Author: Media Library

Japanese stocks sell off as BoJ unveils plan to unwind $250bn of ETFs

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Japanese stocks sold off as the Bank of Japan unveiled plans to start selling its $250bn cache of exchange traded funds, an unwinding that governor Kazuo Ueda said would take a century. The planned ETF sale was announced alongside the BoJ’s decision to keep interest rates on hold. But the central bank’s vote on rates revealed an emerging split within its policy committee over the ideal pace of monetary policy…

South China Sea disputes ‘no business’ of India, former navy commander says

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A former Indian Navy commander has said India had “no business” getting involved in disputes in the South China Sea, but stressed the need for it to boost its defences in case of a conflict in Asia. Advertisement Shekhar Sinha, a retired vice-admiral, said that even as China grew more “aggressive” towards smaller claimant states of the contested waterway, India did not have much of a role to play. “India has got economic interests in the South China Sea. If its economic interests are being hurt, our navy will go,”…

China cancels idol’s concerts over past drug arrest, but says it’s not enough

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Several planned concerts in China by Hong Kong Cantopop idol William So Wing-hong have been cancelled following a public backlash over his past drug involvement, reigniting debate around whether artists convicted of drug offences are allowed to re-enter the spotlight. Advertisement The incident has drawn strong criticism from the Communist Party mouthpiece, People’s Daily, which argued that cancelling the concerts alone was not sufficient and called for legal accountability from those responsible for approving the event. “The authority and values of the relevant departments are heavily questioned, and public trust…

China issues warning to Papua New Guinea over defence deal with Australia

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China has urged Papua New Guinea not to sign a treaty that could restrict or prevent it from cooperating with another country, days after Australia failed to secure a defence pact with the Pacific nation. In a statement on Facebook late on Thursday, the Chinese embassy in Papua New Guinea said it respected the country’s “right to conclude a bilateral treaty with other countries on a voluntary basis”. “However, such a treaty should not be exclusive in nature, nor should it restrict or prevents a sovereign country from cooperating with…

Zijin Gold launches second-biggest Hong Kong IPO of the year

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Zijin Gold International, a wholly owned unit of China’s Zijin Mining, aims to raise HK$24.98 billion (US$3.21 billion) in an initial public offering (IPO) that would be Hong Kong’s second largest this year. Advertisement Zijin Gold launched the sale of 349 million shares at an offer price of HK$71.59 per share on Friday, with the offering running until noon on Wednesday, according to its prospectus released on Friday. The deal would be second only to the US$5.24 billion May IPO of Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world’s largest maker of battery…

Japanese stocks sell off after BoJ reveals split over interest rates

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Japanese stocks sold off and the yen strengthened after the Bank of Japan unveiled long-awaited plans to start selling $250bn of exchange traded funds and revealed a divide over its decision not to raise interest rates. The BoJ’s decision came against a backdrop of deep political uncertainty in Japan, as the ruling Liberal Democratic party prepares for an emergency leadership vote that will determine the country’s next prime minister. In…

Oil market brushes off predictions of supply glut

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Predictions that the world will soon be awash with oil are failing to dent crude prices, with some analysts saying China’s quiet stockpiling of reserves is staving off a major market downturn. Big banks, energy agencies and analysts are almost universally forecasting that excess supply could push global crude prices towards $50 a barrel or lower next year. But Brent crude, the international benchmark, is still trading at about $67 a barrel, little changed on where it was in late June, while futures markets are not pointing to a coming…

Available for free: China releases global data for prime fishing grounds

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Chinese scientists have developed a detection algorithm for special oceanic features that serve as biodiversity hotspots, offering a possible breakthrough to help fishermen and researchers find prime fishing grounds. Advertisement The team’s dataset and detection algorithm on global ocean fronts – boundaries at which two distinct bodies of water meet – could have broad applications in oceanography, ecology and fisheries research. “This study provides the first publicly available global ocean front dataset covering the past 42 years,” the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Earth System…

Trump says Afghanistan’s Bagram air base should be returned to US

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Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world Donald Trump has said he wants Bagram air base in Afghanistan to be returned to US control, in a move that would restore American involvement in the country it withdrew from four years ago. Flanked by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the US president made his most high-profile pitch yet for a plan he had floated before but appears to be increasingly at the front of his…

How deadly is CJ-1000, world’s first hypersonic plane killer? PLA gives hint

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Advertisement The trucks were hauling surface-launched hypersonic cruise missiles also known as Long Sword-1000s – weapons designed for ultra-long-range strikes on “system-node targets on the ground, at sea or in the air”, according to Chinese state media. China has not officially disclosed the detailed specifications of the CJ-1000. Though a new weapon must pass many rounds of field tests before entering service, no test results have yet been published by the authorities. However, if the parade description is confirmed, the weapon could be the first hypersonic plane-killing missile that would…