Nomura expects Fed to pause rate cut
Nomura expects Fed to pause rate cutReutersThe US Federal Reserve is no longer expected to cut interest rates at its policy meeting next month, Nomura Holdings Inc said, making it the first global brokerage to signal a pause in the US central bank’s rate-cutting cycle in the wake of Donald Trump’s election win. Nomura now expects the Fed to deliver only two 25-basis-point rate reductions at its March and June meetings next year, leaving the brokerage’s Fed funds rate projection unchanged at 4.125 percent throughout the year. It has cut rates by 75 basis points this year. This follows the Fed’s increasing hesitancy to cut rates as a major political shift is under way after Trump’s presidential victory. Traders now see a 34.7 percent chance of the central bank pausing rate cuts next month, according to CME Group Inc’s FedWatch Tool.
Source:Taipei Times
November 18, 2024 23:13 UTC
A messier Middle East awaits Trump’s second administration
A messier Middle East awaits Trump’s second administrationThe Abraham Accords signed during Trump’s first term have so far survived the war in Gaza, but keeping his Arab and Israeli friends happy will be challengingBy Marc Champion / Bloomberg OpinionIt did not take long. For many Israelis, not just Ben Gvir, they have fond memories of Trump’s first term. Illustration: YushaEven so, it would be foolish to say we know exactly what Trump would do over the next four years. That is especially true in the Middle East, where popular fury over the plight of Palestinians in Gaza has created genuine constraints on Arab leaders. Marc Champion is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe, Russia and the Middle East.
Source:Taipei Times
November 18, 2024 17:03 UTC
Ko leave as TPP chair extended
Ko leave as TPP chair extendedBy Lin Che-yuan and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) today said it would not appoint an interim chairperson, after it extended Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) leave for another three months as he remains under investigation for alleged corruption. Taiwan People’s Party central committee members hold a news conference in Taipei today. The TPP today held a central committee meeting to discuss extending Ko’s leave of absence. Party spokeswoman Celina Wu (吳怡萱) told reporters after the meeting that all 14 committee members agreed to extend his leave until Feb. 28. In the meantime, party affairs would continue to be run by an emergency response team comprised of three party members, she added.
Source:Taipei Times
November 18, 2024 15:05 UTC
Boeing to cut 400 jobs as company struggles
Boeing to cut 400 jobs as company strugglesAP, SEATTLEBoeing Co has delivered layoff notices to more than 400 members of its professional aerospace labor union, part of thousands of cuts planned as the company struggles to recover from financial and regulatory trouble as well as an eight-week strike by its machinists’ union. The Boeing Co logo is displayed on top of company offices near Los Angeles International Airport in El Segundo, California on Jan. 18. Photo: AFPBoeing announced last month that it planned to cut 10 percent of its workforce, about 17,000 jobs, in the coming months. Boeing chief executive officer Kelly Ortberg told employees the company must “reset its workforce levels to align with our financial reality.”The SPEEA said the cuts had affected 438 members. The union’s local chapter has 17,000 Boeing employees who are largely based in Washington, with some in Oregon, California and Utah.
Source:Taipei Times
November 18, 2024 03:45 UTC
Iran is much weaker than the last time it faced Trump
In his first term as president, Trump brokered diplomatic detentes between Israel and several Arab states. In his second, he would encounter a region in which Israeli military successes have dramatically reset the balance of power. Illustration: YushaThe regional situation has improved markedly from a year ago, when Israel looked shockingly vulnerable and Iran and its proxies seemed ascendant. Trump would likely renew his “maximum pressure” campaign to starve Iran of resources. Trump would have to prove that the US would not simply abandon them when tensions spiral, as he did when Iran attacked Saudi Arabian oil facilities in 2019.
Source:Taipei Times
November 17, 2024 21:57 UTC
Indonesia should continue to walk a fine line in Trump’s world
Indonesia should continue to walk a fine line in Trump’s worldNewly elected Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has already made a strategic blunder in dealing with China. A potentially more insular US foreign policy under US president-elect Donald Trump is pushing Jakarta even closer to Beijing. It could also end up overtly siding with China, diluting Jakarta’s opposition to its growing presence in the South China Sea. For decades, the bedrock of Jakarta’s approach to international affairs has been to pursue a self-reliant and independent foreign policy. Previously, she was the BBC’s lead Asia presenter and worked for the BBC across Asia and South Asia for two decades.
Source:Taipei Times
November 17, 2024 21:57 UTC
Ten infants killed in India hospital fire
Ten infants killed in India hospital fireDELAYED EVACUATION: A parent said the tragedy could have been prevented if the safety alarm had worked, but instead hospital staff only acted after seeing signs of smokeAFP and AP, LUCKNOW, IndiaA fire at the neonatal unit of an Indian hospital killed 10 newborns, authorities said yesterday, with another 16 clinging to life after a blaze blamed on a faulty oxygen machine. Babies rescued from the fire, all only days old, were laid side by side on a bed elsewhere in the hospital as hospital staff hooked up their arms to intravenous drips. Three bodies haven’t been identified as yet.”Another 16 infants who were rescued were undergoing medical treatment, police superintendent Gyanendra Kumar Singh said. Hospital staff acted only after they saw signs of smoke and fire. Friday’s fire comes six months after a similar blaze at a children’s hospital in New Delhi that killed six newborns.
Source:Taipei Times
November 17, 2024 03:48 UTC
China cannot find refuge in BRICS
Each summit brings renewed buzz about a BRICS cross-border payment system designed to replace the SWIFT payment system, allowing members to trade without using US dollars. Articles often highlight the appeal of this concept to BRICS members — bypassing sanctions, reducing US dollar dependence and escaping US influence. They both show little interest in integrating fully into BRICS or replacing the US with China or Russia as security guarantors. The two countries that stand to gain the most from BRICS are Russia and China. Assuming unanimous support from BRICS members in a conflict scenario is unrealistic.
Source:Taipei Times
November 16, 2024 21:48 UTC
It is too soon to say ‘wokeism’ is dead
It is too soon to say ‘wokeism’ is deadA single victory, however lopsided, is not the end of war when it comes to reshaping cultureBy Adrian Wooldridge / Bloomberg OpinionIt is easy to conclude that the “woke” revolution met its “Waterloo” on Tuesday last week. Is a single election enough to put an end to a cultural movement? However, it is hard to see how Trump’s election would change the fact that, particularly in the US’ most elite temples of learning, wokery has tenure. Bloomberg journalist John Authers said that corporate commitment to environmental, social and governance goals had been waning long before Trump’s election, in part because of poor returns. A former writer at The Economist, he is author of The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World.
Source:Taipei Times
November 16, 2024 16:38 UTC
A climate breakthrough has rarely looked bleaker
A climate breakthrough has rarely looked bleakerIt is politics, not logistics or physics, that is stopping us from tackling climate changeBy David Fickling / Bloomberg OpinionHas there ever been a grimmer backdrop to the world’s most concerted attempt to avert global warming? The main reason Kyoto failed to rein in global emissions was that it did not cover emerging nations, something remedied in the 2015 Paris Agreement. In 2017, forecasts indicated that without climate policies, global emissions would hit 65 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030. That figure is now expected to be 57 billion tonnes. Politics has always had a decisive impact on the trajectory of global emissions, and right now we are pointing 180 degrees in the wrong direction.
Source:Taipei Times
November 15, 2024 22:03 UTC
Xi opens huge port in Peru funded by China
Xi opens huge port in Peru funded by ChinaReuters, LIMAChinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) launched a week-long diplomatic blitz of South America on Thursday by inaugurating a massive deep-water port in Peru, a US$1.3 billion investment by Beijing as it seeks to expand trade and influence on the continent. The first ship was due to set sail from Chancay next week, transporting Peruvian fruit to China, Mario Ocharan, Peruvian director of the Chancay Chamber of Commerce, said. The rail project is estimated to cost US$3.5 billion, according to Mario de las Casas, corporate affairs manager at Cosco Shipping Chancay Peru. Building that link is “crucial” to improve transportation of soybeans as Brazil is the top seller of the commodity to China, he said. China has overtaken the United States to become the largest trading partner of countries like Peru.
Source:Taipei Times
November 15, 2024 21:47 UTC
Beijing preparing measures to counter impact of Trump’s return, official says
Beijing preparing measures to counter impact of Trump’s return, official saysBy Chen Yun and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerBeijing is prepared to deploy a series of measures to counter the impact of US president-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January, a national security official said on Thursday. Beijing is facing greater pressure than before as Trump’s return looms, the official added. The CPTPP evolved from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was never ratified after the US withdrew from its during Trump’s previous administration. Lastly, China could step up relations with other authoritarian regimes in Russia, Iran and North Korea in an attempt to counter democratic countries, the official said. Such measures could include persuading Iran and Pakistan to meddle in Middle East affairs while stepping up collaborations with Russia, the official said.
Source:Taipei Times
November 15, 2024 21:43 UTC
NSB notes US team of ‘China hawks’
NSB notes US team of ‘China hawks’TOUGH LINE: Trump has nominated US Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state, who is known for hardline policies on China and has proposed Taiwan-friendly billsStaff writer, with agenciesUS president-elect Donald Trump seems to be appointing senior national defense and diplomacy officials based on the principles of “America first” and “containing China,” National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said, without commenting on specifics. On Taiwan-US relations during Trump’s second presidency, Tsai said Taiwan would maximize the shared interests of both countries to continue promoting strategic cooperation. US Senator Marco Rubio, left, and then-vice president-elect Wiliam Lai shake hands in Washington on Feb. 4, 2020. National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen speaks during a legislative session in Taipei yesterday. Trump has nominated US Senator Marco Rubio as his secretary of state and has picked US Representative Mike Waltz, a retired Green Beret and a China hawk, to be his national security adviser.
Source:Taipei Times
November 15, 2024 03:46 UTC
Tsai Ing-wen to travel to Canada, two sources say
Tsai Ing-wen to travel to Canada, two sources sayStaff writer, with agenciesFormer president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) plans to visit Canada next week, two diplomatic sources said. Tsai’s office said that if details of travel plans are confirmed, it would announce them at an appropriate time. Former president Tsai Ing-wen, second left, waves as she is led through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport before departing for Europe on Oct. 12. Taiwan has 12 diplomatic allies, three of which are in the South Pacific: Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands. Tsai traveled to allies in the South Pacific twice during her two four-year tenures, in 2017 and 2019.
Source:Taipei Times
November 15, 2024 03:43 UTC
Court approves seizure of US$1.19m from Muko
Court approves seizure of US$1.19m from MukoBy Chen Tsai-ling and Jason Pan / Staff reportersThe Taipei District Court yesterday approved the seizure of NT$38.83 million (US$1.19 million) from Muko Public Relations (木可行銷公關), a company associated with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), for alleged falsified accounting and unlawful transfer of funds for personal profiteering. Taipei prosecutors also summoned former TPP chief financial officer Liang Hsiu-chu (梁秀菊) for questioning yesterday. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je is summoned for further questioning by Taipei prosecutors on Wednesday. Taipei prosecutors in a release said they had filed an application to the Taipei District Court to seize Muko’s assets. Muko is one of three private entities set up by Ko and his inner circle for receiving political contributions, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Yu Shu-hui (游淑慧) said.
Source:Taipei Times
November 14, 2024 21:46 UTC