Business

Asia markets fall sharply, extending global losses

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets slumped in morning trade Tuesday, tracking global losses after Wall Street suffered its worst sell-off of the year as investors fretted over the US-China trade war. A sharp fall in the Chinese yuan’s value against the dollar — breaching the 7.0 level seen as a key threshold by investors — prompted US President Donald Trump to formally designate Beijing as a currency manipulator. Tensions have escalated since Trump […]

Global stocks tumble on escalating US-China trade war

by John BIERS NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — World stock markets plunged Monday as Beijing parried US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcements by moving to let the China yuan currency devalue and halting purchases of US agricultural products. The rebuttal sparked Wall Street’s worst selloff of the year and also led to significant declines in leading bourses in Europe and Asia amid fears the escalation of the months-long conflict will further dim the […]

Asia markets sink as the Chinese yuan tumbles

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets plummeted Monday as the Chinese yuan fell sharply, days after US President Donald Trump’s vow to impose fresh tariffs on goods from China sent trade war fears soaring. Trump’s announcement, which came on Thursday, means virtually all of the $660 billion in annual merchandise trade between the world’s two biggest economies will be subject to punitive tariffs, with the latest duties due to take effect September 1. The […]

Japan-S. Korea row escalates as relations hit new low

  by Miwa SUZUKI Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan and South Korea Friday rescinded each other’s favoured export partner status in an escalating row as relations between the US allies hit a new low. The two countries — both of them democracies and market economies — are mired in long-running disputes over the use of forced labour during World War II. But Tokyo, which made the first move despite US calls for […]

Huawei still number two smartphone seller despite US sanctions

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Huawei remained the number two global smartphone vendor in the past quarter despite tough US sanctions imposed on the Chinese technology giant, market trackers said Wednesday. The Chinese firm managed to boost its sales even as the overall market declined, remaining on the heels of sector leader Samsung and ahead of US-based Apple. According to Strategy Analytics, overall global smartphone sales fell 2.6 percent to 341 million units in […]

Trump tweets threaten to disrupt US-China trade talks

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Chinese and US trade negotiators will bid to bring an end a year-long trade war that has seen both tariffs and insults flung between the world’s two largest economies when they meet for official talks in Shanghai Wednesday. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin arrived in China’s financial capital on Tuesday, and were believed to have joined Chinese officials for dinner and informal discussions. Washington and Beijing […]

Asian markets tempered by US-China doubts

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets were tempered Thursday after two days of gains as doubts emerged over next week’s US-China trade meeting. Reports that Donald Trump’s Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will lead a delegation to China next week to resume trade talks buoyed markets on Wednesday. The meeting would be the first head-to-head since negotiations were cut short in May by Trump’s surprise decision to hit China with more tariffs for what he […]

Huawei unit cuts more than 600 jobs following US sanctions

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Chinese telecom giant Huawei said on Tuesday that more than 600 jobs would be lost at a US unit as a result of “curtailment of business operations” caused by Washington’s sanctions on the firm and 68 of its subsidiaries. The layoffs will come at the Chinese company’s US-based research and development arm, Futurewei Technologies, which is incorporated in Texas, an email statement from Huawei said. Futurewei employs more than 750 people, […]

Asian markets rise as earnings, trade hopes provide cheer

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets rose Tuesday, tracking gains on Wall Street with confidence given a boost by a positive earnings season and speculation top US and Chinese negotiators will hold face-to-face trade talks soon. A bipartisan agreement to raise the US debt ceiling to fund government for another two years — avoiding another painful shutdown — also provided some cheer. The gains across the board come a week before the Federal Reserve […]

Ryanair says closing some bases due to Boeing 737 MAX problems

by Roland JACKSON LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Ryanair said Tuesday it will close some of its bases because of problems with Boeing’s crisis-hit 737 MAX jet, which has been grounded after two fatal accidents. The Irish no-frills airline said in a statement that it expected to take delivery of just 30 Boeing 737 MAX 200 jets by the end of May 2020, instead of the 58 that it originally expected for its summer schedule. […]

Asian markets drift as investors eye start of earnings season

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Most Asian markets fell Tuesday as investors take a breather after a recent rally and as they await the start of the corporate earnings season. Wall Street provided another record-breaking lead as an expected Federal Reserve interest rate cut continues to fuel optimism, while top Chinese and US negotiators plan to hold fresh trade talks over the phone this week. Tokyo led losses as it reopened after a long weekend, […]

Huawei says it plans to invest $3.1 billion in Italy

MILAN, Italy (AFP) — Chinese tech giant Huawei said Monday it plans to invest $3.1 billion (2.75 billion euros) in Italy over three years, as the firm looks to strengthen its foothold in Europe after the US labelled it a major security risk. Huawei — a leader in next-generation 5G wireless technology — is subject to US sanctions over concerns about its ties to the government in Beijing and Washington has urged allies to shun […]