Business

Cathay Pacific shares plunge after China warning on protests

  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Shares in Hong Kong’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific plunged more than four percent on Monday, after Beijing banned airline staff supporting Hong Kong protesters from flights going through the mainland. Cathay shares lost 4.37 percent to HK$9.85 by the break in Hong Kong, with the carrier’s parent company Swire Pacific Ltd. plunging 5.26 percent to HK$77.50. The nosedive comes as the airline is caught up in pro-democracy protests that […]

Huawei unveils own operating system to compete with Android

DONGGUAN, China (AFP) — Chinese telecom giant Huawei unveiled its own operating system on Friday, as it faces the threat of losing access to Android systems amid escalating US-China trade tensions. Richard Yu, the head of Huawei’s consumer business, told a press conference in the southern city of Dongguan that the new system, called HarmonyOS or HongMeng in Chinese, would “bring more harmony and convenience to the world”. The highly-anticipated software is considered crucial for the […]

Asia markets climb, tracking Wall Street gains

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets largely rallied Friday, tracking a rebound on Wall Street, as investors attempted to shrug off lingering US-China trade war fears. Positive data out of Japan helped drive the Nikkei index up by 0.7 percent, after figures showed the world’s third-biggest economy was growing faster than analysts had predicted. The stronger-than-expected data showed Japan’s gross domestic product grew 0.4 percent from the previous quarter on robust consumer demand, beating […]

Samsung unveils premium-priced Galaxy Note 10

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Samsung on Wednesday unveiled a new-generation Galaxy Note large-screen handset starting at $950 and said it will work closer with Microsoft so that services function better across its array of devices. The Note 10 “phablet” which is set for release on August 23, comes in two sizes, with the larger beginning at $1,100. The price puts the model at the premium end of a cooling global smartphone market. The […]

British ministers in US to ‘fast-track’ post-Brexit trade deal

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Britain was seeking to fast-track a crucial post-Brexit trade deal with the United States on Wednesday after new Prime Minister Boris Johnson dispatched his top diplomat and foreign trade minister to Washington. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was due to hold talks with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo at the State Department while the International Trade Secretary Liz Truss has lined up meetings with top American trade officials. With Johnson […]

Asia markets extend losses despite Wall Street gains

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets largely extended their losses on Wednesday despite Wall Street registering strong gains as investors remained on edge over escalating US-China trade tensions. Asia’s losses came despite a gain of more than one percent for US indices as Wall Street recovered from a multi-session losing streak that saw the Dow hit its lowest level this year. Equities had tumbled Monday after Beijing allowed the yuan to slide sharply against […]

Asia markets down on US-China trade war fears

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets largely fell Tuesday, but pared back heavy losses following a rout on Wall Street 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 Washington to formally designate Beijing as a currency manipulator. Tensions have escalated since US President Donald Trump last week announced fresh […]

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 […]