Posts by Swedan Margen
Bessent suggests Powell should leave Federal Reserve board in May
[WASHINGTON] US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell should step down from the central bank’s board when his term as chair is up in May 2026. “Traditionally, the Fed chair also steps down as a governor,” Bessent said on Tuesday (Jul 15). “There’s been a lot of talk of a…
Read MoreCitigroup looks to issue its own stablecoin to smooth payments
[NEW YORK] Citigroup is considering issuing its own stablecoin, positioning the company as a possible early mover in the push by traditional banks to expand into cryptocurrencies. “We are looking at the issuance of a Citi stablecoin,” chief executive officer Jane Fraser said on an earnings conference call with analysts on Tuesday (Jul 15), adding…
Read MoreUS banks JPMorgan and Citigroup see lower recession risk despite tariff fog
[NEW YORK] Large US banks reported results that topped estimates on Tuesday as executives pointed to American economic resilience and said businesses were adapting to tariff uncertainty. Executives from JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup described US consumers as still fundamentally in good shape despite continued risks to the outlook. Both banks now see a lower risk…
Read MoreA New Agnès Varda Exhibition Is an Extension of Her Life’s Work
When Varda shot portraits on location, her practice was both observational and interventionist. She took subjects around town in her car in search of suitably photogenic sites and then framed and posed them with a meticulous eye and firm guidance. One of the highlights of the Carnavalet exhibition is a video screen showing an excerpt…
Read MoreTrump unveils US$92 billion worth of investments to power AI boom
[PITTSBURGH] US President Donald Trump went to Pennsylvania on Tuesday to announce US$92 billion in energy and infrastructure deals intended to meet big tech’s soaring demand for electricity to fuel the AI boom. Trump made the announcement at the inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University, with much of the talk about…
Read MoreCitigroup shares hit highest since 2008 after profit beat, buyback plan
[NEW YORK] Citigroup’s shares briefly touched their highest since the 2008 financial crisis after the bank beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit and said it plans to buy back at least US$4 billion in stock. The stock rose as high as US$90.69 on Tuesday (Jul 15) after the third largest US lender reported market-beating…
Read MoreUS tariffs could have pandemic-like impact on planemaker Embraer, CEO says
[SAO PAULO] The 50 per cent tariff that US President Donald Trump plans to impose on Brazilian exports starting in August could hammer the revenue of planemaker Embraer like the Covid-19 pandemic did, its CEO warned on Tuesday, flagging risks to US partners. Francisco Gomes Neto told reporters the tariffs would amount to a trade…
Read MoreOil slips as Trump’s 50-day deadline for Russia eases supply fears
[NEW YORK] Oil prices dropped by less than 1 per cent on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump’s 50-day deadline for Russia to end the war in Ukraine and avoid sanctions eased concerns about any immediate supply disruption. Brent crude futures settled down 50 cents, or 0.7 per cent, at US$68.71 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate…
Read MoreEurope: Shares fall on healthcare, financials drag; focus on US-EU trade deal
EUROPEAN shares ended lower on Tuesday, dragged down by heavyweight financial and healthcare stocks as investors awaited news on a potential US-EU trade deal while assessing the latest US inflation data. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed down 0.37 per cent at 544.95. Most regional indexes declined, with Spain’s IBEX falling 1.1 per cent. On Monday,…
Read MoreUS Fed officials say more needs to be done on financial inclusion
[WASHINGTON] US Federal Reserve governor Michael Barr said on Tuesday (Jul 15) that banks and advocates have worked together to “deepen and widen financial inclusion”, but emphasised much more needs to be done to meet the needs of low-income Americans. “Better access to affordable financial services, geared to the needs of underserved families and entrepreneurs,…
Read MoreSIA’s decarbonisation tailwinds are Temasek’s burden
[SINGAPORE] A small tweak in Temasek’s latest sustainability report reveals just how much a single airline can weigh on a portfolio’s emissions. The Singapore investment company’s sustainability report for fiscal 2025 showed total portfolio emissions flat at about 21 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e). But this year, Temasek broke down that total to…
Read MoreApple to buy US$500 million rare earths from Pentagon-backed US producer MP
[SAN FRANCISCO] Apple has struck a US$500 million deal to buy rare-earth minerals from MP Materials, the US producer that just last week secured backing from the Pentagon. The two companies will build a factory in Texas, with neodymium magnet manufacturing lines tailored for Apple products, the iPhone maker said on Tuesday (Jul 15) in…
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