Posts by Kim Browne
This Year’s First Big Stupid Idea: “Retrain ICE”
One of the consequences of covering American politics is that it forces you to have frequent close encounters with some of the dumbest people alive and their terrible ideas. Cutting taxes on wealthy people will eventually enrich the middle class. Invading and occupying Iraq will spread democracy throughout the Middle East. Michael Bloomberg should be…
Read MoreAir France-KLM halts Dubai, Riyadh flights on geopolitical risks
Published Sat, Jan 24, 2026 · 12:52 PM AIR France-KLM has paused flights to and over several countries in the Middle East amid tensions between the US and Iran that could reverberate across the Persian Gulf. Air France cancelled flights between Paris and Dubai on Friday (Jan 23) and Saturday, temporarily suspending service to…
Read MoreSGX board lot sizes: A win for retail investors?
The exchange says that the lower minimum investment size for higher-priced securities would potentially broaden investor participation [SINGAPORE] Having smaller board lot sizes for some stocks on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) is a positive move, but the change is only part of the wider equation of making the local market more attractive, industry players said.…
Read MoreChina deepens probe into Meta’s landmark US$2 billion buyout of Singapore-based Manus
Published Sat, Jan 24, 2026 · 11:11 AM BEIJING is deepening an investigation into Meta Platforms’ US$2 billion acquisition of Chinese-founded artificial intelligence (AI) startup Manus, raising the risk that regulators will seek to alter or even unwind the deal if wrongdoing is found. Chinese officials had begun looking into whether the December takeover of…
Read MoreTikTok’s new CEO brings Hollywood connections, ByteDance loyalty
Published Sat, Jan 24, 2026 · 09:02 AM TIKTOK picked an insider to lead its newly created US business, choosing an executive with deep ties to the entertainment world and history reporting up to ByteDance’s leadership. Adam Presser, a longtime right hand to TikTok’s global leader Shou Chew, was tapped to lead the new entity,…
Read MoreUS lawmakers say TikTok joint venture deal needs scrutiny from Congress
Published Sat, Jan 24, 2026 · 08:57 AM Some US lawmakers on Friday (Jan 23) said a deal by TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to establish a majority American-owned joint venture (JV) to avoid a US ban on the social media app needs scrutiny from Congress. Representative Jack Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House select…
Read MoreBlackRock cuts value of private debt fund by 19%, waives fee
Published Sat, Jan 24, 2026 · 08:49 AM A BLACKROCK private debt fund expects to mark down the net value of its assets 19 per cent after a string of troubled loans weighed on results, marking the latest sign of pressure in the private credit market. BlackRock TCP Capital, a publicly traded middle-market lending fund,…
Read MoreEuropean stocks end a five-week winning streak after Greenland turmoil
Published Sat, Jan 24, 2026 · 08:34 AM EUROPEAN shares finished lower on Friday (Jan 23) and logged weekly losses as investors exercised caution and assessed any potential trade jitters resulting from frictions with the US over Greenland. The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.1 per cent to 608.34 points, snapping a five-week winning run –…
Read MoreOil rises nearly 3% as US sends armada to Iran, slaps new sanctions
Published Sat, Jan 24, 2026 · 08:27 AM OIL prices settled at their highest in over a week on Friday (Jan 23) after US President Donald Trump ratcheted up pressure against Iran through more sanctions on vessels that transport its oil, and announced an armada was heading towards the Middle Eastern nation. Brent crude futures…
Read MoreUS stocks: Dow ends lower, with S&P flat, as Intel’s outlook weighs on risk appetite
Published Sat, Jan 24, 2026 · 08:02 AM THE Dow Jones Industrial Average stumbled to a lower close on Friday (Jan 23), while the S&P 500 ended largely unchanged, as investors’ risk appetite was dimmed at the end of a topsy-turvy week by Intel’s plunge on a downbeat outlook. All three Wall Street benchmarks had…
Read MoreArmy Vet Says ICE Detained Him for 8 Hours, Blocked Access to Lawyer
Just hours after Bovino recounted his dystopian, rather than feel-good, story about detained children, another report emerged that immigration agents had grabbed a child. ICE detained a family of three, including a 7-year-old girl, outside a hospital in Portland, Oregon, last week. The girl’s parents had been rushing her to emergency medical care after she…
Read MoreCBP Chief Brags They’re “Experts” in Detaining Small Children
Just hours after Bovino recounted his dystopian, rather than feel-good, story about detained children, another report emerged that immigration agents had grabbed a child. ICE detained a family of three, including a seven-year-old girl, outside a hospital in Portland, Oregon, last week. The girl’s parents had been rushing her to emergency medical care after she…
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