HONG KONG: Equities rose in most Asian cities on Tuesday as some stability returned to markets after last week's upheaval, but analysts warned of further pain for traders after central bank officials hinted at more interest rate hikes to reel in inflation. The Fed announced a three-quarter point lift last week after inflation data days earlier had smashed forecasts and hit a four-decade high. Several officials — including at the Fed, Bank of England, Reserve Bank of Australia and European Central Bank — have come out in recent days to flag a further tightening of borrowing costs. In commodities markets, oil extended gains as traders moved back in after Friday's plunge fueled by concerns over a possible recession. "The bottom line seems to be that until we see physical demand destruction, oil and other energy markets are as tight as ever," he added.

THE Supreme Court has ordered Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada to comment on the plea of Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc.'s (TRLEI) directors and officers to lift the status quo ante (SQA) order the tribunal issued that stopped his removal as chief operating officer of Okada Manila. He was also asked to comment on the motion for reconsideration filed by the TRLEI questioning the Supreme Court ruling. Among the defendants were TRLEI, Tiger Resort Asia Ltd. (TRAL), Manuel Lazaro, Kenji Sugiyama, Steven Wolstenhome, Antonio Cojuangco, Reynaldo David, Yoshinao Negishi, Kenshi Asano and Takako Okada. Okada brought the case before the Court of Appeals, which turned down his complaint, as well as his motions for reconsideration, prompting him to elevate the case to the Supreme Court. Last month, the high court issued a SQA order, paving the way for Okada to regain a foothold in the company.

MANILA, Philippines — Authorities are making every effort to make sure the June 30 oath-taking of President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. goes on without a hitch. They will do anything before [President-elect Marcos Jr.] takes his oath on June 30,” Baluyot said. The DILG and other agencies have finalized security preparations for the inauguration of Marcos Jr., including the mobilization of around 6,200 police officers around the National Museum, where he will take his oath. Malaya said the Philippine National Police would place additional mobile forces on standby should radical leftist groups attempt to disrupt the inauguration. “Such an objective, in fact, is futile because Marcos Jr. and the entire Marcos family are beyond embarrassment and shame,” he said.

MANILA, Philippines — The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has ordered internet service providers to block several websites, including those of independent media, “found to be affiliated to and are supporting terrorist and terrorist organizations.”ADVERTISEMENTThe order, dated June 8, was signed by NTC commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba upon the request of National Security Advisor Hermogenes Esperon. Among the websites Esperon requests to be blocked are the website of the NDFP and CPP founder Jose Maria Sison. “In this regard, may we request the NTC to issue legal instruments to order Philippine internet service providers to block access to the following websites affiliated to and are supporting these terrorist and terrorist organizations,” he added. The Secretary of Justice is a member of the ATC, which is tasked to designate terrorist individual, groups of persons, organizations, and associations. “Please note that the request in question emanated not from the Anti-Terrorism Council, but from the National Security Council,” Sugay said.

The scalping of Hong Kong quarantine hotel rooms on mainland platforms are likely isolated incidents, a tourism sector representative said. This came after mainland merchants advertised the hotel rooms at prices ranging between 18,000 yuan (HK$21,000) and 23,000 yuan for a seven-day quarantine. Due to the rising number of inbound travelers, Yiu said, the existing 23,000 quarantine hotel rooms are insufficient. He urged authorities to allow home quarantine for residents in order to free up quarantine centers and hotels. Yiu's Legco colleague Doreen Kong Yuk-foon also criticized the official quarantine hotel booking website as inaccurate and misleading.

Outgoing Agriculture Secretary William Dar on Tuesday said the first order of business for the Marcos administration would be to ensure sufficient food supply amid the looming global food crisis. So there is really a major disruption of the food supply chain. Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cielito Habito has also cited various issues the incoming administration will face in the agriculture sector. He said rice farmers should get the support they need from the government: subsidized inputs, technology access, and a support price for palay. I think this will be very good for the agriculture sector,” Manuel Lamata, president of the United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines.

BEIJING — High-end home appliances and camping gear were among Chinese shoppers’ most sought after buys during the “618” shopping festival, according to e-commerce platforms, in a sign of how China’s COVID-19 curbs are driving lifestyle changes. The event was the first major shopping festival to take place since several Chinese cities, including Shanghai, were hit by a series of lockdowns to halt the spread of COVID-19. ADVERTISEMENTConsumption in China remains weak as shoppers were confined to their homes in Shanghai and other cities. Retail sales slipped another 6.7 percent in May from a year earlier, on top of a 11.1-percent contraction the previous month. In addition, rising health awareness during the pandemic also pushed people to stockpile health products, JD.com said, citing surging sales of organic milk, high-end teas, and fitness drinks.

