Author: Reuters

Singapore leader in waiting seen

SINGAPORE: Mild-mannered, studious and seen as “cut from the same cloth” as his predecessors, Singapore Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat will face the daunting task of reshaping a struggling economy if, as expected, he becomes the wealthy city-state’s next leader. Singapore started its countdown to the next general election on

‘Palm-oil-free’ items removed by Mydin

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s biggest supermarket chain Mydin has removed products labelled palm-oil-free from its stores, its top executive said yesterday, as part of a campaign by the world’s second-largest producer of the oil to protect the commodity’s image at home and abroad. The $60 billion world palm oil trade has

US factory activity shrinks

WASHINGTON: US manufacturing activity contracted for the first time in three years in August, with new orders and hiring declining sharply as trade tensions weighed on business confidence, raising financial market fears of a recession. Concerns about the economy, which is in its longest expansion ever, were also exacerbated by

Australia’s economy hits decade low

SYDNEY: Australia’s much-vaunted economy grew at its slowest pace in a decade last quarter as cash-strapped consumers went on strike, an urgent argument for more monetary and fiscal stimulus as headwinds mount globally. Gross domestic product (GDP) rose just 1.4 percent in the June quarter from a year earlier, data

Japanese automakers’ sales fall in South Korea

SEOUL: Japanese automakers posted sharper sales falls in South Korea in August, industry data showed yesterday, hit by a consumer boycott of Japanese vehicles amid a worsening diplomatic row between the countries. Toyota Motor Corp and other Japanese carmakers saw South Korean sales tumble 57 percent to 1,398 vehicles in

Argentine inflation forecasts jump on political uncertainty

BUENOS AIRES: Argentine economists sharply hiked 2019 inflation forecasts and cut their gross domestic product outlook for the year, according to a central bank poll released on Tuesday, following a wave of political uncertainty that beat the local peso down 26 percent in August. The survey came two days after

Marvel superheroes power up Lego’s sales

COPENHAGEN: Models of superheroes and villains from Marvel’s ‘Avengers’ movies helped lift first-half sales at Lego, as the Danish toymaker continued its turnaround drive with investments in China, India, the internet and new stores. Lego, famous for its colourful plastic bricks, returned to sales growth last year after a decade

Indonesia eyes VAT for tech firms

JAKARTA: Indonesia is preparing a bill that will make tech firms such as Alphabet Inc’s Google and Amazon pay value added tax (VAT), Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said. Such companies will be considered a “permanent establishment” liable for VAT in Indonesia regardless of whether they have a physical office

China lodges case at WTO over US tariffs

HONG KONG/GENEVA: China has lodged a complaint against the United States at the World Trade Organisation over US import duties, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Monday. The United States began imposing 15 percent tariffs on a variety of Chinese goods on Sunday and China began imposing new duties on

Revived Uganda Airlines flies into crowded African skies

NAIROBI: Uganda Airlines has taken to the skies once more after almost two decades out of action, but flies into a crowded aviation market in Africa where carriers have the weakest finances and emptiest planes of any region in the world. The state carrier launched commercial flights last Wednesday, its