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☆ Hong Kong's international dragon boat races return after 4-year hiatus
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Participants splash water during a ceremony in between races during Tung Ng or Dragon Boat Festival at Aberdeen fishing port in Hong Kong, China June 22, 2023. The two-day event, organised by Hong Kong's tourism board and the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association, drew more than 4,000 paddlers from 160 teams including from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and internationally, its tourism body said. Can't think of a better way to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival than with my team and the rest of Hong Kong and Asia," said Shirleen Ho, 41, a member of the Australian National Dragon boat team. While dragon boat originated in China's southern Lingnan region more than 1,000 years, the modern version began in Hong Kong, a special Chinese administrative region, around 40 years ago. The competition is one of many events the Hong Kong government is holding to boost tourism and reinvigorate its economy after sealing its borders for more than two years.

Persons: Tung Ng, Tyrone Siu, Shirleen Ho, Joyce Zhou, Farah Master, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association, Australian National, Hong, Thomson Locations: Aberdeen, Hong Kong, China, Tyrone Siu HONG KONG, Hong, Hong Kong China, Taiwan, Asia, China's, Lingnan, Victoria, British

Most economists expect another modest 10 bps LPR cut in the second half - on top of a 25 bps cut in banks' requirement ratio (RRR). The PROC last cut the RRR - the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves -- in March, by 25 bps. Each 5 basis points LPR cut could reduce pre-tax profits of major banks by as much as 1.8%, China Merchants Securities said in a report. "A small rate cut is a useful painkiller for symptoms but cannot alleviate the real problem," said Gary Ng, Asia Pacific senior economist of Natixis. On Friday, China's cabinet discussed policy measures to support the economy.

Persons: COVID, NIM, Wang Yifeng, Wang, Gary Ng, China's, Zhang Ming, Zhang, Morgan Stanley, Kevin Yao, Ziyi Tang, Kripa Jayaram, Sumeet Chatterjee Organizations: People's Bank of China, Reuters, Everbright Securities, China Merchants Securities, Asia Pacific, stoke, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Thomson Locations: China, BEIJING, Beijing, Asia

☆ Philippine central bank on hold for rest of year, cut in early 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Veronica Dudei Maia Khongwir | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

All 24 economists polled June 13-19 forecast the BSP will hold its benchmark overnight borrowing rate (PHCBIR=ECI) at 6.25% at its policy meeting on June 22. A strong majority of respondents, 14 of 17, forecast rates will stay at 6.25% for the rest of the year with the remaining three predicting a rate cut by end-2023. The central bank, which had previously closely followed the U.S. Federal Reserve in hiking interest rates, is now charting a distinct course. "In later meetings if the Fed hikes, the BSP is likely to stay on hold. The Fed kept interest rates unchanged at 5.00%-5.25% last week but signaled it may still hike by as much as half of a percentage point by end-2023.

Persons: Eloisa Lopez, Felipe Medalla, Francisco Dakila Jr, Shreya, Veronica Dudei Maia Khongwir, Anant Chandak, Madhumita Gokhale, Hari Kishan, Ross Finley, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, ng Pilipinas, U.S . Federal Reserve, Fed, Barclays, BSP, Thomson Locations: Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines, BENGALURU, Philippine

☆ SVB Customers Who Lost Their Deposits Remain on the Hook for Loans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Frances Yoon | Serena Ng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/svb-customers-who-lost-their-deposits-remain-on-the-hook-for-loans-5df7963b

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Ticketmaster issued more than 1 million queue numbers for Coldplay's Singapore concert. Rumbles of fury at the platform are rolling through Twitter as people say they got frozen out of purchases.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Amanda Goh | Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ticketmaster issued more than 1 million virtual queue numbers for Coldplay's "Music of the Spheres" concert in Singapore. This is not the first time Ticketmaster has fumbled the ticketing experience for a big concert. Pre-sales for the concert started on Monday at 10 a.m. SGT, per a tweet from the concert organizer, Live Nation Singapore. About 1 million virtual Ticketmaster queue numbers were issued in total, local newspaper The Straits Times reported. Coldplay and Ticketmaster Singapore did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.

