Month: March 2024

Why good news for Japan may be bad news for hedge funds

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Japanese business & finance myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. When the Tokyo stock market closed on Wednesday afternoon, the sun was shining, a weekend of cherry blossoms lay in prospect and the once leaden-footed Topix index — the broad benchmark of corporate Japan — had skipped to within inches of its all-time high. Tricky times, in other words, for some of the world’s biggest hedge funds. Good news, especially when fuelled by a fundamental change in the…

Imagine a world free from the oppression of a US-led global order

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If upturned, it would probably end the US ability to single-handedly block the decisions of international organisations, as it did with recent UN Security Council resolutions on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the working of the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement system, paralysed after the US obstructed the appointment of judges to the appellate body, reportedly for 60 consecutive times at WTO meetings. Washington would also find it difficult to call the shots at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. In these two institutions, votes on substantive issues need…

Yellen Warns She’ll Confront China on Its Energy Subsidies

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washington —  U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Wednesday that Chinese subsidies for clean energy industries create unfair competition that “hurts American firms and workers, as well as firms and workers around the world.” Yellen said that during a visit she has scheduled to China, she intends to warn China its national underwriting for energy and other companies is creating oversupply and market distortion, among other problems. “I intend to talk to the Chinese when I visit about overcapacity in some of these industries, and make sure that they understand…

Fate of Byju’s founder rests with Indian court as investors try to oust edtech chief

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Indian business & finance myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Leading tech investors are fighting to remove the founder of Byju’s, the Indian education technology start-up whose valuation has crashed amid allegations of mismanagement and governance failings. The Karnataka High Court is expected to hear a case on Thursday that will help determine whether Byju Raveendran, a former celebrity tutor, will stay in control of the eponymous online education group he founded in 2011. Shareholders, which include Qatar’s…

Understanding Japan’s New Rules on Lethal Weapons Exports

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TOKYO —  Japan’s Cabinet OK’d a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets to other countries on Tuesday, its latest step away from the pacifist principles the country adopted at the end of World War II. The controversial decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in a year-old project to develop a new fighter jet together with Italy and the U.K., but it’s also part of a move to build up Japan’s arms industry and bolster its role in global affairs. For now, Tokyo…

Analysts: Former Taiwan President’s China Trip Could Shed Light on Xi’s Intentions

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WASHINGTON —  Taiwan’s former President Ma Ying-jeou is scheduled to make an 11-day trip to China in early April. The trip will include stops in the southern city of Guangdong, the northwestern province of Shaanxi, and the capital Beijing, where Ma, according to reports, may meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Some experts say that if the meeting happens, not only can Xi use it to send signals to Taiwan and the United States, but it could help Washington learn more about Xi’s intentions toward the island. Earlier this week,…

New US Sanctions Target North Korean Military Finances 

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The United States on Wednesday announced sanctions on six individuals and two entities based in Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates, accusing them of channeling funds to North Korea’s weapons programs. A U.S. Treasury Department statement said the action was taken in coordination with South Korea. It named the six individuals as Yu Pu Ung, Ri Tong Hyok, Han Chol Man, O In Chun, Jong Song Ho and Jon Yon Gun. The entities to be hit with sanctions were Alis LLC, based in Vladivostok, Russia, and UAE-based Pioneer Bencont…

Myanmar Junta Chief Calls for Unity, Says Military Holding Power ‘Temporarily’

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Myanmar’s ruling general said Wednesday the junta was holding power only temporarily with the aim of strengthening democracy, and he called for unity among the people and military to fight armed groups seeking to derail plans to hold an election. Addressing an annual Armed Forces Day parade, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who led a coup in 2021, said his opponents were receiving foreign backing and trying to destroy the country and thwart plans to return Myanmar to democratic rule. “The military, police force and people’s militia are working to…

US Seeks Engagement With North Korea Amid Heightened Tensions 

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washington —  The Biden administration has been making a diplomatic push for talks with North Korea with more explicit public proposals for engagement than at any other time since taking office. “We want dialogue, and there are lots of valuable discussions” that could be had with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK, said Jung Pak, the U.S. senior official for North Korea. Those items for discussion could include sanctions, humanitarian cooperation and confidence-building measures, Pak said at a March 18 event hosted by the Center for Strategic and…

FirstFT: Xi Jinping tells US business leaders that China’s economy has not ‘peaked’

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Global Economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get it sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning Good morning. Xi Jinping met with US chief executives yesterday in Beijing, where he told them that China’s economy had not “peaked” and its growth prospects remained “bright” as the government sought to revive investor confidence. The attendees included about…