Latest Developments

Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

S’pore banks hit record highs, DBS tops $70 for the first time

Analysts expect strong wealth management momentum and attractive dividend yields to continue underpinning bank share prices. SINGAPORE – Shares of Singapore’s three banks climbed to record highs this week, buoyed by expectations that interest rates will stay higher for longer and growing investor optimism ahead of the banks’ second-quarter earnings reports in early August. DBS Bank punched through the $70 mark for the first time on July 9 and ended the week up 5.7 per cent at $70.45. OCBC Bank broke through $27 and closed 8.46 per cent higher at $27.43, while UOB surpassed $44 and finished the week up 10.12 per cent at $44.38. Analysts said they expect strong wealth management momentum and attractive dividend yields to continue underpinning bank share prices. Investor interest could also receive a further boost after the Singapore Exchange said on July 1 that it would cut the standard board-lot size from 100 units to 10 units for stocks priced between $10 and $100, including the three local banks. Meanwhile, shares of Singapore Airlines briefly retreated after renewed US-Iran tensions triggered swings in oil prices, but still finished the week up 1.31 per cent at $7.71. But the pullback in the national carrier as well as other oil-sensitive counters did little to dent improving sentiment in the broader market, with the Straits Times Index (STI) ending the week 4.29 per cent higher at 5,469.29. “This selective reaction stands in contrast to episodes in the previous months when geopolitical tensions weighed more broadly on the STI and regional peers,” said James Ooi, market strategist at Tiger Brokers. “Investors have likely grown fatigued and desensitised to the repeated cycles of escalation and de-escalation, and are now focusing more on local developments and underlying company fundamentals rather than recurring geopolitical headlines,” he added. Gold prices recently rebounded from lows near US$4,000 an ounce compared with their January peak above US$5,000, after a weaker-than-expected US jobs report for the month of June eased expectations of further Federal Reserve rate hikes. Lower interest rate expectations tend to support gold because the precious metal does not pay interest, making it relatively more attractive when yields on competing assets are expected to remain lower. Still, gold lost some ground through the week as inflation fears grew after US President Donald Trump said that the ceasefire between the US and Iran was over.

S’pore banks hit record highs, DBS tops $70 for the first time
Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

Wall Street ends higher as investors turn to earnings season

NEW YORK - The S&P 500 rose to end just short of a record high on July 10, as a blockbuster Nasdaq debut of South Korea’s SK Hynix fuelled optimism about memory-chip makers, while investors looked ahead to quarterly earnings season kicking off next week. The artificial intelligence trade returned to the spotlight after SK Hynix ended 13 per cent above its offering price at US$170 in a high-profile US listing. The semiconductor company raised over US$26 billion (S$33.6 billion) on July 9 by selling American Depositary Receipts priced at US$149 each. US stocks added to gains after US President Donald Trump said that Iran had asked to continue talks and the US had agreed, but that the June ceasefire was “over.” Attacks between the US and Iran this week revived concerns that high energy prices could fuel more inflation and force the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates. Reports from big US banks will kick off the second-quarter earnings season next week. Analysts are expecting S&P 500 earnings to surge 24 per cent from a year earlier, with technology companies driving much of the growth, according to LSEG I/B/E/S. “This is a high-bar quarter with a narrow margin of error,” said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at US Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “The banks will give us a good read on the underlying economic strength and what consumers and businesses are doing.” Thanks to increased corporate profit estimates, the S&P 500 is trading at about 20 times expected earnings, down from an earnings multiple of 21 in late May, even though the benchmark is trading near record highs. Chipmakers have been among the biggest beneficiaries of this year’s AI-driven rally, fuelled by expectations of heavy spending by hyperscalers. But concerns over stretched valuations and profit taking have recently injected volatility into the sector. The S&P 500 climbed 0.42 per cent to end the session at 7,575.39 points. It remains down 0.45% from its June 2 record-high close. The Nasdaq gained 0.29 per cent to 26,281.61 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.29 per cent to 52,637.01 points.

