Posts by Liam Redmond
South Korea surpasses UK to become world’s 8th largest stock market
Published Tue, Apr 28, 2026 · 03:07 PM SOUTH KOREA has leapfrogged the UK to become the world’s eighth-biggest stock market, fuelled by a high-octane rally in its artificial intelligence-linked technology champions. The total market capitalisation of South Korean-listed companies has surged more than 45 per cent in 2026 to US$4.04 trillion, while the UK’s…
Read MoreAustralia to charge Big Tech companies 2% levy unless they strike local news deals
Trump opposes digital services taxes on US tech giants and has threatened tariffs on countries that pursue them Published Tue, Apr 28, 2026 · 02:05 PM [SYDNEY] The Australian government said on Tuesday (Apr 28) that Meta, Alphabet’s Google and TikTok could face multimillion-dollar charges if they did not negotiate deals to pay local media…
Read MoreChina’s state refiners seek to resume fuel exports after halt
Published Tue, Apr 28, 2026 · 01:20 PM [BEIJING] China’s state-owned refiners have begun applying for government permits that would allow them to resume fuel exports in May, citing plentiful domestic stockpiles. Top Chinese oil majors, including China Petrochemical and China National Petroleum, have since last week sought a green light to ship petrol and…
Read MoreIndonesia train crash toll rises to 14 as rescuers complete evacuation
Published Tue, Apr 28, 2026 · 12:26 PM [JAKARTA] The death toll from a train collision near the Indonesian capital Jakarta has risen to 14 with another 84 injured, the train operator said on Tuesday, as rescuers completed work to extract survivors still trapped in the wreckage. The collision between a commuter train and a…
Read MoreFirst LNG shipment since war began appears to exit Hormuz
Published Tue, Apr 28, 2026 · 11:19 AM [WASHINGTON/SINGAPORE] The first liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment since the war in the Middle East began two months ago appears to have traversed the Strait of Hormuz to exit the Persian Gulf. The Mubaraz, which loaded a cargo from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (Adnoc) Das Island…
Read MoreChina’s Anta mounts India comeback as bilateral ties improve
The sportswear maker’s return comes as Indian consumers show renewed appetite for Chinese brands Published Tue, Apr 28, 2026 · 09:45 AM [MUMBAI] Anta Sports Products will kick off its India return next month with a store in the New Delhi suburb of Gurugram, the company’s local partner said, as the Chinese sportswear maker takes…
Read MoreNikkei slips from record high ahead of BOJ decision
Published Tue, Apr 28, 2026 · 09:14 AM [TOKYO] Japan’s Nikkei share average on Tuesday slipped from a record high reached in the previous session, as investors awaited the Bank of Japan’s policy response to the oil shock driven by the US-Israeli war against Iran. The Nikkei fell 0.6 per cent to 60,174.75, as of…
Read MoreXi tests China’s reach by blocking Meta deal that’s already done
The country’s regulators have long wielded power far beyond their counterparts in most other countries [BEIJING] China has sought for years to exert influence over business deals beyond its home turf. Still, its decision to press Meta Platforms to unwind a US$2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus marks a step unlike anything it’s tried…
Read MoreMeta seeks to power data centers with energy beamed from space
Meta Platforms Inc. is looking to power artificial intelligence data centers with solar energy collected in space, taking a novel approach to meeting its insatiable demand for electricity. The company said Monday that it clinched a deal for up to 1 gigawatt of space solar energy from Overview Energy, a startup seeking to collect sunlight…
Read MoreSupreme Court wary of barring police from phone searches to find crime suspects
WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court heard arguments Monday on whether the police use of phone tracking data violates the Constitution’s protection against “unreasonable searches.” Most of the justices sounded wary of barring investigators from obtaining precise location history from Google or cellphone providers if it helps find a murderer or a bank robber. “I’m trying…
Read MoreOpenAI CEO Sam Altman apologizes for not alerting police about Canada shooting suspect
OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman apologized to a Canadian community for failing to alert police about a mass shooter’s conversations with its chatbot. Authorities said Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, killed eight people including schoolchildren in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, before taking her own life in February. “I am deeply sorry that we did not alert…
Read MoreCapitaLand Ascendas Reit’s portfolio occupancy dips to 90.5% in Q1; rental reversion slows
Occupancy in Australia falls 1.4 percentage points quarter or quarter; in Singapore, it slips by 0.6 percentage points [SINGAPORE] CapitaLand Ascendas Reit’s (Clar) portfolio occupancy fell to 90.5 per cent from 90.9 per cent in the preceding quarter, said its manager in a business update on Monday (Apr 27). Changes in occupancy were mixed across…
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