Persons: — bev ng, Taylor, Swift stans, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez Organizations: Ticketmaster, Twitter, Morning, Coldplay, National, of Singapore, Live Nation, The Straits Times, Nation Singapore, New York Rep, Eurovision, BTS Army, Ticketmaster Singapore Locations: Singapore, Live Nation Singapore, Alexandria

June 19 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. Looking ahead and beyond China, investors have two other Asian monetary policy decisions this week to digest - Indonesia's Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Philippines Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Thursday. Both are likely to leave policy unchanged, with BI maintaining its benchmark lending rate at 5.75% and the BSP keeping its key policy rate at 6.25%. The broader market tone across Asia on Monday could be one of caution, with investors tempted to take some profits from the recent rally. The annual core CPI rate is expected to ease to 3.1% from 3.4% in April.

Persons: Jamie McGeever, Antony Blinken's, Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang, Antony Blinken, Leslie Adler Organizations: People's Bank of, Indonesia's Bank Indonesia, Sentral ng Pilipinas, BI, BSP, Bank of Japan, Bank of Korea, Thomson, Reuters Locations: U.S, People's Bank of China, Beijing, American, China, Philippines, Asia, Japan, Hong Kong

☆ We'll continue to spend 5% to 6% of GDP on infrastructure, says Philippine secretary of finance
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWe'll continue to spend 5% to 6% of GDP on infrastructure, says Philippine secretary of financeBenjamin Diokno, Philippine secretary of finance and former governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, discusses the areas of the economy that the country plans to develop, such as tourism, infrastructure and electric vehicles.

Persons: Benjamin Diokno Organizations: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Locations: Philippine, Bangko

It was by a young Chinese pitch invader, eager to meet his hero, the seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or. Videos that have gone viral on Chinese social media show the young fan leaping from the stands before sprinting toward the Argentine striker – who like him was wearing the number 10 jersey – and giving him a hug. A Chinese fan runs onto the pitch to hug soccer superstar Lionel Messi during a friendly match between Argentina and Australia at the Worker's Stadium in Beijing on June 15. Ng Han Guan/APWith the crowd cheering three security guards then give chase, the first of them falling over as the young fan evades his grasp. On Chinese social media, many users – football fans or otherwise – celebrated the young fan’s sprint across the grass pitch as a liberating moment.

Persons: Lionel Messi –, –, Messi, Lionel Messi, Ng Han Guan, Emiliano Martinez, ”, Thomas Peter, ” “ Messi, I’m, flailing, “ Organizations: Beijing CNN, Australia, Argentine, Workers, Global Times, Messi, Reuters, FIFA, De Football Association, Indonesia Locations: Beijing, Argentina, Australia, China, Jakarta

☆ Investors shut out of traditional funding rounds are scouring secondary markets to snap up shares in buzzy AI startups like Dataminr, Hugging Face, and Anthropic
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Leena Rao | Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

As the AI craze continues, investors are eager to buy shares of these startups on secondary markets. AI startup shares have been the top in demand sector every month this year, according to EquityZen. It seems that every week there's a new hot AI startup that's raising a big round. ForgeGlobal, a marketplace for secondary transactions of startup shares, is seeing similar excitement from investors in AI startups. Sequoia, General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz and many others have been aggressively investing in AI startups.

Persons: Phil Haslett, Haslett, Avlok Kohli, Howe Ng, Ng, Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz, Javier Avelos, OpenAI, Anthropic, Avelos Organizations: sixfold, SamBaNova Systems, Microsoft, Google Locations: secondaries, Sequoia, Caplight

☆ China's biggest state banks cut deposit rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, June 8 (Reuters) - China's biggest banks on Thursday said they have lowered interest rates on yuan deposits, in actions that could ease pressure on profit margins and reduce lending costs, providing some relief for the financial sector and wider economy. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (601398.SS), Agricultural Bank of China Ltd (601288.SS), Bank of China Ltd (601988.SS) and China Construction Bank Corp (601939.SS) all cut their rates from Thursday, websites from each bank showed. The state-backed banks cut rates on demand deposits by 5 basis points and three-year and five-year time deposits by 15 basis points. China cut the RRR in March but has kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged this year, as widening yield differentials with the United States limited the scope for substantial monetary easing. Major state banks' net interest margins have shrunk following pressure to lower borrowing cost for individuals and businesses to stimulate the economy, and as credit demand remains subdued.

