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Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

Rethink wealth and build a meaningful life at the July 18 InvestMe event

Sign up for ST InvestMe to find out how you can invest to live, and not live to invest. We have heard this advice countless times: work hard, save more, invest early, grow your wealth and retire in peace. But somewhere between chasing that job promotion, paying off loans, and scrolling through endless videos about stocks, property and financial independence, a question often gets lost: How much money is enough? For young adults, investing can feel overwhelming when you are looking to buy a new home, save for home renovations and retirement, look after ageing parents, and somehow still have enough left to enjoy life today. It does not help that social media coughs up stories of overnight millionaires, young couples with children travelling in business class, and dining at Michelin-starred restaurants, making it seem like everyone else is getting ahead and leaving you behind. For young parents, the concerns may differ, but are no less daunting. How much should you put aside for your children’s education? Should you budget for local or overseas universities? For older parents, should you dip into your savings and help your child financially? The Invest To Live, Not Live To Invest panel discussion is designed for those of you who want your money to support your lives – not consume you. You will learn from The Straits Times’ panel experts – Alfred Chia, chief executive officer of SingCapital, and David Teo, senior consultant psychiatrist and deputy medical director at Connections MindHealth – how much money is enough, and how to avoid behavioural traps. The session, moderated by ST senior business correspondent Angela Tan, will present tips on how you can allocate funds for housing, childcare, insurance and savings. The panel will also look at ways to plan for retirement and, yes, answer questions on whether it is too late to invest in gold or certain stocks. You will learn how to build simple investment habits, avoid common money mistakes and create plans that suit your priorities and lifestyle. More importantly, the session will touch on investments that generate the highest returns over a lifetime: health, relationships, financial skills and experiences. Finally, the goal of investing is not to die with the largest possible portfolio, but to build a life rich enough that the money can quietly do its work in the background, while your attention is devoted to people and things that matter the most.

Rethink wealth and build a meaningful life at the July 18 InvestMe event
North America
CNBC Finance

Walmart heir Lukas Walton buys minority stake in the Chicago Bulls and United Center

Walmart heir Lukas Walton and his wife, Samantha, have acquired a minority stake in the Chicago Bulls and the United Center, the team announced Friday. The transaction involves the purchase of existing stakes from limited partners and does not provide Walton with a path to controlling ownership, the team said. The size of the minority stake and the valuation were not disclosed, but a person familiar with the matter told CNBC the Waltons' stake in the team and arena was 10%. The person asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the details. The Reinsdorf family remains the controlling owner of the Chicago Bulls. Jerry Reinsdorf purchased the team for $16.2 million in 1985. Today, the team is worth approximately $6.45 billion, according to CNBC's most recent NBA valuations, making the franchise the fifth-most valuable in the league. The Wirtz and Reinsdorf families split ownership of the United Center, where the Bulls and NHL's Blackhawks play. They will continue to hold the controlling interest in the United Center and the 1901 Project, a $7 billion redevelopment project on Chicago's West Side, the team said. The Bulls have been one of the NBA's most successful franchises in history, winning six championships during the Michael Jordan era. In recent years, however, they have struggled, having not made the playoffs since the 2021-2022 season. Lukas Walton is the 39-year-old grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton. He and his wife are residents of Chicago. Lukas Walton has a reported net worth of roughly $45 billion according to Forbes. "The Chicago Bulls are as iconic as the city itself, and this transaction reflects our dedication to the city's future. We have long admired the vision the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families have set forth for The 1901 Project, and we look forward to the United Center's continued positive impact on Chicago's West Side," the Waltons said in a statement. Lukas Walton's uncle, Rob Walton, bought the NFL's Denver Broncos in 2022 and also owns a stake in MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Walmart heir Lukas Walton buys minority stake in the Chicago Bulls and United Center
North America
CNBC Economy

U.S. issues sweeping Iran oil sanctions waivers, unlocking billions in revenue for Tehran

