Taiwan

After U.S. president Donald Trump delayed the bombing of Iran’s power grid on Tuesday, fears of an even greater energy shock were eased. The markets were on a roller coaster at the beginning of the week, after Trump extended his Saturday deadline for Iran to reopen Strait of Hormuz in 48 hours by five days, citing constructive talks with unidentified Iranian official, which Tehran denied. It's a negotiation tactic... "I don't believe that the U.S. government wants to see oil priced at $150, because they caused it themselves," said Rajeev de Mello. Chief investment officer at GAMA Asset Management. The...

The world markets reversed their course quickly on Monday, after U.S. president?Donald Trump announced that he would 'order the military to delay?any?"military strikes" against Iranian power stations and energy infrastructure. This eased uncertainty and fears over the consequences of a greater oil shock. Brent crude oil futures dropped sharply. The dollar fell against major currencies. Stock markets rallied. Government?borrowing rates fell. "Trump's five-day pause has triggered a?sort of TACO? movement in the markets, where all prices have moved lower and rates are rallying," said Evelyne GomezLiechti. Trump stated that the postponement was a result of productive discussions with Iran. Gomez-Liechti...

As the United States and Iran exchanged escalating threat, and Israel planned "weeks" of more fighting, oil prices went on another roller-coaster. Iran warned on Sunday that it would attack?the water and energy systems of its Gulf neighbors if the?U.S. President Donald Trump has followed through on his threat to strike Iran's power grid within 48 hours. This effectively ends any hope for an early conclusion to the war which is now in its fourth weeks. Trump warned Iran that it had only two days to open up the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait is currently closed for all vessels...

Global stocks fell on Thursday, as the attacks on oil tankers and the warning from Iran undermined the prospects for an imminent deescalation of the Middle East conflict. Oil prices briefly rose above $100 per barrel and inflation fears were stoked. The'reaction' shows how quickly bets placed on an early end to the 'war which gained momentum earlier in the week are being unwound. The contradictory messages of U.S. president Donald Trump has left traders fearful that they will be caught off guard, causing them to stay away from the markets or find refuge in safe havens. Wall Street stock...

?Global shares fell and the dollar remained steady on Wednesday after data showed U.S. Inflation picked up in February as expected.?Most investors focused on?the price of oil and the possibility that the U.S. and Israeli?war 'on Iran? could have a long-term effect on economic growth. The Labor Department reported that the consumer price index increased 0.3% in the month of February. This was in line with expectations and higher than the 0.2% rise in January. CPI increased 2.4% over the past year, matching expectations. The core rate, which excludes energy and food prices, rose at 2.5% in line with predictions....

Investors were worried about inflationary pressures, and the risks of economic growth. Investors were reminded about the vulnerability of 'private credit' after Financial Times reported, citing a source familiar with the issue, that JPMorgan Chase JPM.N marked down the?value? of some loans held in private-credit groups, and tightened its lending policies to the sector. The price of oil was volatile again, but the price movements were relatively mild compared with Monday's record-breaking price swings. The Wall Street Journal reported that the International Energy Agency had proposed the largest release in history of reserves to bring down crude oil prices. Energy...

In a volatile week for the global markets, the conflict in the Middle East has shown no signs of abating. Investors sought'safety in cash' as they realised that the U.S./Israeli war against Iran might last longer than originally anticipated. The central banks also began to adjust their rates in anticipation of more aggressive expectations. They were frightened by the possibility of an inflationary resurgence if energy prices continue to rise. The yields on U.S. Treasuries jumped 18 basis points, the most since nearly a full year ago, and the dollar is set to make its biggest weekly gain in over...

The dollar rose on Thursday as oil prices surged amid supply concerns and intensifying combat on the sixth day in the U.S. and Israeli war against?Iran. Iran's campaign continued as Tehran fired a volley of missiles towards Israel and threatened to retaliate "wherever" they were after a U.S. strike. A strike was made on a ship that was far away from the battlefield. U.S. president Donald Trump claimed the right to decide who leads Iran next, as U.S. jets and Israeli planes bombarded areas in the country. Gulf cities also faced new attacks. Investors were encouraged on Wednesday when the...

