Hong Kong’s finance chief has confirmed an early operating account surplus driven by strong financial market performance and stock trading stamp duty revenue, as he addressed calls for more elderly welfare measures at the first public forum for the coming budget. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po vowed on Saturday to make “utmost” efforts to address…
The markets are volatile—and Wall Street’s most reliable barometer of panic has surged to levels not seen since April, when President Donald Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs triggered a global market meltdown. The Cboe Volatility Index, known as the VIX, peaked at 27.8 on Thursday and closed the day around 26.3—its highest point since the…
European markets opened significantly lower on Friday, following a retreat in Asian shares in the morning and Wall Street’s tumble on Thursday, as investors reassessed the outlook for interest-rate cuts and questioned the lofty valuations of leading US technology and AI stocks. “Markets are down across the board as investors fret about cracks in the…
European markets opened significantly lower on Friday, following a retreat in Asian shares in the morning and Wall Street’s tumble on Thursday, as investors reassessed the outlook for interest-rate cuts and questioned the lofty valuations of leading US technology and AI stocks. “Markets are down across the board as investors fret about cracks in the…
ADVERTISEMENT European stocks rose on Wednesday morning after a string of strong corporate results a day earlier, while equities were also boosted by remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. In Philadelphia on Tuesday, Powell suggested that another interest rate cut could come later this month in the US. In Europe, shares in Netherlands-headquartered ASML,…