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Hong Kong’s pension scheme improved its overall adequacy, sustainability and integrity over the past 12 months, rising from a C+ grade to a B – equal to schemes in some European countries but still trailing Singapore’s – according to a report released on Wednesday.The HK$15 trillion (US$192 billion) Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) scored 70.6 points out of a ­possible 100 in the annual Mercer CFA Institute’s Global Pension Index, up from 63.9 last year.The programme now holds the third-best grade worldwide, tied with the retirement schemes in Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland. The report has seven grade levels: A, B+,…

The global copper market has endured a turbulent year, as a series of accidents and shutdowns disrupted supply chains around the world. On September 8, approximately 800,000 tons of wet material flooded multiple levels of the Grasberg Block Cave mine in Papua, Indonesia, forcing a suspension of all underground operations.   The incident marked the latest in a string of disruptions that have hit copper production throughout 2025.   Reports indicate that the flooding reached the level under development, killing two workers. Following the accident, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. declared force majeure, citing its inability to meet contractual obligations due to a…

This year marks half a century of formal diplomatic relations between China and the European Union, as well as the 25th anniversary of the founding of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. The latest story in our series examining ties between the two powers focuses on intensified competition in the auto industry, a bedrock sector for Europe and an area where China has made enormous strides, particularly in electric vehicles and other hi-tech advancements.When Volkswagen engineers arrived at the facilities of Chinese carmaker First Automobile Works’ (FAW) in the early 1990s, they saw a factory stuck in the…

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called China “economically hostile” for not buying American soybeans and threatened to halt imports of cooking oil and other products from the country in retaliation.“I believe that China purposefully not buying our soybeans and causing difficulty for our Soybean Farmers, is an Economically Hostile Act,” Trump posted on social media, the latest in a series of escalating moves since he threatened on Friday to slap an additional 100 per cent tariff on all imports from China.“We are considering terminating business with China having to do with Cooking Oil, and other elements of Trade, as…

Ashley Tellis, a prominent Indian-American national security expert and long-time US adviser, has been accused of hoarding classified documents and repeatedly meeting Chinese officials, stirring concern over possible Beijing ties and jolting Washington’s foreign policy circles.An affidavit dated October 13 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said more than a thousand pages of classified materials – several marked “Top Secret” and “Secret” – were recovered from various parts of Tellis’s Virginia home, including three trash bags, during a Federal Bureau of Investigation search over the weekend.The Justice Department alleges that Tellis repeatedly removed highly classified…

Wells Fargo shares surged on Tuesday after the bank reported better-than-expected third-quarter results and raised a key financial return target, signaling confidence in the years ahead. Total revenue for the three months ending Sept. 30 increased 5.3% year over year to $21.44 billion, beating analysts’ expectations of $21.15 billion, according to market data provider LSEG. Earnings per share (EPS) of $1.66 exceeded Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $1.55 per share, LSEG data showed. EPS excludes a 7-cent per share headwind associated with severance expense. Bottom line What a difference a quarter can make. Back in July, when Wells Fargo reported…

Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Market moves : It’s been a volatile day on Wall Street. The S & P 500 wiped out earlier losses of roughly 1.5% on Tuesday and turned modestly higher in late afternoon trading. Initial worries about renewed U.S.-China trade tensions sank the market after Monday’s strong snap-back rally from Friday’s tariff-driven rout. The Nasdaq on Tuesday remained stubbornly in the red as tech struggled. It was the only one of the…

Chinese drone maker DJI has appealed a US federal court’s decision that it should remain on the Pentagon’s blacklist of companies allegedly linked to China’s military.The Shenzhen-based company filed the appeal on Monday to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. DJI filed a lawsuit last October, arguing that it is not owned or controlled by the Chinese military and does not contribute to China’s defence industrial base.The drone manufacturer, which sells over half of all US commercial drones, was first added to the annually updated list of Chinese military companies, known under US law as the “Section…

The U.S. dollar’s sharp rally over the past month is unlikely to last, as analysts view it as driven largely by temporary factors — notably the suspension of U.S. economic data releases due to the federal government shutdown and political turmoil in rival economies.   The greenback has risen about 3% against a basket of major currencies since mid-September, recovering part of its 11% loss earlier this year and moving away from its lowest level in more than three years.   Data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) — before publication was halted by the shutdown — showed…

BlackRock’s better-than-expected quarterly results Tuesday helped push the stock to a fresh record high. The market sees what we see: The asset manager’s pursuit of growth beyond lower-cost stock and bond funds is bearing fruit. Revenue in the third quarter rose 25% year over year to $6.51 billion, topping the $6.22 billion estimate, according to LSEG. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) in the three months ended Sept. 30 totaled $11.55, ahead of the $11.24 consensus, LSEG data showed. Assets under management (AUM) at the end of the quarter reached a record $13.463 trillion, outpacing the Bloomberg consensus of $13.375 trillion.…