Author: admin

Copper jumped to a record high on Friday after Citi lifted its price outlook for the metal, while a weak dollar also provided support ahead of an expected U.S. rate cut next week. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 1.4% to $11,609.50 a ton at 1025 GMT. The metal, widely used in power, construction and manufacturing, earlier rose as much as 2.2% to an all-time peak of $11,705. LME copper is on course to end the week up 3.8% and has gained more than 30% in 2025. “I think copper is a slow burn on the…

Major Chinese airlines have extended their offer of full refunds for flights to Japan for another three months, as the heated diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo shows no signs of easing.On Friday, Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines – the country’s largest state-owned carriers – along with several others, including Hainan Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Spring Airlines and Xiamen Airlines, issued statements allowing free ticket refunds or itinerary changes for flights booked through March 28 next year.Last month, Chinese carriers offered free ticket refunds or itinerary changes for Japan flights booked until December 31, hours after Beijing’s…

Gold prices rose in European trading on Friday, moving into positive territory for a second consecutive session, supported by the current weakness in the US dollar against a basket of global currencies as markets price in a high probability of a Federal Reserve rate cut next week.   To reprice those expectations, investors are awaiting the long-delayed US Personal Consumption Expenditures report later today, which had been postponed due to the government shutdown.   The PCE report is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.   Price Overview   • Gold today: Prices rose by 0.55% to $4230.81, from an opening…

The United States and China are pursuing artificial intelligence in “different directions”, and the divergence is being reflected in the strategies that the governments and companies are adopting, according to the founder of one of the world’s largest technology investors.The US is focusing on supercomputing power and large models in the lofty pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and artificial superintelligence (ASI), while China was adopting a more practical approach, using AI to solve real-world problems in development, said Huawei Technologies’ founder Ren Zhengfei.“The US is seeking AGI and ASI to get answers to questions like ‘What is human?’ and…

The US dollar index retreated on Friday, trading near its lowest level in five weeks ahead of a delayed US inflation reading that is not expected to alter market expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut next week.   The dollar weakened notably against the Japanese yen, which drew support from expectations that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates this month, pushing the yen to its strongest level in nearly three weeks.   The dollar index, which measures the currency against six major peers, slipped 0.1% to 98.981, moving toward Thursday’s low of 98.765.   The Personal Consumption…

For about two years, six nights a week, performers from mainland China, Taiwan and Malaysia have entertained hundreds of guests at the HaveFun Live Show in Singapore, but its organisers are now in a fix ahead of coming work permit changes.On Monday, the manpower ministry announced that a scheme allowing foreign performers a work permit of up to six months at public entertainment outlets in Singapore would cease in June after enforcement operations uncovered syndicates abusing the scheme.A spate of operations in September and October exposed individuals who allegedly operated shell public entertainment outlets and hired work permit holders as…

President Vladimir Putin’s first visit to New Delhi since the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the clearest sign of India’s determination to balance between bolstering its long-standing defence ties with Moscow and managing trade tensions with the United States, according to analysts.On Thursday, Putin was welcomed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Delhi’s airport for his two-day state visit, before they were driven in the same car to a dinner hosted by Modi at his residence.Behind the pageantry, India is engaging in complex strategic calculations as it tries to fend off further punitive measures from the US over its trade…

Taiwan has blocked RedNote, a popular mainland Chinese social media platform among young people on the island, citing “fraud prevention” and “information security” concerns.Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior’s Criminal Investigation Bureau issued a policy on Thursday announcing an internet shutdown and access restriction order for RedNote, tentatively for one year.RedNote is a lifestyle social media platform similar to Instagram popular with young people from mainland China and around the world. Taiwan’s interior ministry said RedNote had more than 3 million users on the island – around 1 million more than a year ago.The block was intended to protect the “information…

BYD, China’s electric vehicle (EV) king, is pinning its hopes on next-generation technology to engineer a turnaround in sales amid fierce competition in the world’s largest automotive market, according to its founder and chairman Wang Chuanfu.Speaking at a shareholders’ meeting in Shenzhen on Friday, the billionaire said the company’s 12,000 engineers – the backbone of the carmaker – would help it regain a technological edge over rivals.“We have heavyweight new technology in the pipeline,” he was quoted as saying by the official China Securities Journal. “These will be announced later, as it is not convenient for me to disclose more…

BYD, China’s electric vehicle (EV) king, is pinning its hopes on next-generation technology to engineer a turnaround in sales amid fierce competition in the world’s largest automotive market, according to its founder and chairman Wang Chuanfu.Speaking at a shareholders’ meeting in Shenzhen on Friday, the billionaire said the company’s 12,000 engineers – the backbone of the carmaker – would help it regain a technological edge over rivals.“We have heavyweight new technology in the pipeline,” he was quoted as saying by the official China Securities Journal. “These will be announced later, as it is not convenient for me to disclose more…