Wall Street ends higher as investors turn to earnings season
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Holding steady

Last week, we had said that the Nifty 50 and Sensex are looking bullish with an inverted head and shoulder pattern formation. This pattern has failed. The sharp fall on Wednesday, after the US announced that the ceasefire was over, played the spoil sport. Although the pattern has failed, the broader picture remains positive. The recovery towards the end of the week indicates the presence of buyers in the market at lower levels. The Sensex and Nifty which were down about 2 per cent mid-week have recovered and closed the week marginally lower by 0.25 per cent each. As such, the development on the US-Iran war front has not changed anything on our overall bullish outlook. The Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) continue to buy Indian equities. The equity segment saw a net inflow of about $1.59 billion in July so far. There has been an inflow of about $3 billion in the last four weeks. Are the FPIs coming back? We need to wait and watch. If the FPIs increase their pace of purchase, then the Sensex and Nifty can scale new highs in the coming months. Short-term view: The support at 23,800 continues to hold well. That keeps the bias positive. Immediate resistance is at 24,350. A break above it can strengthen the momentum. Such a break can take the Nifty up to 24,800 in the short term. Failure to breach 24,350 can drag the Nifty down to 24,000-23,900. In that case, Nifty can remain in a range of 23,800-24,350 for some time. The short-term picture will turn negative only if the index declines below 23,800. If that happens, a fall to 23,500 and even lower can be seen. Medium-term view: The broader 22,000-26,500 range is intact. Within that, Nifty is moving up and is expected to rise towards 26,500, the upper end of the range. A break above 24,800 will clear the way for this rise. The long-term picture remains positive to get a bullish breakout above 26,500 eventually. Such a break can take the Nifty higher to 28,000 and even 30,000 in the long term. Short-term view: Except for the high volatility, the Nifty Bank index oscillated well within its 56,500-58,900 range. The near-term picture continues to remain unclear. We have to wait for a breakout on either side of 56,500-58,900 to get clarity on the next move. The bias is positive. So, we see higher chances for the index to breach 58,900 and rise to 60,500-61,500 in the short term. The outlook will turn negative only if the index declines below 56,500. In that case, 56,000 or even 55,000 can be seen on the downside. Medium-term view: The overall bullish picture is intact. Key resistance to watch will be 61,500. A break above it will clear the way for a rise to 65,000 in the medium term. From a long-term perspective, there is potential for the Nifty Bank index to target 68,000-69,000.

Holding steady
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

How Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant could reshape its energy future

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh, a $12.65-billion project, is expected to strengthen the country’s energy security, reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and support long-term economic growth. (a file photo) On the banks of the Padma river in western Bangladesh, local tourists are posing for selfies in front of the four massive, ivory-colored cooling towers at the country’s first nuclear power plant. Once fully completed in 2028, the two Russian-designed reactors at the Rooppur facility will be able to supply as much as 15% of the country’s electricity. The project is an audacious bet that nuclear power can meet the needs of an industrializing economy without breaking the bank, and other developing nations across the world will be watching closely. Atomic power has undergone a renaissance over the last few years. While safety risks and heavy cost overruns saw the world sour on nuclear, especially after the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011, those concerns are now being surpassed by the need to decarbonize and meet a surge in power demand from artificial intelligence and the electrification of transport fleets. For developing nations like Bangladesh, atomic energy is less about data centers and more to do with weaning their economies off fossil fuels and reducing their vulnerability to external shocks like the Iran war. With oil and gas exports from the Persian Gulf upended by the conflict, long lines at filling stations became routine, homes in the countryside had to cope with hours of daily blackouts, and factory output suffered. “The recent geopolitical conflicts — Iran and Russia-Ukraine — have shown that a scarcity of resources hurts poorer countries more than rich ones,” said R. Srikanth, who heads the energy, environment and climate change program at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bengaluru in India. “That strengthens the case for nuclear in emerging economies.” The 2.4 gigawatt project has been more than a decade in the making, a period marked by a series of upheavals including the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Iran war. Those events are an endorsement of Bangladesh’s strategy of reducing its heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels, but they’ve also pushed Rooppur beyond its original timeline of commissioning the first unit by 2023. The project has been inherited by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, who came to power in elections in February, and chimes with his government’s efforts to revive growth after years of dictatorship came to an end in 2024. The first reactor is now expected to become fully operational by the start of 2027, with the second one to follow a year later, according to Md. Zahedul Hassan, managing director at Nuclear Power Plant Co. Bangladesh Ltd., the facility’s operator. Like other developing economies, though, Bangladesh has found that nuclear projects come with expanding costs. Under the main contract with Russian state-owned company Rosatom, the plant will cost around $12.65 billion, including the first few years’ fuel, according to the World Nuclear Association. But in local-currency terms, that cost has now increased by almost a quarter since the project was approved a decade ago, thanks to a sharp weakening of the Bangladeshi taka against the dollar. “The delay has had a massive financial implication for Bangladesh,” said Md. Shafiqul Islam, a professor of nuclear engineering at Dhaka University. “A timely completion would have not only avoided this massive cost escalation but would have also helped us trim our fossil fuel import bill.” Plant operator Hassan, while declining to give details on the estimated cost of generation, is adamant that it will be value for money for the country.

How Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant could reshape its energy future
Europe
BBC Business

Reeves tells BBC: Burnham needs worked-through plan to govern from the start

Rachel Reeves has warned the incoming prime minister, Andy Burnham, that he needs to be properly prepared to govern when he arrives in Downing Street in a little more than a week. Speaking exclusively to the BBC in what is likely to be her last major interview as chancellor, Reeves told Laura Kuenssberg that "it is important that when Andy walks through that door he has a worked-through plan, because governing is hard in Britain, and lots of challenges and shocks will come his way". She said Burnham and his team coming into Downing Street must be "really clear about what they want to achieve", and that "he needs to stay laser-focused on those things that have always motivated him, have always driven him". Asked why Sir Keir Starmer's time in office was coming to an end, she said: "People are impatient for change - I'm impatient for change and I totally get that people want to see their lives changed faster." We sat down in one of the lavish 17th Century state rooms upstairs in No 11 Downing Street - exactly the same room where she gave her first full interview as chancellor in July 2024. She would never have suspected then that she and her next-door neighbour would be moving out just 24 months later. Reeves wouldn't explicitly say who should be the next chancellor, or even if she would like to stay. She has always told us that being chancellor is her "dream job". She and her team clearly do not expect to stay in No 11, but with the incoming No 10 team tight-lipped about its cast list, we just don't know. Reeves said that she had returned "stability and trust" to the economy over the past two years, and that "Andy will take over an economy that is much stronger than the one I inherited from the Conservatives just two years ago." In the interview, Reeves wanted to focus on what she described as the "big picture" - government borrowing costs that have gone down, inflation way down from its peak, increased investment in infrastructure like roads and railways, and the economy growing faster than the UK's nearest competitors. But by other measures, there are still big problems in the economy. Inflation is still above target and is expected to rise, growth has been slow, and just this week, the Bank of England warned that interest rates might have to go up again. The country's debts are due to be higher at the end of this parliament than they were when Labour moved in. And more than anything else, firms and families' spending power is still under pressure, with the latest ONS figures showing disposable income falling. One former senior minister told me Reeves had "spent a lot of time and energy painting a picture of her grim inheritance in the expectation things would brighten up quickly and she could claim credit".

Reeves tells BBC: Burnham needs worked-through plan to govern from the start
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

How integrated digital ecosystems are transforming India’s agricultural value chain