The U.S. has issued a sweeping rollback of sanctions on Iranian oil, allowing dollar-denominated trade for the first time in more than four decades, as Washington and Tehran press on with fragile talks toward a permanent peace deal. The U.S. Treasury on Monday issued a wide-ranging 60-day exemption allowing Iran to produce and sell crude oil, petrochemical and petroleum products in U.S. dollars through Aug. 21. Under the so-called General License X, vessels and entities previously subject to U.S. sanctions are also cleared for transactions. The waiver also theoretically reopens the door to U.S. imports of Iranian crude, a trade which has effectively collapsed since the 1990s under the weight of heavy sanctions, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The move on Monday marks the most sweeping rollback of American oil sanctions against Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, reversing years of pressure designed to cripple Iran's economy, and is expected to deliver billions in oil revenue for the Iranian regime. The license could unlock a floating inventory of around 67 million barrels of Iranian crude stranded in the Gulf, handing Iran a potential financial windfall of $8 to $9 billion according to Miad Maleki, a former Treasury sanctions official and now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank. "Production, sales, dollar payments, petrochemicals and protected shipping — all switched on at once," he said. "Together, they amount to a sustained reopening of Iran's most important revenue stream." U.S. President Donald Trump defended the lifting of the sanctions, saying on Monday that any oil profits were meant for Iran to purchase American agricultural goods, rather than rebuild its military. The latest sanctions relief followed a memorandum of understanding signed last week between the U.S. and Iran. Talks in Switzerland that concluded Monday have yielded positive progress toward a final deal. Iranian crude exports have picked up in recent weeks as the U.S.-Iran negotiations progressed, with 6.79 million barrels shipped out last week — the highest level in two months — according to maritime intelligence firm Windward. Iranian crude, which typically trades at a discount to global benchmarks, could also shift to a premium above Brent given demand pressure, further increasing Tehran's revenue windfall, said Brett Erickson, a managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors. The latest exemption allows Iran to receive oil proceeds directly into its central bank, reducing the transaction costs previously incurred by routing payments through shadow banking intermediaries. "With dollar clearing now authorized, expect China to accelerate purchases aggressively," said Maleki. Chinese buyers, in the past, have settled transactions through opaque channels to avoid secondary U.S. sanctions exposure.

U.S. issues sweeping Iran oil sanctions waivers, unlocking billions in revenue for Tehran
Europe
BBC Business

Burnham's 'Manchesterism' could change the UK, but is not yet a full economic plan

Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesByFaisal IslamEconomics editorPublished29 June 2026"True to the motto of this city, I am going to do things differently," Andy Burnham declared, a reference to the film 24 Hour Party People. His speech in Manchester did indeed show a rather different way of seeing and running the UK. The departing Greater Manchester mayor presented a diagnosis of what has caused economic malaise, rooted in his own experiences running the city and when he was previously in Cabinet. At its heart it is a critique of an unresponsive British state, adept at arguing with itself, rather than achieving real change and rebuilding the country. His solutions were ambitious, and mostly rather general, taking power from the centre and giving it to regions and cities, as occurs routinely in other advanced countries. Burnham tells a story of his time as chief secretary to the Treasury, two decades ago, wishing to build a northern equivalent to London's Crossrail, but being told it would not pass the Treasury cost benefit equation. His speech today was not a detailed plan for the economy, with assessments of appropriate levels of tax, spend, investment and infrastructure and strategies for trade, AI and Europe. Perhaps that is partly because this is still officially a Labour leadership campaign. It rather appears that he is trying to keep as much powder dry as possible on the precise trade-offs, for as long as possible. There was general policy direction on changes to business rates, housebuilding, technical education, and infrastructure. The upbeat and optimistic tone was also notable. In two specific areas Burnham appeared to want to communicate a capacity for being prudent on spending and borrowing. He confirmed he will stick to existing borrowing rules, and also backed the Milburn Review into young people's employment outcomes, which could lead to welfare savings. These are two parts of what has been described to me as a broad five-part plan. Devolution, and industrial policy are two other legs. The remaining part was referred to by Burnham as quicker help on the cost of living. How does this all square with sticking to the 2024 manifesto not to raise the major taxes and the fiscal rules?

