Business

The United States on Wednesday blacklisted 24 Chinese companies and targeted individuals it said were part of construction and military actions in the South China Sea, its first such sanctions move against Beijing over the disputed strategic waterway.

A gauge of global equity markets jumped to an alltime peak on Wednesday, after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rallied to fresh records on upbeat corporate results, while the dollar eased a day before the Federal Reserve potentially sets a new course on inflation.

As a wayout, the report suggests government incentivise households to save more, by increasing Section 80C/PPF limits, among other measures.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes hit record highs on Wednesday following upbeat quarterly results from Salesforce and HP Enterprise as investors bought into techrelated stocks that have thrived during the COVID19 pandemic.

AirAsia X Bhd needs creditors' support to ride out the coronavirus crisis, the Malaysian longhaul budget airline said on Wednesday, as it posted a quarterly loss and revenue plunge.

Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil exporter, plans to finish research into biodiesel containing 40% palm oil by November, the head of the energy ministry's research department said on Wednesday.

The dollar fell and a gauge of global equity markets wavered on Tuesday after investor optimism fueled by a phone call between U.S. and Chinese trade officials was offset by a slide in Apple shares and a poor reading of U.S. consumer confidence.

Wall Street's main indexes slipped on Tuesday following a threeday rally as a drop in Apple shares overshadowed optimism from remarks made by U.S. and China officials in pledging firm commitment to a Phase One trade deal.

U.S. home prices rose at a slightly slower pace in June, but the U.S. housing market continued to show resilience in the face of the coronvavirus pandemic.

Exchange operator Nasdaq Inc has filed with U.S. regulators to change its rules to enable companies that debut on the stock market through a direct listing to raise capital, as an alternative to an initial public offering.

Top U.S. and Chinese trade officials have reaffirmed their commitment to a Phase 1 trade deal, which has seen China lagging on its obligations to buy American goods, giving a boost to financial markets on Tuesday.

Companies raised the most funds in global equity and debt markets for the month of August in a decade as homebound bankers spend their summer fixing deals off the back of trillions of dollars of stimulus worldwide to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Taiwan on Monday gave the domestic branch of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's ecommerce site Taobao six months to reregister as a Chinese investment rather than a foreign one, or leave, in the government's latest shot against Chinese firms.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. is selling its subsidiary in Japan focused on consumer healthcare to U.S. investment fund Blackstone Group.

Crude oil prices rose on Monday as storms closed in on the Gulf of Mexico, shutting more than half its oil production, and on signs of progress in development of a COVID19 treatment.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.04 per cent at 93.21.