Investors dumped bets in the chip industry on Wednesday as they feared that a growing Middle East conflict would cause an oil shock, which could increase inflation and delay interest rate reductions. Asia is heavily dependent on the energy imports that are shipped through the nearly closed 'Strait of Hormuz'. This was evident in Seoul where the session ended with the stock market dropping 12%. It was the biggest drop ever recorded. Over the past two days, the benchmark lost over 18% of its worth while the currency fell to a low not seen in 17 years. Japan's Nikkei dropped...

Investors sold off their chipmaker positions on Wednesday due to fears that the Middle East war will cause an oil shock, which would increase inflation and delay interest rate cuts. The broadest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan dropped 4.2%. Seoul's steep falls triggered a circuit breaker as the KOSPI fell more than 11%. The two-day loss was 17%. Japan's Nikkei dropped 4.3%, while Taiwan's benchmark fell 3.6%. COMMENTS: TARECK HORCHANI is the head of prime brokerage at Maybank Securities in Singapore. We are seeing foreign outflows driving the move, especially in large-cap tech stocks that have led the...

Investors weighed the implications of U.S., Israeli and Iranian strikes on Iran for?energy and the global economic system as they traded in the early Asian hours of Tuesday. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan dropped 1%, extending losses for the second day. The drop was led by a 2.5% fall in Korean shares. Tokyo's Nikkei225 fell 0.8%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%. Rupal Agarwal, Asia quant strategy at Bernstein, Singapore, said: "Economic uncertainty was already elevated, and now with Iran conflict, geopolitical risks are expected to increase too." The last time these two factors spiked together was 2022, during...

The mood was gloomy in Friday's Asian trading session as fears about the?valuations of technology companies weighed down on shares, and Middle East tensions kept the energy markets on edge. Japanese shares fell along with Wall Street - despite what seemed to be a glowing report from AI sector leader Nvidia. The?yen? and U.S. Treasuries grew, while gold remained steady after a 2-day rise. A mediator for the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, an Omani, gave a positive readout of the latest round. However uncertainty still hung on energy markets as there was no sign of any breakthrough that could avert a...

Analysts?and producers say that Paraguay’s soybean crop in 2025/26 is expected to exceed 10 million tons, and could become the biggest ever recorded by the country. StoneX, a South American agricultural?consultancy, revised its estimate of the crop harvested from October to February, increasing it by 500,000 tons. This is a significant increase over the previous estimate, which was 9.65 million tonnes. The crop, according to StoneX, "is among the best recorded ever" in this landlocked South American producer, the report stated. Analysts believe the final production total will depend on the second, smaller crop (or "zafrina") harvested between April-May. StoneX's...

Iron ore futures fell on Monday, as Chinese inventories rose and steel mills finished restocking. Meanwhile, feedstock demand is expected to be sluggish in the run-up to the Lunar New Year. The May contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange ended the daytime trading down 1.26% at 783 yuan (112.66) per metric ton. As of 0711 GMT, the benchmark March iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange was down 0.95% at $102.8 per ton. According to Steelhome's data released on January 30, iron ore stocks at major Chinese port cities increased by 1.16% in a week. A note from...

Intel, the U.S. chipmaker, lost its appeal against a 376 million euro ($438 millions) EU antitrust penalty imposed two years earlier for 'thwarting competitors.' But it gained some comfort as Europe’s second highest court reduced the fine by a third. The European Commission (which is the EU's competition enforcer) handed out the fine in 2023, after the court threw out an earlier penalty of 1.06 billion euro imposed by the tribunal in 2009 for blocking Advanced Micro Devices. The 376 million Euro fine was a result of payments Intel made to HP, Acer and Lenovo between November 2002 and December...

After his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Donald Trump announced on Thursday that the United States would reduce its tariffs on Chinese products from 20% to 10%. Trump said that Xi would work "very hard" to stop the flow of fentanyl and that the tariffs were reduced "because they really are taking strong actions." Trump described his meeting with Xi Jinping as "an incredible meeting" and said that many decisions were taken. Trump announced that China would purchase "tremendous quantities" of U.S. soya beans and other farm products, "starting immediately". A one-year agreement regarding rare earths was also reached...

Taiwan's Economy Ministry said that the new Chinese restrictions on rare earths will not have a significant impact on the semiconductor industry as these metals are different from those needed in the chip sector. China tightened its control of the rare earths sector in advance of the talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Beijing added five new elements to its export controls and increased scrutiny on chip users. Taiwan's Economy Ministry said in a press release about China's new regulations that the rare earth elements covered by the expanded prohibition differ from those required for Taiwan's semiconductor process, and...

Taiwan's Economy Ministry said that most rare earth materials are imported from Europe, Japan and the United States, but it is still too early to assess the impact of China's new restrictions on the semiconductor industry. China tightened its control of the rare earths sector in advance of talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Beijing added five new elements to the controls and increased scrutiny on chip users. In a statement on China's new regulations, Taiwan's Economy Ministry said that the majority of rare-earth materials required domestically were supplied by Europe and the United States. The impact of the...

Investors are worried that the U.S. Government's new stake is Intel heralds a new era of government interference in private industries, especially since the deal was made after President Donald Trump called for the resignation the CEO of the computer chip manufacturer. The deal announced on Friday converts government grants, including the Chips Act, worth $11.1 billion into a 9.9% stake in Intel. In the press release that announced the deal, the company included statements by the CEOs from Microsoft, Dell and others praising it. Investors noted that this level of transparency is not typically associated with business-Washington relations. Trump...

Kevin Hassett, White House economist and CNBC interviewee on Monday, said that the federal government could invest in other U.S. companies involved in semiconductors or even other industries. Hassett asked if this deal with Intel was part of a bigger effort by the U.S. Government to acquire equity stakes in industries it supports. He also said that there may be other transactions similar. The National Economic Council Director told CNBC, "I believe this is a special circumstance due to the huge amount of CHIPS Act expenditures that Intel was receiving." "But, the president made it very clear from the beginning...

Donald Trump announced on Friday that the U.S. will take 10% of Intel as part of a deal to help the chipmaker, and that he plans more similar moves. This is the White House's latest extraordinary intervention in corporate America. The U.S. has agreed to buy a 9.9% share in Intel at $20.47 per share. This is about $4 less than the closing price of Intel shares on Friday, which was $24.80. The Government will buy the 433.3 millions shares using funds from unpaid CHIPS Act Grants of $5.7 billion and $3.2 billion that Intel was awarded for the Secure...

A White House official said that the Trump administration was considering buying equity in companies receiving funds under the 2022 CHIPS Act, but had no plans to do so for larger firms boosting U.S. investment, such as TSMC or Micron. Officials confirmed a Wall Street Journal article that the administration will not be seeking equity stakes in companies such as Micron or TSMC that are planning to increase investment. The U.S. Department of Commerce's Howard Lutnick stated on Tuesday that the government was still working to determine the feasibility of acquiring a 10% stake at the troubled chipmaker Intel. He...

The Wall Street Journal, citing an official, reported that the Trump administration was considering taking equity stakes into companies receiving funding from the 2022 CHIPS Act, but had no plans to take shares in larger semiconductor firms who are increasing their U.S. investment. This follows remarks made by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday, who said that the government continues to explore the possibility of acquiring a 10% stake at troubled chipmaker Intel. The official informed the Journal that the administration did not plan to acquire equity stakes in firms like TSMC which are increasing their investment. The...

Two sources claim that U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick is investigating the possibility that the federal government could take equity stakes into computer chip companies that receive CHIPS Act funds to build factories within the country. A White House official, as well as a person who is familiar with the situation, said that Lutnick was exploring ways to get equity stakes from companies like Micron, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, and Samsung in exchange for CHIPS Act funds. The funding is still being distributed. Micron, a memory chip manufacturer, is the largest recipient of CHIPS Act funds in the United...