, in which the…

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met their Australian counterparts on Monday in Washington for annual talks focused on Indo-Pacific security and countering mainland China’s increasing assertiveness in the region, including in the South China Sea and directed at Taiwan.Rubio, Hegseth, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles gathered at the State Department, with many eyes also on the Russia-Ukraine war, a fragile ceasefire in Gaza and US military strikes against alleged drug traffickers in the Western Hemisphere that have raised questions about the use of force there.“This is a very strong…

The dollar slipped on Monday ahead of a packed week of central-bank meetings led by the US Federal Reserve, with a rate cut now fully priced in by markets, even as deep divisions inside the policy committee leave the final outcome uncertain.   Alongside Wednesday’s Fed decision, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Switzerland will also set policy this week, though none are expected to make changes to their current rate settings.   Analysts expect the Fed to deliver what is being called an “aggressive cut,” in which the statement tone, the Summary of Economic Projections, and Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference…

The dollar slipped on Monday ahead of a packed week of central-bank meetings led by the US Federal Reserve, with a rate cut now fully priced in by markets, even as deep divisions inside the policy committee leave the final outcome uncertain.   Alongside Wednesday’s Fed decision, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Switzerland will also set policy this week, though none are expected to make changes to their current rate settings.   Analysts expect the Fed to deliver what is being called an “aggressive cut,” in which the statement tone, the Summary of Economic Projections, and Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference…