Posts by Liam Redmond
Bjak founder weighs IPO as Malaysia insurtech expands abroad
[KUALA LUMPUR] Bjak, Malaysia’s largest online insurance aggregator, is mulling an initial public offering (IPO) within the next two years as it seeks to enter Europe. Bjak is eyeing new markets in Spain and Germany in 2026, following its recent expansion in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, Low Wei, the firm’s founder, said. The firm’s gross…
Read MoreBOJ is set to raise benchmark rates to highest level since 1995
The yen’s weakness has played a vital role in reviving inflation by prompting businesses to pass their higher input costs on to consumers [TOKYO] Governor Kazuo Ueda is widely expected to raise the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) key rate to the highest level in three decades on Friday (Dec 12). The path ahead becomes murkier…
Read More‘Anti-capitalist’ New Year’s Eve LA terror plot suspects lived in upscale California suburbs
Wealth for me — but not for thee! Despite their extremist anti-capitalist ideology, the suspects who were arrested for allegedly plotting a bombing campaign in and around Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve appear to hail from upscale areas. One of the suspects, Tina Lai, 41, lives in a 4-bedroom home in the affluent Los…
Read MorePayPal applies to become a bank as US loosens regulatory reins
The application comes on the heels of a number of cryptocurrency firms gaining preliminary regulatory approval to become banks last week [NEW YORK] PayPal Holdings applied to become a bank in the US, looking to take advantage of the Trump administration’s openness to financial-technology companies entering the banking system. The payments-focused firm submitted applications to…
Read MoreAs AI writes code, Singapore firms hunt for ‘commercially ready’ tech talent
The talent shortage is especially pronounced in specialised and regulated sectors such as finance and cybersecurity [SINGAPORE] Technical proficiency in programming and Web development – once the passport to a lucrative career in Singapore’s technology sector – may no longer be enough. As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) makes it easier to generate code and automate…
Read MoreJetBlue flight averts mid-air collision with US Air Force jet
[WASHINGTON] A JetBlue passenger jet bound for New York took evasive action on Friday to avoid a mid-air collision with a US Air Force tanker plane near Venezuela, a pilot said in an air traffic control recording. JetBlue Flight 1112 had departed the Caribbean nation of Curacao and was flying about 64 km off the…
Read MoreGM strikes deal to put Apple Music in all of its new vehicles
[DETROIT] General Motors (GM) has cut a deal with Apple to bring the Apple Music app into Chevrolet and Cadillac models starting on Monday (Dec 15), when the automaker will send it to vehicle owners with an over-the-air update. Bringing in Apple Music delivers one of the tech company’s most popular apps that GM customers…
Read MoreFord scales back EV ambitions, forecasts US$19.5 billion write-down
The company will focus on a family of smaller, affordable electric vehicles instead FORD on Monday announced a major retreat from large electric vehicles, planning a write-off of about US$19.5 billion over several years as it pivots toward hybrids, gas-powered trucks and a new battery storage business. The Detroit automaker said it will cancel plans…
Read MorePrediction markets will see five-fold growth by 2030: analysts
Sports gambling companies have recently made moves to offer event contracts so they can compete [NEW YORK] Prediction markets companies are likely to see their revenues grow by a factor of five to more than US$10 billion by 2030, according to analysts at Citizens Financial Group. Companies such as Kalshi and Polymarket have recently seen…
Read MoreNasdaq seeks to extend trading hours, as Wall Street gears up for 24/7 move
Trading hours of stocks and exchange-traded products to be expanded from 16 hours to 23 hours, five days a week [NEW YORK] Nasdaq, one of the world’s largest exchanges that is home to tech companies Nvidia, Apple and Amazon, is planning to submit paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday to roll out round-the-clock…
Read MoreHow Rob Reiner shot to fame with ‘All in the Family’ — and then churned out Hollywood hits
Rob Reiner, the director behind some of Hollywood’s most beloved and endlessly rewatchable movies, has died at 78. Reiner’s death closes the book on a prolific career built on movies that stayed with audiences. His films didn’t rely on visual tricks or showy direction – instead, he trusted scripts, actors and stories that let the…
Read MoreUPS buys hundreds of robots to unload trucks in automation push
Unloading trucks and shipping containers at warehouse docks is mostly done by people and remains a key bottleneck in the shipping industry [SEATTLE] United Parcel Service (UPS) will invest US$120 million in 400 robots used to unload trucks, according to sources familiar with the matter, revealing new details on the logistics giant’s US$9 billion automation…
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