For years, the agricultural sector has been talking about digital transformation. Today, the conversation has evolved. The next phase of India’s agricultural growth will not be driven by another app, another marketplace, or another technology platform. It will be shaped by connected ecosystems that enable every stakeholder in the value chain to make faster, smarter, and more informed decisions. India is already laying the foundation for this future. Initiatives such as the Digital Agriculture Mission, Agri-Stack, and the Krishi Decision Support System are creating the country’s Digital Public Infrastructure for agriculture, bringing together farmer identities, crop data, geospatial intelligence, and AI-driven advisory into a unified framework. While these national initiatives are building the digital backbone, the real impact will come from how the private ecosystem builds on top of it. This is where agri-commerce is undergoing a fundamental shift from disconnected transactions to intelligent interactions. Every order placed by an agri-retailer has the potential to generate demand signals for manufacturers, optimise inventory planning, improve logistics efficiency, unlock working capital, and create richer market intelligence. Commerce is no longer just about selling products. It is becoming a source of intelligence that benefits the entire ecosystem. Agri-retailers are no longer operating as conventional input sellers. They are evolving into digitally enabled business partners who advise farmers, manage inventory more efficiently, access credit digitally, discover new products, and serve as the last-mile link between manufacturers and farming communities. This evolution is redefining the role of the retailer. The future retailer will not compete on proximity alone. They will compete on access to insights, product availability, service quality, and speed. Digital platforms are enabling retailers to make data-backed decisions on what to stock, when to replenish inventory, and how to better serve the cropping patterns of their local markets. For manufacturers, this creates an entirely new opportunity. Instead of relying solely on historical sales trends, they can understand emerging demand patterns in near real time, identify regional opportunities earlier, improve forecasting accuracy, and strengthen engagement with retailers through more targeted product availability and marketing initiatives. Artificial intelligence is accelerating this shift even further. Across agriculture, AI is increasingly being used to combine weather intelligence, crop information, transaction data, and market trends to generate recommendations that are specific to a farmer’s geography and cropping cycle. However, technology alone does not create value. Data becomes meaningful only when it flows across stakeholders. The real competitive advantage will belong to organisations that can connect manufacturers, retailers, logistics, finance, and advisory into one integrated experience rather than offering isolated digital solutions. That philosophy has shaped the journey of nurture.retail. Our objective has never been limited to creating an online ordering platform. We are building a digital ecosystem that simplifies business for agri-retailers while strengthening collaboration across the agricultural value chain. From providing access to a wide portfolio of trusted brands and exclusive products to enabling faster deliveries, digital credit, and marketing opportunities, every capability is designed to help retailers grow their business while ensuring farmers receive timely access to genuine agricultural inputs. As India’s agricultural ecosystem becomes increasingly data-driven, retailers will emerge as one of the most influential participants in this transformation. Positioned closest to the farmer while remaining deeply connected to manufacturers and supply chains, they are uniquely placed to convert digital intelligence into real-world impact. India’s next agricultural revolution will not be defined by who builds the biggest platform. It will be defined by who builds the strongest ecosystem.

How integrated digital ecosystems are transforming India’s agricultural value chain
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

England defeat Norway 2-1 as Jude Bellingham shines in World Cup quarterfinal

FIFA World Cup 2026 - Quarter-final - Norway v England - Miami Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, U.S. - July 11, 2026: England’s Jude Bellingham celebrates after scoring the extra-time winner against Norway. | Photo Credit: Mike Segar Jude Bellingham scored in the third minute of extra time to lift England past Norway 2-1 and into the World Cup semifinals for the first time since 2018. Bellingham’s goal was his second of the game — he also had an equaliser late in the first half. The Real Madrid star is now tied with England teammate Harry Kane with six goals in this tournament, behind the eight of France’s Kylian Mbappé and Argentina’s Lionel Messi. He scored twice in the round of 16 as England beat co-host Mexico. England, winner of the 1966 World Cup and facing pressure to return to the title match, is now one win away from getting there. The Three Lions will face either Argentina or Switzerland, who were set to play Saturday night in Kansas City, Missouri. Andreas Schjelderup scored in the 36th minute for Norway, a squad that reached its first quarterfinals and took the internet by storm with its “Viking row” and the charisma of 6-foot-5 striker Erling Haaland. Haaland — the Manchester City star who had seven goals in this tournament — was held without a goal for the first time in the World Cup. He was subbed out on Saturday for Jorgen Strand Larsen in the second half of extra time. Norway nearly went ahead 2-1 in the 56th minute when Torbjørn Heggem put a rebound past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford after a corner kick. Following a video review, the goal was disallowed because of a foul by Haaland in the box. Haaland was also denied by Pickford on a point-blank header in the first half. Schjelderup, making just his second start of the tournament, fired a shot that caromed off the right post and into the net to stun an England team that had dominated possession to that point. Bellingham’s equaliser from close range elicited a roar from that crowd that included Mick Jagger and England great David Beckham. Schjelderup, who set up both of Haaland’s goals in Norway’s round of 16 win over Brazil, celebrated by stretching his arms wide and looking at the crowd as his teammates lifted him onto their shoulders. Meanwhile, Kane sat near midfield, grabbing his leg and looking toward the officials. No foul was called. Moments before Bellingham evened the score, a Norway goal kick resulted in the ball appearing to make contact with an aerial camera cable before landing at the feet of England’s Elliot Anderson. The ball was eventually played to Bellingham, who beat Ørjan Nyland with a low shot to the far post. By rule, if the ball had been noticed hitting the cable, play would have stopped, and a drop ball would have been utilised to determine possession. There was a brief moment of silence before the match in honour of Jayden Adams, the 25-year-old midfielder for South Africa whose death was announced earlier Saturday. 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.

