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ROME (AP) — Speakers blasted songs including “Born in the U.S.A.” and “American Pie” as six cardinal electors from the United States gathered in Rome on Friday to share their thoughts on the election of the first U.S.-born pope, Cardinal Robert Prevost.“I took a look at Bob and he had his head in his hands and I was praying for him,” said Cardinal Joseph Tobin of the moment right after casting his vote in the Sistine Chapel. “And then when he accepted, it was like it was made for him.”One day after the Chicago-born Prevost became Pope Leo XIV, the…
The government is formulating a strategy on tariff rationalisation, it was learnt on Friday. The development came during a consultative meeting on the preparation of the Federal Budget 2025-2026, read a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). During the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the attendees were briefed that consultations with the private sector, including representatives from various sectors of the economy, on budget preparation have been ongoing for the past three months. They were informed that a five-year Trade Policy Framework 2025-2030 will be finalised soon, while the eCommerce 2.0 Framework is also near completion.…
The market has almost come full circle. Following President Donald Trump ‘s announcement of a U.K. trade deal , the S & P 500 on Thursday rose as much as 1.6% to 5,720 — its highest intraday level since late March, when the index was still on the slide from its record-high close of 6,144 on Feb. 19. While losing some steam into Thursday’s close, the S & P 500 was only about 2% below its close on Election Day, Nov. 5. S & P futures were modestly higher Friday morning as the index tries to extend its weekly win…
More companies are making plans to raise funds from first-time stock offerings in Hong Kong, including those from the US, Singapore and mainland China, to capitalise on a rebound in optimism this year and a favourable outlook for Asia’s third-biggest stock market.SAIC Mobility, a ride-hailing unit of a Chinese state-owned carmaker, unveiled its plan on Friday. Singapore-headquartered Mirxes Holding filed a proposal on Wednesday, reviving its plan under the stock exchange’s rule that allows yet-to-be profitable biotechnology firms to raise funds from the public.“We will fully leverage the capital market to drive industrial development, accelerate technology and ecological research and…
More companies are making plans to raise funds from first-time stock offerings in Hong Kong, including those from the US, Singapore and mainland China, to capitalise on a rebound in optimism this year and a favourable outlook for Asia’s third-biggest stock market.SAIC Mobility, a ride-hailing unit of a Chinese state-owned carmaker, unveiled its plan on Friday. Singapore-headquartered Mirxes Holding filed a proposal on Wednesday, reviving its plan under the stock exchange’s rule that allows yet-to-be profitable biotechnology firms to raise funds from the public.“We will fully leverage the capital market to drive industrial development, accelerate technology and ecological research and…
Remittance inflow since Jan 2024 Figures in USD Billion The inflow of overseas workers’ remittances into Pakistan stood at $3.2 billion in April 2025, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data showed on Friday. Remittances increased by 13.1% year over year, compared to $2.81 billion recorded in the same month last year. On a monthly basis, remittances were down 22%, compared to $4.1 billion in March. Cumulatively, with an inflow of $31.2 billion, workers’ remittances increased by 31% during Jul-Apr, FY25, compared to $23.9 billion received during Jul-Apr, FY24. Home remittances play a significant role in supporting the country’s external…
The Philippines is investigating claims that sand dredged from its coastal waters has been used in China’s artificial island construction in disputed parts of the South China Sea, raising concerns over domestic complicity, ecological damage and national security.President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has ordered a full inquiry into the allegations following testimony in a Senate hearing on Wednesday, where a top intelligence official said sand from Manila Bay and other areas might have ended up as landfill for Chinese military outposts.Ashley Acedillo, deputy director general of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, told senators that Chinese-linked reclamation and dredging activities had happened…
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Britain’s trade deal with the US is “good news” but still leaves the effective tariff rate higher than before Donald Trump began increasing barriers on America’s partners, the governor of the Bank of England has said.Andrew Bailey on Friday warned that the impact of the trade war on the UK economy would depend in part on other countries’ deals with the US president, and stressed that uncertainty was hitting British businesses. “It will leave the effective tariff rate higher than it was…
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Germany’s Dax index climbed to a record high on Friday, becoming the first major European benchmark to recoup the losses sparked by Donald Trump’s tariff threats, as investor optimism over US trade deals boosted global markets.The Dax was 0.5 per cent higher in afternoon trading, after Thursday’s announcement of a US-UK trade deal was followed by a call between the US president and Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, in which they agreed on the need to resolve trade disputes quickly. Merz, who…
Li, who is also the founder and chairman of the Beijing-based electric vehicle manufacturer, acknowledged how a single meeting last September with Liang enlightened him about DeepSeek’s “best practices” and the importance of “fighting against some of the laziness of human nature, like taking short cuts”, according to a video posted on Wednesday by the firm on various social media.“Anytime we want to go about changing and improving capabilities, the first step must be to do research,” Li said. “The second step is development. The third is to articulate the capability, while the fourth is to turn that capability into…