Burnham's 'Manchesterism' could change the UK, but is not yet a full economic plan
Europe
BBC Business

Shetland set to back £1.5bn plan to connect islands with undersea tunnels

Image source, Estunlar.foImage caption, The Faroe Islands serve as the inspiration for the Shetland tunnels project Undersea tunnels connecting some of the UK's most northerly islands could be in place within eight years, under plans expected to be approved on Tuesday. A feasibility study for Shetland Islands Council proposes replacing ageing ferries with tunnels from Shetland's mainland to Yell and from Yell to Unst, describing them as "economically transformative". Two more tunnels, to the islands of Whalsay and Bressay, could follow under the plans, which are estimated to cost £1.5bn. Council leaders say the tunnels would be cheaper than building new ferries and replacing harbours. The council is expected to explore funding from a mixture of private investment, public subsidy and borrowing, along with tolls covering maintenance costs. The council's transport chairperson, Moraig Lyall, said the report showed there were no technical barriers to building tunnels, which would be "cheaper in the long run" than ferries. The council currently runs ferry services to nine islands, carrying around 750,000 passengers each year on 12 vessels at a cost of £23m per year. Image caption, Moraig Lyall says tunnels which would be "cheaper in the long run" than ferries. Costs have risen sharply in the past decade, with some routes struggling to meet demand for vehicle places. Lyall said: "The system we have that has served us well for decades is now no longer able to do that. "It doesn't have the capacity and we're struggling with other things, like the ability to crew the system adequately.

Shetland set to back £1.5bn plan to connect islands with undersea tunnels
Europe
The Guardian

Comcast to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky into separate media business

Sky Sports’ Ian Ward, Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton on the second day of the second Test between England and New Zealand. Photograph: Philip Brown/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenSky Sports’ Ian Ward, Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton on the second day of the second Test between England and New Zealand. Photograph: Philip Brown/Getty ImagesNBC UniversalComcast to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky into separate media businessEntertainment arm to split from mobile and broadband in move that raises questions over future of Sky News Comcast is to spin off its media operation, which includes Sky and the Hollywood film studio, TV and theme park business NBCUniversal, into a separate publicly listed company. The move comes eight years after the US group, which said the separation will take a year to complete, acquired Sky’s European operations for £31bn. After completion of the deal investors will hold shares in Comcast, which will operate as a listed company operating broadband and mobile services to 65m US homes, as well as NBCUniversal. Brian Roberts, the co-chief executive of Comcast, said that separating the two companies would “unlock a more entrepreneurial management approach” for each business. The NBCUniversal business, which includes the streaming service Peacock and the TV network NBC, will be run by Mike Cavanagh, who is now co-chief executive of Comcast. “His vision is for a unique, independent, focused company that be home to some of the industry’s most valuable brands and assets across theme parks, film, television, streaming, sports and news,” Roberts said. “This new company will be well positioned to pursue the significant opportunities that lie ahead, to partner across the media and entertainment ecosystem, and will be poised to grow.” When Comcast acquired Sky for £31bn in 2018 the company guaranteed to keep funding Sky News for a decade, increasing its funding annually in line with inflation. As that commitment draws closer to expiring, concerns have been raised about whether the US company will continue to fully fund Sky News, which has an annual budget of about £100m but is thought to make losses of as much as £80m. David Rhodes, the executive chair of Sky News, has previously said the Comcast commitment provides Sky News with more security than most other organisations, and that the parent company has been “supportive of our independence every step of the way”. Nevertheless, the move to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky will renew speculation about the long-term plans for Sky News. Comcast opted not to renew a licensing agreement held by News Corporation to use the Sky News brand in Australia. Sky News Australia is rebranding as News24 later this year.