England defeat Norway 2-1 as Jude Bellingham shines in World Cup quarterfinal
Europe
The Guardian

Oil prices jump over 5% after Trump suggests ceasefire with Iran has ended following fresh US strikes – as it happened

Oil and gas prices jumped, stock markets slid and government bond yields rose after the US and Iran traded fresh strikes and Donald Trump said the shaky ceasefire was “over”. In stock markets, the UK’s FTSE 100 fell 1%, or 110 points, to 10,556 while Germany’s Dax tumbled 1.6% and Spain’s Ibex lost 2%. Speaking at a NATO summit in Ankara, Trump also said he was cutting off trade with Spain over defence spending). On Wall Street, the S&P 500 index fell nearly 0.5% while the Dow Jones slid 0.9% and the Nasdaq slipped 0.3%. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei ended the day 2.1% lower while China’s CSI 300 declined 0.77% and South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 5.5%, also hit by a sell-off in semiconductor shares. Eurozone government bond yields rose to their highest levels in almost a month, as higher oil prices stoked inflation fears. The yield, or interest rate, on Germany’s 10-year bond rose 5 basis points to 3.034%, the highest since 11 July, as bonds sold off (yields move inversely to prices). The two-year bond yield, which is more sensitive to European Central Bank interest rate expectations, also climbed 5bps, to 2.637%, the highest since 22 June. The yield on the 10-year UK government bond, known as gilt, climbed 9bps to 4.94%.

Oil prices jump over 5% after Trump suggests ceasefire with Iran has ended following fresh US strikes – as it happened
North America
CNBC Finance

PepsiCo earnings miss estimates as U.S. consumers tighten their budgets

PepsiCo on Thursday reported mixed quarterly results as the struggles of its North American food and beverage divisions offset strong international demand. "Results were tempered in the quarter as U.S. food and beverage category performance moderated with consumer budgets tightening due to rising inflationary pressures," CEO Ramon Laguarta said in prepared remarks shared on the company's website on Thursday. During Pepsi's second quarter, global oil prices swung dramatically due to the U.S. war with Iran. In the U.S., the national average gas price hit a four-year high of $4.56 per gallon in late May, leading many shoppers to watch their spending. Pepsi reported second-quarter net income attributable to the company of $2.98 billion, or $2.18 per share, up from $1.26 billion, or 92 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding restructuring and impairment charges and other items, the company earned $2.20 per share. Net sales rose 6.4% to $24.18 billion. Organic revenue, which excludes acquisitions, divestitures and foreign currency, increased 2.4% in the quarter. Globally, volume for Pepsi's food increased 3%, while volume for its beverages rose 2%. The metric excludes pricing and foreign exchange fluctuations to reflect demand more accurately. But Pepsi's volume growth came from its international markets. Demand was much weaker domestically. Its North American food business reported flat volume for the quarter, and its North American beverage division saw volume drop 4%. "I think the consumer is worse than what we had anticipated, and it's driven mainly by gas prices," Laguarta said on the company's earnings conference call. "We need to see some improvement in the in the convenience and gas channel, and hopefully we'll get some tailwinds from gas prices to do that," CFO Steve Schmitt said. Over the last two years, both North American segments have seen weaker demand as a result of higher prices. In February, Pepsi cut prices on Lay's, Tostitos, Doritos and Cheetos by as much as 15% to try to win back shoppers. The company has also been "restaging" some of its iconic brands, like Gatorade and Lay's, with fresh branding to boost their sales. Pepsi expects that its North American volumes will recover, but that will take time, particularly after this quarter's setback.

PepsiCo earnings miss estimates as U.S. consumers tighten their budgets