Persons: Gary Ng, Ng, Christopher Cushing, Sam Holmes Organizations: Industrial, Commercial Bank of China Ltd, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, Bank of China Ltd, China Construction Bank Corp, Asia Pacific, United, People's Bank of China, CSI Banks, Beijing, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Asia, United States

☆ 'A revolutionary product': Here's what Wall Street is saying about Apple's new Vision Pro headset device that costs $3,499
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Apple announced the Vision Pro, a $3,499 mixed-reality headset that will be released in early 2024. Wall Street is reacting to the device, with one analyst expecting more than 1 million units sold in its first year. The $3,499 Vision Pro headset offers both augmented- and virtual-reality capabilities, hand-based gesture controls, and advanced eye tracking. Those ranges imply that the Vision Pro will generate between $525 million and $5.2 billion in revenue next year. Rating: Neutral — Price Target: $190"The price tag of $3,499 was higher than the $3K broadly speculated.

Persons: —, Wedbush, Dan Ives, America's Wasmi Mohan, Price, Samik Chatterjee, Goldman Sachs, We're, Michael Ng Organizations: Apple, Vision, Apple Watch, Service, Bank of America, Wall, Meta, Bank, America's, JPMorgan Locations: Cupertino

☆ Here's what analysts are saying about Apple's new Vision Pro headset
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The tech giant on Monday unveiled its Vision Pro mixed reality headset, which will retail for $3,499. Davidson downgraded Apple stock to neutral , insisting that any positive bump from the Vision Pro announcement was already priced into the stock's current trading levels. that if Apple's Vision Pro could achieve a ~25% ship share this would leave us to est. He raised his price target to $210 from $185, implying upside of about 17% from Monday's close. To be sure, he maintained Apple as a top pick and with a price target of $190.

Persons: Apple's, D.A, Davidson, Wells, Aaron Rakers, Rakers, Goldman Sachs, restating, Michael Ng, Samik Chatterjee, Chatterjee, Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi, Sacconaghi, Morgan Stanley's Erik Woodring, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Apple, Apple's, JPMorgan Locations: Wall, Monday's

☆ Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck that Kira Learning, a startup that provides AI-powered software to help teach computer science to K-12 students, raise $15 million from investors like NEA
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Edtech startup Kira Learning uses AI-powered software to help K-12 students learn computer science. The idea was to help students become familiar with computer science before they get into college. Teachers in these schools had never taught computer science before, and many were new to learning coding skills themselves. The partnership will make Kira Learning's computer science courses available to all public middle and high schools in the state, at no cost to schools, Pasinetti said. Check out the 16-slide pitch deck that Kira Learning used to raise $15 million in Series A funding from NEA and the AI Fund:

Persons: Andrea Pasinetti, Andrew Ng, Pasinetti, Ng, Kira, Jagriti Agrawal, Kira Learning's, Kira Learning Organizations: Stanford University, Stanford, NASA, NEA, AI, AI Fund, Innovation Network Locations: Tennessee

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE, June 2 (Reuters) - China's yuan has skidded to six-month lows against the dollar and analysts say it could weaken further as investors fret over a bumpy pandemic recovery in the world's second-largest economy. "The yuan suffers as China's reopening story is less appealing than before, and there is no sign of further stimulus," said Gary Ng, senior economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis. "A weaker currency at the current juncture can help export performance, especially as global trade is shrinking this year." "A weaker yuan helps exporters when they convert the dollar receivables to yuan," said Barclays' FX strategist Lemon Zhang. A weaker yuan might also temper deflationary pressures being seen in parts of the economy due to weak domestic demand.

