Posts by Kim Browne
China’s low birthrate isn’t doomsday for formula milk suppliers
Falling birthrates, a phenomenon across richer countries, are obviously a drag on firms that make products for children Published Mon, Jan 26, 2026 · 09:02 AM [MELBOURNE] China’s shockingly low birthrate is not quite the calamity for overseas milk suppliers that some recent stock moves might suggest. Foreign firms that make baby formula, from Swiss…
Read MoreGold rushes to record high above US$5,000/oz
Published Mon, Jan 26, 2026 · 08:03 AM [BENGALURU] Gold surged to a record high above US$5,000 an ounce on Monday (Jan 26), extending a historic rally as investors piled into the safe-haven asset amid rising geopolitical tensions. Spot gold rose 0.94 per cent to US$5,029.62 per ounce by 7.21 am, while US gold futures…
Read MoreTrump’s JPMorgan lawsuit underscores his growing clash with Wall Street
Published Mon, Jan 26, 2026 · 07:00 AM [NEW YORK] US President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon highlights a growing, and politically fraught, conflict in the administration’s policy agenda for Wall Street, with big banks scoring wins but also facing setbacks. In his most confrontational move yet against Wall…
Read MoreVitol and Trafigura – traders at the heart of Trump’s Venezuela oil grab
The companies’ special licences to ship still-sanctioned barrels have given them a head start in a potentially lucrative trade US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has portrayed his takeover of Venezuela’s oil sales as a victory for America, but when his administration wanted to sell several billion dollars’ worth of the fuel quickly, the experts it turned…
Read MoreAirbus CEO warns of new risks after ‘significant’ trade damage
‘The industrial landscape in which we operate is sown with difficulties,’ says Guillaume Faury Published Sun, Jan 25, 2026 · 08:16 PM [PARIS] The head of Airbus has warned staff that the plane-maker must be ready to adapt to unsettling new geopolitical risks after facing “significant” logistical and financial damage from US protectionism and US-China…
Read MoreMarket on high alert for yen intervention after Takaichi warning
Published Sun, Jan 25, 2026 · 07:53 PM TRADERS will start the week on heightened alert of Japan government intervention to halt the yen’s recent slide – possibly with rare US assistance – as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned of action on abnormal moves. Speculation of intervention is building after traders reported during the US…
Read MoreIs Trump Going to Let Venezuela Starve?
While Venezuela’s regime is getting by, thanks to its deference to Trump, it remains a repressive and corrupt force in the lives of those it ostensibly governs. Human rights groups on the scene estimate that it still holds nearly 800 political prisoners, many of whom were active in the opposition movement that actually won the…
Read MoreFloating rates are back on the radar, but fixed mortgages still rule Singapore’s home loans
After several years of rate volatility, many borrowers are placing greater emphasis on certainty [SINGAPORE] Interest in floating-rate home loans is picking up in Singapore as borrowing costs fall and expectations build for further rate cuts, but fixed-rate mortgages remain the preferred choice for most homeowners amid lingering uncertainty over where rates will settle. Market…
Read MoreSpeculative frenzy catapults silver above US$100/oz
Analysts say rapid nature of precious metal’s gains position it for a major correction Published Sun, Jan 25, 2026 · 06:00 PM [LONDON] Silver prices vaulted above US$100 an ounce on Friday (Jan 23), extending a remarkable 2025 surge into the new year as retail investor and momentum-driven buying added to a prolonged spell of…
Read MoreFear comes to India’s property developers
How much further will the current bout of pessimism run? The answer depends on how the industry boosts its efficiency WITH markets from Tokyo to New York on edge this week, the warning sign flashing around a large Mumbai builder didn’t get much attention. But Indian investors were keeping a close eye. When Oberoi Realty missed analysts’ forecasts for…
Read MoreMining stocks on cusp of supercycle as AI boom stokes metals
With a nearly 90% gain since the start of 2025, MSCI’s Metals and Mining Index has beaten semiconductors, banks and the Magnificent Seven cohort by a wide margin Published Sun, Jan 25, 2026 · 04:59 PM [NEW YORK] Global mining stocks have shot to the top of fund managers’ must-have list, as soaring metals demand…
Read MoreWall Street grapples with new risk: A European buyers’ strike
Money managers from London to Berlin to Madrid have been increasingly fielding inquiries from clients about ways to at least lighten up on US assets US COMMERCE Secretary Howard Lutnick told the elites gathered in Davos that the Trump administration believes globalisation is “a failed policy” that left America behind. A day later, his boss,…
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