Classifieds
Seoul authorities find toxic substances in Shein and Temu products
Seoul — Women’s accessories sold by some of the world’s most popular online shopping firms contained toxic substances sometimes hundreds of times above acceptable levels, authorities in Seoul said Wednesday. Chinese giants including Shein, Temu and AliExpress have skyrocketed in global …
Myanmar fighting blocks key trade route with China, impacting economy
Bangkok — Ethnic and resistance forces in Myanmar have completely blocked a key trade route to China, halting cross-border commerce and further damaging Myanmar’s already struggling economy. The Mandalay-Lashio-Muse Road is considered the most strategically important road in the country’s northern …
Powell may use Jackson Hole speech to hint at how fast and how far the Fed could cut rates
Washington — Federal Reserve officials have said they’re increasingly confident that they’ve nearly tamed inflation. Now, it’s the health of the job market that’s starting to draw their concern. With inflation cooling toward its 2% target, the pace of hiring slowing …
India port workers to go on strike to demand better wages, benefits
CHENNAI — A group of Indian port workers’ unions has called for a strike from Aug. 28 to demand immediate settlement of pay revisions and pension benefits, according to a note signed by its members. A strike by India’s port workers …
Fed’s pandemic-era vow to prioritize employment may soon be tested
Washington — Four years after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made fighting unemployment a bigger priority during the COVID-19 pandemic, he faces a pivotal test of that commitment amid rising joblessness, mounting evidence inflation is under control, and a benchmark interest …
Wall Street week ahead — ‘Soft landing’ hopes are back to lift US stocks after recession scare
NEW YORK — Hopes for an economic soft landing are once again powering U.S. stocks higher, as encouraging data relieve recession worries following a brutal sell-off earlier this month. The S&P 500 .SPX has rebounded more than 6% since Aug. 5, …
Harris to roll out populist proposals in first economic speech
WASHINGTON — Kamala Harris is set to unveil plans for a federal ban on food and grocery “price gouging” and assistance of up to $25,000 in down payment support for first-time homeowners – populist proposals the vice president has embraced since …
Growing number of Chinese now call Japan home
Washington — Sun Lijun, a 42-year-old semiconductor engineer, says worries about the quality of air and living, childhood education and the overall economic trajectory in China are some of the reasons he and his wife first started talking about moving to …
International Youth Day puts South Asia’s skills gap in sharp focus
Washington — South Asia’s youth bulge is a ticking time bomb. A demographic dividend looms, but millions of young people lack the job skills to cash in, choking the region’s economic potential. Almost half of South Asia’s population of 1.9 billion …
Americans’ refusal to keep paying higher prices may be dealing a final blow to US inflation spike
Washington — The great inflation spike of the past three years is nearly spent — and economists credit American consumers for helping slay it. Some of America’s largest companies, from Amazon to Disney to Yum Brands, say their customers are increasingly …
Global youth unemployment falls to 15-year low, but post-COVID recovery uneven
Geneva — Global youth unemployment rates fell to 13% in 2023, a 15-year low. But a new study by the International Labor Organization warns the post-COVID economic recovery is uneven, with some regions seeing an increase in the number of out-of-work …
Wall St Week Ahead — Rollercoaster week in US stocks leaves investors braced for bumps ahead
New York — A week of wild market swings has investors looking ahead to inflation data, corporate earnings and presidential polls for signals that could soothe a recent outbreak of turbulence in U.S. stocks. Following months of placid trading, U.S. stock …
Chinese tax collectors descend on companies as budget crunches loom
BEIJING — Chinese authorities are chasing unpaid taxes from companies and individuals dating back decades, as the government moves to plug massive budget shortfalls and address a mounting debt crisis. More than a dozen listed Chinese companies say they were slapped …
US stock markets rally; S&P 500 sees best day since 2022
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks rallied Thursday in Wall Street’s latest sharp swerve after a better-than-expected report on unemployment eased worries about a slowing economy. The S&P 500 jumped 2.3% for its best day since 2022 and shaved off all but …
Wall Street rallies to bounce back from its worst day in nearly 2 years, as Japanese stocks soar
New York — U.S. stocks are bouncing back, and calm is returning to Wall Street after Japan’s market soared earlier Tuesday to claw back much of the losses from its worst day since 1987. The S&P 500 was rallying by 1.6% …
Japan’s Nikkei 225 soars 10% and other world markets are mixed after the week’s rollercoaster start
Bangkok — Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index soared more than 10% on Tuesday, rebounding after a rollercoaster start to the week that sent markets tumbling in Europe and on Wall Street. European markets were mostly lower, with Germany’s DAX down 0.4% …
Official: Iran smuggles ‘5 to 6 million liters’ of oil into Pakistan daily
Islamabad — Pakistan’s military revealed Monday that millions of liters of Iranian oil are being smuggled into the country each day, but rejected long-standing allegations that it is also playing a role in the illegal trade. Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, …