Comcast to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky into separate media business
North America
CNBC Economy

UN agency pauses Hormuz ship evacuation plan after first vessel attack under peace deal

The International Maritime Organization has paused its efforts aimed at evacuating ships and seafarers stranded inside the Middle East Gulf after a vessel was attacked in the Gulf of Oman. The pause follows a container ship being struck by an unknown projectile near the coast of Oman on Thursday, with a U.S. official telling MS Now that Iran was behind the attack. The evacuation plan would be temporarily paused "in order to reconfirm that the necessary safety guarantees continue to be in place for the ships on our evacuation list and ​all those in the region," Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the ​International Maritime Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, said in a statement. When asked about its response to the attack, a U.S. official said "we are aware of these reports and looking into them. President Trump has been clear that Iran cannot subvert the free flow of traffic in the strait." The IMO initiative, launched on Tuesday, was aimed at supporting hundreds of stranded ships and thousands of seafarers to sail out of the Gulf, using either a northern route via Iranian waters or a southern route via Omani waters with U.S. oversight, the IMO said earlier this week. Shipowners had been seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. and Iran struck an interim peace deal to pause hostilities for 60 days as negotiations for a permanent peace deal proceeded. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has partially recovered but remains well below pre-war levels. In the week following the ceasefire, 125 vessels passed through the strait, according to Lloyd's List Intelligence, the highest level of weekly transits since the war started in late February. On Wednesday, Iran's military warned vessels to not use the southern route approved by the IMO and said any new transit route through the Strait of Hormuz established without its approval is "unacceptable and dangerous," as Tehran seeks to reinforce its grip over the vital energy waterway. At least two vessels performed U-turns on their way out of the Middle East Gulf, according to Lloyd's, after Iran insisted that vessels use the routes approved by Tehran. Both were using the southern route closest to the Omani coastline. The attacked vessel carried a Singapore flag and was owned by shipping giant Evergreen, according to Lloyd's. It did not ⁠transit under IMO's evacuation framework, Dominguez said in the statement. Evergreen, Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to CNBC's requests for comment. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.

UN agency pauses Hormuz ship evacuation plan after first vessel attack under peace deal
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Sensex jumps 521 points, Nifty closes above 24,400 on banking, realty gains

Equity benchmarks ended higher for the fourth straight day on Monday, led by strong buying in blue-chip banking, realty and defence counters amid subdued crude oil prices, easing geopolitical tensions and growing expectations of a less hawkish stance from the USFederal Reserve. Asian and European markets showcased mixed trends. “The calmness in the West Asia region and hopes for a relatively steady corporate earnings season kept investor mood optimistic, although overall sentiment remains cautious,” Ankur Punj, MD & Business Head at Equirus Wealth, said. According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, continued softness in crude prices would support inflation, the current account balance, oil marketing companies’ profitability, and overall macro stability. He noted that financials gained on expectations of healthy private bank earnings, autos benefited from strong volume trends and improving demand outlook, while realty remained supported by resilient housing demand. BSE Sensex rose 521.16 points, or 0.67 per cent, to close at 78,285.07, after hitting an intraday high of 78,398.06. NSE Nifty 50 gained 159.50 points, or 0.66 per cent, to settle at 24,430.35. In the last four trading sessions, both the benchmarks have gained over 2 per cent each. The broader market also participated in the rally, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 ending in positive territory. On the sectoral front, realty, consumer durables, auto and oil & gas outperformed, while media, PSU banks, IT and cement closed lower. Defence stocks outperformed after the Defence Acquisition Council approved capital acquisition proposals worth ₹52,000 crore. Zen Technologies, Dynamatic Technologies, Paras Defence and Data Patterns outperformed. In the midcap segment, Dixon Technologies, Radico, Hitachi Energy and GE Vernova T&D gained between 3 per cent and 7 per cent. Groww, MCX, Bank of India, Suzlon and Bank of Maharashtra were among the top losers. In the small-cap space, Swan Corp, Manappuram Finance, Welspun Corp and Aegis Logistics advanced, while Zensar Technologies, Ola Electric and Pine Labs weighed on the index. Market breadth remained neutral. A total of 3,462 stocks were traded on the NSE, of which 1,578 advanced, 1,769 declined, and 115 remained unchanged. 146 stocks reached 52-week highs, and 41 hit 52-week lows. In addition, 114 stocks hit the upper circuit and 99 hit the lower circuit. Abhinav Tiwari, Research Analyst at Bonanza, said management commentary, future guidance, crude oil prices, foreign investor flows and global interest rate expectations are likely to drive market direction. He added that until earnings provide greater clarity, stock-specific movements are expected to dominate.

