Posts by Kim Browne
Delfi’s Q1 Ebitda down 27.2% on weaker regional currencies, trade tensions
[SINGAPORE] Chocolate confectioner Delfi ran up a 27.2 per cent drop in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) to US$17 million in the first quarter ended Mar 31, down from US$23.3 million the year before. Net sales fell some 0.5 per cent to US$149.8 million in Q1 2025 from US$150.7 million in the…
Read MoreSLB Development shareholders okay privatisation offer from Lian Beng’s Ong family
[SINGAPORE] Shareholders of SLB Development approved the scheme resolution proposed by Lian Beng Group’s board of directors – which comprises the controlling Ong family – to acquire and privatise the property player. It is expected to delist on or around Jul 2, said its board of directors in a bourse filing on Tuesday (May 20)…
Read MoreTranscript: Trump’s Angry Tirade at Walmart Wrecks His Own Tariff Scam
I will say it’s not just the tariffs that are potentially going to result in high prices for Americans. There are a whole host of other policies moving through Congress right now, which, if they are signed into law, will also result in high prices. We heard the press secretary talk a little bit about…
Read MoreSIA Engineering inks S$1.3 billion deal to service SIA, Scoot fleets
The company will provide support for two years, with an option to extend by one year [SINGAPORE] Mainboard-listed SIA Engineering (SIAEC) signed fresh services agreements with national carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its low-cost subsidiary Scoot on Tuesday (May 20), in a deal expected to yield a total labour revenue of S$1.3 billion. The new…
Read MoreSingapore shares rise amid Wall Street’s overnight gain; STI up 0.2%
Across the broader market, decliners trail gainers 195 to 263, after one billion securities worth S$1 billion change hands [SINGAPORE] Singapore shares rose on Tuesday (May 20), after Wall Street closed higher overnight, shrugging off Moody’s downgrading of the United States’ sovereign credit rating. With only one-third of Singapore’s blue-chip barometer Straits Times Index (STI)…
Read MoreWhy the Democratic Tea Party Failed (and How It Could Succeed)
To see the difference, imagine you’re asked at work why you gave a customer a refund. You might say, “Because I thought it was the right thing to do,” or you might say, “Because my supervisor told me to.” The former centers the agency on you (it happened because of you). The second describes the…
Read MoreHow Pope Francis Saved the Catholic Church From JD Vance
Money wasn’t up for discussion, and as the printing of easy dollars continued under Obama, inequality soared and culture turned brutal. There was division along every axis, accelerated by data mining, screens, and algorithms. Soon there were two antagonistic poles that held each other beyond redemption. On the left, some unfortunate soul recalled a word,…
Read MoreTrump’s Angry Walmart Tirade Backfires, Wrecking His Own Tariff Scam
President Donald Trump’s feud with Walmart is intensifying. After the retail giant warned that its prices will go up due to Trump’s tariffs, he erupted on Truth Social and even threatened Walmart to get it to “eat” the costs of his levies. Then White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated the threat to reporters. Amusingly…
Read MoreThai banks’ bad loans rise to 2.9% in Q1
Published Tue, May 20, 2025 · 04:21 PM [BANGKOK] Thai banks’ non-performing loans rose to 2.90 per cent of outstanding loans at the end of March from 2.78 per cent at the end of December, the central bank said on Tuesday (May 20). Bank lending dropped 1.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2025…
Read MoreJapan’s 20-year bond auction gets weakest demand since 2012
The sale comes after a recent surge in longer Japanese bond yields and increased volatility owing in part to US President Donald Trump’s policy measures Published Tue, May 20, 2025 · 01:18 PM [TOKYO] Japan’s auction of 20-year bonds got the lowest demand since 2012, pointing to market concern about who will buy as the…
Read MoreAustralia’s central bank cuts rates to two-year low of 3.85%
[SYDNEY] Australia’s central bank on Tuesday (May 20) cut its main cash rate by 25 basis points to a two-year low of 3.85% citing a darker global outlook and cooling inflation at home, though it also remained cautious on further easing. The Australian dollar fell 0.4 per cent to $0.6429 and three-year bond futures rose…
Read MoreJapan PM hits out at farm minister over free rice claim
[TOKYO] Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday reprimanded the farm minister for claiming he never buys rice because he gets it free, provoking the ire of consumers facing soaring prices. Japan’s government has released some of its emergency stockpile of the grain in recent months, with agriculture minister Taku Eto weeks ago lamenting the “hardship”…
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