Sales of "Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream Pint" (473 milliliters) and "Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream Bulk" (9.46 liters), with best-before dates of April 13, 2023 and October 26, 2022 respectively, have been stopped. A Centre for Food Safety spokesman urged the public not to consume the affected products if they had bought any. "A preliminary investigation found that the importer had imported into Hong Kong the affected batches of the products concerned." The affected products only involve two specific batches and the other products are in compliance with Hong Kong regulation. It can normally be found as a contaminant in baked goods, cereals, seeds, ice cream and yogurt.

LONDON: Andy Murray faces a race against time to be fit for Wimbledon next week, but believes he is in a better position than he was ahead of the championships last year. "The positives are I've been able to practice but there are certain shots I've not been able to practice, so that has obviously disrupted my preparations. The injury is healing but still not perfect," the two-time Wimbledon winner said. "I've been practicing for the past three or four days and have been practicing well. Murray made it through to the third round at Wimbledon last year despite an injury-disrupted preparation.

LG presents the future of commercial technology with digital signage solutions and autonomous robotic assistants. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOLG Electronics (LG) showcased its innovative commercial technologies, including Transparent OLED Signage, to a diverse lineup of LED signage products and autonomous robot assistants in Las Vegas at InfoComm 2022 last June 8. Welcoming visitors to LG's Retail Solutions zone was the LED signage solution, using 54-inch bezel-free displays, allowing integrators to create a seamless viewing experience. The new 54-inch LG LED Bloc (model LSAC) was approximately four times larger in area than most commonly used LED cabinets, and its unique size allowed this model to use a 55-inch LCD video wall display with easy installation. Also unveiled in the retail solutions zone was the company's first multipurpose customer service robot, LG CLOi GuideBot, which was designed to provide way-finding, enhanced security and powerful advertising opportunities.

MAGALIESBURG, South Africa — Chinese demand for traditional medicines has sent poachers hunting for African animals from rhinos to pangolins. But as in countries from Burkina Faso to Kenya, South Africa is now seeing its donkey population plunge, threatening other businesses that make soaps and creams from donkey milk. A recent study by researchers from the University of South Africa showed the donkey population shrank from 210,000 in 1996 to about 146,000 in 2019. South Africa has two donkey dairies, but they may not be viable if prices for the animals keep rising. “The increased demand for donkey milk is mainly from people suffering from eczema, psoriasis,” he said.

A desperate developer in China's softening property market is coming up with a novel promotion to attract buyers, recently offering to take wheat and garlic as down payments. Central China Real Estate did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Late last month, another Central China advertisement said buyers of houses in another development could make down payments in garlic at 5 yuan per catty. The garlic promotion attracted 852 visits and 30 transactions involving 860,000 catties of garlic during the 16 days it was available, the advertisement said. The wholesale market price for both garlic and wheat is 1.5 yuan per 500 grams.

On Monday, the rocket was erected on its launch pad at the Naro Space Center on the southern coast of South Korea. It uses only Korean rocket technologies, and is the country’s first domestically built space launch vehicle. Nuri is key to South Korean plans to eventually build a Korean satellite-based navigation system and a 6G communications network. South Korea is also working with the United States on a lunar orbiter, and hopes to land a probe on the moon by 2030. RELATED STORIESSouth Korea readies second attempt to send homegrown rocket to orbitS. Korea’s Moon vows ‘Korean space age’ after mixed rocket test resultsSouth Korea test-fires first indigenous solid-fuel rocket, pushes to launch spy satellitesSubscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address.

Jumbo Floating Restaurant should not have been towed to the open ocean, a marine expert said, as he added that transporting by semi-submersible ship may not be feasible either. The restaurant, which was towed away from Hong Kong last week, capsized in the South China Sea on Sunday due to extreme weather conditions. A veteran member of the Hong Kong Institute of Marine Technology Lee Kin-kwong said the restaurant was a wharf boat, which had no power itself. He added that once an accident happens, the tugboat will have to abandon the floating boat for its safety. As for Jumbo Group's Tai Pak Floating Restaurant, which was shipped to the Philippines in 1999 with a semi-submersible transport ship, Lee said the larger size of Jumbo Restaurant may result in expensive transportation fees and not that feasible.

MANILA, Philippines — The Luzon grid will be placed under yellow alert on Tuesday afternoon, beginning 1 p.m. to 4 p.m, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) announced. According to the NGCP, seven power plants went on a forced outage. Ltd; Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. 1, 3, and 4; GN Power Mariveles Coal Ltd. Co. 1 and 2; and Calaca 2. The NGCP said the operating requirement on Monday stood at 11,385 megawatts as against 12,251 megawatts of available capacity. Luzon grid status, 21 June 2022: Yellow Alert1:00PM – 4:00PM Operating Requirement: 11,385MWAvailable Capacity: 12,251MWNet Operating Margin: 412MWhttps://t.co/z54cqQRKyZ — NGCP (@NGCP_ALERT) June 21, 2022RELATED STORY:Luzon grid placed under red alert causing power outagesEDVSubscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address.