Persons: Gary Ng, Alvin Tan, Tan, Tommy Wu, Lemon Zhang, Serena Zhou, Winni Zhou, Brenda Goh, Tom Westbrook, Kim Coghill Organizations: Asia Pacific, Reuters, People's Bank of China, Asia FX, RBC Capital Markets, Barclays, FX, Mizuho Securities, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, SINGAPORE, United States, Natixis, Asia, China, Shanghai, Singapore

☆ Rectal Cancer Patients Could Be Spared the Brutal Effects of Radiation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Gina Kolata | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

That was why researchers took another look at the standard treatment for rectal cancer. But the radiation puts women into immediate menopause and damages sexual function in men and women. Yet radiation treatment, the study found, did not improve outcomes. For colon and rectal cancer specialists, the results can transform their patients’ lives, said Dr. Kimmie Ng, a co-director of the colon and rectal cancer center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who was not an author of the study. “Now, especially, with patients skewing younger and younger, do they actually need radiation?” she asked.

Persons: Kimmie Ng, Dana, Dr, John Plastaras Organizations: Farber Cancer Institute, Penn Medicine Abramson Cancer Center

☆ Southeast Asian defence pact helps 'balance' region, members say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Chen Lin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE, June 3 (Reuters) - Top officials from Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Britain said on Saturday that their 52-year-old Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) pact helped keep things in balance amid regional tensions. "The longstanding FPDA... always been an important part of ensuring signalling collective defence in this region," New Zealand defence minister Andrew Little said at a media briefing on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. As the tensions between the United States and China persist, the longstanding relationships among smaller nations are "what keep things in balance", Little said. "I'm comfortable continuing to keep things in balance as different countries including the major powers work out how the relationships are working," he added. Singaporean Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, Malaysian Defence Minister Seri Mohamad Hasan, Little, and British defence minister Ben Wallace discussed the importance of the FPDA as a constructive and peaceful arrangement.

Persons: Andrew Little, Little, Ng Eng, Richard Marles, Seri Mohamad Hasan, Ben Wallace, Marles, Anthony Albanese, Lloyd Austin, Chen Lin, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Singaporean, Defence, Malaysian Defence, Australian, U.S . Defense, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Zealand, United States, China, Asia

☆ Asia security summit kicks off amid US-China tensions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Joe Brock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Shangri-La Dialogue, which attracts senior military officers, diplomats, weapons makers and security analysts from around the globe, is taking place June 2-4 in Singapore. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will deliver the keynote address on Friday evening, before U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and China's new Defence Minister Li Shangfu are expected to trade barbs in speeches over the weekend. Li, who was named China's new defence minister in March, was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018 over weapons purchases from Russia. The United States is Australia's biggest security ally, and Beijing has criticised a deal announced in March to buy U.S. nuclear-powered submarines. Australia’s defence chief has said that as great power competition in the region persists, his country is focused on deterring conflict and deepening engagement with partners, including Pacific island and South East Asian nations.

Persons: Dr Ng Eng Hen, Lloyd Austin, Anthony Albanese, Li Shangfu, Li, Austin . Li, National Intelligence Avril Haines, Zhu Qichao, Joe Brock, Greg Torode, Kanupriya Kapoor, Xinghui Kok, Chen Lin, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Kirsty Needham, Gerry Doyle Organizations: U.S . Defense, Singapore Ministry of Defence, REUTERS, Singapore . Australian, U.S, Defence, Austin, National Intelligence, China, New Zealand, Albanese Labor, ASEAN, South East, Thomson Locations: Singapore, REUTERS SINGAPORE, United States, China, Taiwan, South China, Washington, Beijing, U.S, Russia, American, ., AUSTRALIA, Australia, Britain, Canada, New, Pacific, South

May 30 (Reuters) - Jensen Huang, the chief of chipmaker Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O), has joined an elite list of tech executives to head a company worth $1 trillion. Nvidia shares have been on a tear, rising on stellar sales projections from a boom in artificial-intelligence workloads and components. Huang was born in Taiwan but moved to the United States as a child, earning engineering degrees at Oregon State University and Stanford University. In 1993 he founded Nvidia along with Curtis Priem and Chris Malachowsky, securing backing from Silicon Valley's Sequoia Capital and others. As companies further adopt AI, Nvidia could be one of the key beneficiaries.