Sensex jumps 521 points, Nifty closes above 24,400 on banking, realty gains
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Engineers from 4 countries & India’s young workforce help launch CG Semi’s OSAT facility in Gujarat

More than 75 engineers packed their bags and relocated to Gujarat from the Philippines, South Korea, the United States and Malaysia to help build CG Semi’s ₹7,500-crore Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facility at Sanand. On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the plant, making it only the third semiconductor facility in India to commence commercial production in the past five months. On the shop floor, these engineers now work alongside young women from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala, many of whom had never stepped outside their villages before travelling to Malaysia for specialised semiconductor training. Together, they embody two ends of India’s semiconductor story—global expertise flowing into the country and a first-generation manufacturing workforce being trained to produce chips destined for markets across Japan, the United States and Europe. “Over 75 of our colleagues moved to Gujarat from the Philippines, South Korea, the United States and Malaysia. They came here not merely to build a factory but to help build India’s capability,” said Vellayan Subbiah, chairman of CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd, whose subsidiary CG Semi has developed the facility in partnership with Japan’s Renesas Electronics and Thailand’s Stars Microelectronics. For Subbiah, the project’s significance lies as much in capability-building as in manufacturing. “It is deeply symbolic that our first shipment is going to global customer Renesas Electronics, our Japanese partner,” he said. “Our partner Renesas taught us what being truly world class means. Their qualification standards were tough. Very tough. By meeting those standards, we not only earned the trust of our customers but also confidence in what advanced Indian manufacturing is capable of achieving,” he added. The chips packaged at the Sanand plant will find their way into automobiles, scooters and industrial equipment before being exported to Japan, the United States and Europe, Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The minister also highlighted the workforce behind the facility. “Daughters from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala will be working as operators at the plant. Some of them stepped out of their villages for the first time and went to Malaysia for training,” he said. Spread over 75,000 square feet, the newly inaugurated facility has the capacity to package about 300 million semiconductor units annually. Right next to it, a second plant spanning nearly one million square feet is already under construction and is expected to increase capacity to four billion units a year. For PM Modi, the plant is also evidence of a semiconductor ecosystem beginning to take shape. Within months of Micron Technology, Kaynes and now CG Semi commencing commercial production in Sanand, the region is beginning to resemble the manufacturing clusters that transformed countries such as Taiwan, South Korea and China. “Step by step, brick by brick and chip by chip, the Semicon India programme is catching pace,” the Prime Minister said, adding that semiconductor clusters eventually attract suppliers of chemicals, testing laboratories, equipment service companies, chip designers and startups. Modi said the back-to-back commissioning of semiconductor facilities by Micron, Kaynes Semicon and now CG Semi in Sanand marks the emergence of a semiconductor manufacturing cluster in India. Such clusters, he said, create a multiplier effect by attracting suppliers of specialty chemicals, testing laboratories, equipment maintenance companies, chip design firms and startups, gradually building an integrated semiconductor ecosystem rather than standalone manufacturing units. “Today chips are being packaged here; tomorrow specialised companies will come... This is the strength of a cluster,” he said. CG Semi’s facility adds to the rapid build-out of Gujarat’s semiconductor ecosystem under the India Semiconductor Mission. The state has secured six major semiconductor projects involving investments of about ₹1.24 lakh crore. Besides CG Semi, Micron Technology and Kaynes Semicon have already commenced commercial production at their OSAT facilities in Sanand, while Suchi Semicon’s pilot OSAT plant is operational in Surat. Tata Electronics is constructing India’s first commercial semiconductor fabrication (fab) facility at Dholera, and Crystal Matrix has received approval to set up the country’s first commercial mini and micro-LED display fabrication and packaging unit at Dholera SIR. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Engineers from 4 countries & India’s young workforce help launch CG Semi’s OSAT facility in Gujarat