Posts by Liam Redmond
Trump’s quest for more sway over Fed faces fresh hurdles
If the US Senate does not confirm Jerome Powell’s successor by May 15, the Fed chair said he will continue on as “chair pro tempore” Published Thu, Apr 16, 2026 · 01:22 PM AFTER years of criticising the Federal Reserve’s leadership and trying to browbeat policymakers to slash interest rates, President Donald Trump is running…
Read MoreThailand rushes to secure oil, fertiliser as Strait of Hormuz remains shut
Despite talk of a US-Iran ceasefire extension, policymakers are still on high alert in South-east Asia Published Thu, Apr 16, 2026 · 01:09 PM [BANGKOK] Thailand is racing to secure new shipments of oil and fertiliser as an intensifying stand-off over the Strait of Hormuz drains its reserves. The country’s Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow travelled…
Read MoreUS House to weigh penalties on AI model copying by Chinese firms
Known as the Deterring American AI Model Theft Act, the bill is set to be considered by the House Foreign Affairs Committee next week Published Thu, Apr 16, 2026 · 12:47 PM [WASHINGTON] House Republicans are calling for US sanctions against Chinese entities that improperly extract results from leading US artificial intelligence models to develop…
Read MoreChina’s US$51 trillion savings help bonds to outperform during war
Published Thu, Apr 16, 2026 · 12:30 PM [BEIJING] China’s US$51 trillion savings glut has fuelled demand for its debt, entrenching its role as a haven as the Iran war drives global volatility. A basket of yuan-denominated high-grade debt, spanning government and corporate bonds, has been the best performer among all major Bloomberg fixed-income aggregate…
Read MoreSIA’s dividend capacity will be curtailed if it injects more than expected fund into Air India, says analyst
The Indian airline racks up a wider-than-expected annual loss of more than 220 billion rupees (S$3 billion) for FY2026 [SINGAPORE] Should Singapore Airlines (SIA) inject capital that is more than expected into its associate company Air India, the move could begin to constrain its dividend capacity, DBS Group Research said in a report published on…
Read MoreVietnam rushes biofuel rollout as Iran war prompts energy pivot
Published Thu, Apr 16, 2026 · 11:29 AM VIETNAM has moved up its timeline for the mandatory use of biofuel despite concerns over supply levels, quality and cost, as it seeks to strengthen energy security while the Middle East conflict drags on. A nationwide rollout of E10, a mix of 10 per cent ethanol and…
Read MoreSBS Transit shares rally past S$4 on bumper dividend, stronger cash flow visibility
Analysts say the expected total dividend of nearly S$0.50 per share implies a 14.4% yield [SINGAPORE] Shares of public transport operator SBS Transit have surged past the S$4 mark for the first time since 2019, trading strongly on the back of an outsized dividend payout and growing investor appetite for stable, yield-generating stocks. On Thursday…
Read MoreMalaysia plans to use tycoon Aminul Islam’s new migrant worker system
Bestinet already operates a software system called the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System, or FWCMS Published Thu, Apr 16, 2026 · 11:08 AM [KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia is planning to adopt a new foreign worker recruitment system developed by Bestinet, the company founded by labour tycoon Aminul Islam, according to six sources familiar with the matter.…
Read MoreKeppel wins centralised cooling system contract for 9 BTO Tengah projects
The 20-year contract will allow 10,000 households there to engage the firm for chilled water to cool their homes [SINGAPORE] The Housing & Development Board (HDB) said on Thursday (Apr 16) that it has awarded Keppel a contract to design, install and operate centralised cooling systems (CCS) – or residential cooling systems – at nine…
Read MoreWealthy Asians chasing returns pour US$25 billion into AI startups
For Asia’s elite, the allure of generational tech gains is outweighing the risks of a potential bubble Published Thu, Apr 16, 2026 · 10:08 AM ASIA’S wealthiest investors are flooding the artificial intelligence sector with billions in private capital, undeterred by intensifying scrutiny over sky-high valuations in the US. High-net-worth individuals and family offices across…
Read MoreOlam shares rise 8% following regulatory approval to divest partial stake of agribusiness unit
This is the first of two tranches in company’s planned disposal of its remaining interest in Olam Agri to Saudi fund [SINGAPORE] Shares of Olam Group rose more than 8 per cent on Thursday (Apr 16) morning, after it secured regulatory approval to sell 44.58 per cent of its agribusiness unit – Olam Agri –…
Read MoreS&P Global downgrades ASX after Australian regulator finds governance, risk failures
Published Thu, Apr 16, 2026 · 09:37 AM S&P Global Ratings on Thursday lowered its issuer credit rating for the Australian Securities Exchange to “A+/A-1” from “AA-/A-1+”, two weeks after a local regulator flagged governance and risk management failures at the stock exchange operator. The downgrade underlines ASX’s slide into a string of high-profile missteps,…
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