Persons: Jensen Huang, Huang, Inc's, Jeff Bezos, ChatGPT, Curtis Priem, Chris Malachowsky, Andrew Ng, Yuvraj Malik, Samrhitha, Stephen Nellis, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Nvidia Corp, Nvidia, Oregon State University, Stanford University, Valley's Sequoia Capital, BET, INTEL, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Intel Corp, Logic Corp, Devices Inc, Alphabet Inc, Baidu Inc, HK, San, Thomson Locations: Taiwan, United States, Taipei, Bengaluru, San Francisco

Nvidia chips have been at the heart of major tech tends from video games to self-driving cars, to cloud computing, and now AI - artificial intelligence. Born in Taiwan, Huang moved to the United States as a child, earning engineering degrees at Oregon State University and Stanford University. Its first big hits were specialized chips to power high-intensity motion graphics for computer games called graphics processing units (GPUs). Even then, Huang did not think of Nvidia as just a chip company. "Computer graphics is one of the most complex parts of computer science," Huang told an audience in Silicon Valley in 2021 while receiving a lifetime achievement award.

Persons: Jensen Huang, I've, Huang, grunting, Inc's, Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs, ChatGPT, Stanford University . Huang, selfies, Curtis Priem, Chris Malachowsky, Andrew Ng, Yuvraj Malik, Samrhitha, Stephen Nellis, Ben Blanchard, Matthew Lewis, Sonali Paul, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Nvidia Corp, Apple Inc, Oregon State University, Stanford University, Nvidia, Valley's Sequoia Capital, BET, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Intel, Thomson Locations: Taiwan, United States, Taipei, Silicon Valley, Bengaluru, San Francisco

[1/2] Alan Leong Kah-kit, Chairperson of the Civic Party, speaks to the media announcing the party's disbandment in Hong Kong, China May 27, 2023. Today, the Civic Party is bidding Hong Kong farewell. We hope Hong Kong people will live in the moment with a hopeful and not too heavy heart. The Civic Party, founded in 2006, had been a major democratic force in the financial hub that returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997, alongside the Democratic Party, performing strongly in local legislative and district polls. Hong Kong and Chinese authorities described the electoral revamp as a progressive democratic step to ensure only pro-China "patriots" govern Hong Kong.

☆ ‘Uncle Roger’ jokes about China and censors don’t see the funny side
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

By Saturday his account on China’s highly censored Weibo platform had been barred from creating new posts. ‘Don’t make him disappear’Ng, 32, shot to fame three years ago with a video of Uncle Roger – an outspoken middle-aged man who speaks with a thick Malay accent – making fun of BBC Food presenter Hersha Patel’s way of cooking Chinese-style egg-fried rice. The sketch Ng posted on Twitter last week was filmed at his recent stand-up tour, which broached more political subjects. In one clip, after learning that an audience member is from China’s southern Guangzhou province, Uncle Roger says China is a “good country.”“We have to say that now, correct? “Uncle Roger good comrades,” he quipped.

☆ These are the top 10 stocks held by 'Big Short' investor Michael Burry
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Michael Burry invested a lot of money into the stock market last quarter, according to 13F filings. The "Big Short" investor who has held a bearish tilt towards stocks initiated 17 new positions last quarter. These are the top 10 stocks held by Burry's Scion Asset Management as of March 31. Burry posted on Twitter on multiple occasions over the last few months that he had a bearish view on stocks. These are the top 10 stocks held by Burry's Scion Asset Management as of March 31.

☆ Philippine central bank chief says the Fed's a 'big source of uncertainty' for its decision on rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailPhilippine central bank chief says the Fed's a 'big source of uncertainty' for its decision on ratesFelipe Medalla, governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, says it needs to be vigilant as a small differential between its policy rates and the U.S. Federal Reserve's could weaken the peso significantly.

☆ The Chinese yuan is unlikely to get much worse from now, analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe Chinese yuan is unlikely to get much worse from now, analyst saysJeff Ng of MUFG Bank discusses the outlook for the currency and the country's economy.

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