Posts by Liam Redmond
Hormuz blockade stirs tension over Malacca strait near Singapore
The Strait of Malacca is also more than five times longer than the Strait of Hormuz, providing ample scope for disruption Published Fri, Apr 17, 2026 · 12:27 PM [SINGAPORE] The Iranian and US blockades of the Strait of Hormuz are reviving anxiety over the fate of Asia’s most crucial strategic bottleneck. The Strait of…
Read MoreLondon metals index at record high on aluminium ‘black hole’ fear
Published Fri, Apr 17, 2026 · 12:05 PM INDUSTRIAL metals jumped to a record high on the London Metal Exchange (LME), driven by gains in aluminium after the Middle East war disrupted supplies, as well as a recent revival in copper. An LME Index, which tracks six major metals, has rallied by almost 12 per…
Read MoreOpenAI to spend more than US$20 billion on Cerebras chips, receive stake: The Information
Published Fri, Apr 17, 2026 · 11:55 AM OPENAI has agreed to pay chip startup Cerebras more than US$20 billion over the next three years to use servers powered by the company’s chips, under a deal that could also give the ChatGPT maker an equity stake in the firm, The Information reported on Thursday, citing…
Read MoreOCBC is said to emerge as lead bidder for HSBC Indonesia assets
The Singaporean bank has a presence in Indonesia with its Jakarta-listed subsidiary Bank OCBC NISP Tbk Published Fri, Apr 17, 2026 · 11:41 AM [HONG KONG/SINGAPORE] OCBC has emerged as the preferred bidder to buy HSBC Holdings’ retail assets in Indonesia, sources familiar with the matter said, as the Singaporean lender seeks to boost its…
Read MoreRobotic legs help elderly Hong Kong fire survivors climb back for belongings
The complex’s apartment towers have 31 floors, making the climb difficult for many elderly former residents Published Fri, Apr 17, 2026 · 11:19 AM [HONG KONG] More than four months after a deadly fire engulfed her apartment block in Hong Kong’s northern Tai Po district, Fanny Mok is preparing to go back to retrieve what…
Read MoreCharles Schwab revenue misses estimates even as client assets climb
The firm has reported a 39% increase in daily average trades in March compared with a year earlier Published Fri, Apr 17, 2026 · 11:01 AM [NEW YORK] Charles Schwab reported first-quarter revenue that slightly missed estimates even as the brokerage continued to attract the wealth of retail investors amid geopolitical uncertainty. First-quarter net revenue…
Read MoreAustralian shares fall as doubts over US-Iran deal persist; banks, miners drag
Published Fri, Apr 17, 2026 · 10:47 AM AUSTRALIAN shares slipped on Friday, dragged by miners and banks, while domestic fuel supply concerns and doubts over whether upcoming US-Iran peace talks would help ease disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz weighed on risk sentiment. The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.5 per cent at 8,914.30…
Read MoreAllbirds sinks as 582% AI surge comes to screeching halt
Published Fri, Apr 17, 2026 · 10:39 AM [CHICAGO] Allbirds’ surprising pivot from wool sneakers to artificial intelligence infrastructure is looking more like a flash in the pan for the stock than a driver of long-term gains. Shares of the company, which said that it plans to rebrand itself as NewBird AI, sank 36 per…
Read MoreStellantis invests 100 million euros to keep site near Paris open
Published Fri, Apr 17, 2026 · 10:15 AM [PARIS] Stellantis plans to invest 100 million euros (S$150 million) to transform its Poissy car-assembly plant near Paris, an initiative to keep the site open as the maker of Peugeots and Citroens scales back its European manufacturing operations. Stellantis, which currently produces the Opel Mokka and DS…
Read MoreAustralia rules out fuel restrictions after fire at its largest refinery
Published Fri, Apr 17, 2026 · 10:00 AM [SYDNEY] Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday a fire at the larger of the country’s two oil refineries would not trigger any fuel restrictions, as the government ramps up efforts to secure fuel supplies due to the war on Iran. The blaze at Viva Energy’s refinery in…
Read MoreChina fund beating 98% of peers bets on AI chain, healthcare
Chinese AI firms’ worldwide recognition has extended far beyond the big tech names Published Fri, Apr 17, 2026 · 09:46 AM A TOP-PERFORMING China Asset Management fund manager says the country’s artificial intelligence stocks are far from bubble territory and is bullish on opportunities across the value chain. Companies such as Tencent Holdings and Alibaba…
Read MoreHonda to shut two plants in China jointly owned with GAC, Dongfeng, magazine says
Published Fri, Apr 17, 2026 · 09:34 AM [TOKYO] Honda Motor will shut two internal combustion engine car plants in China and slash annual production capacity in the country to 720,000 vehicles, Japanese magazine Toyo Keizai reported on Friday. Japan’s second-biggest automaker will shut a plant jointly operated with Guangzhou Automobile Group in June and…
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