Top News
Putin rejects any foreign troops in Ukraine as security backup
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow won't accept any foreign troops in Ukraine as part of security guarantees for Kiev. He made the remark after French President Emmaneul Macron said 26 Western allies have committed to deploying troops by "land sea or air" to defend Ukraine against possible future attacks by Russian forces. A Kremlin spokesman said any deal to end the war in Ukraine would have to stipulate no foreign military support of any kind for Ukraine. He noted that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenky has been invited to Moscow to discuss peace, but Zelensky has said any face-to-face meeting with Putin must be on neutral ground.
Thailand selects businessman as new prime minister
Thai business tycoon Anutin Charnvirakul was elected the nation's third prime minister in two years by the parliament. The leader of the Bhumjaithai Party replaces Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was ousted by the Constitutional Court last week for breaching ethics laws. Her father, the billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, made a hasty, unexpected departure from the country to Dubai on his private jet late Thursday, days ahead of a court ruling that could see him jailed on corruption charges. Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 military coup.
US immigration swoop on Hyundai plant arrests hundreds of South Korean workers
US immigration agents raided a Hyundai carmaking factory in the US state of Georgia, arresting 475 people, most of them South Korean. It was the largest workplace swoop this year under the Trump administration's war on illegal immigration. The Department of Homeland Security said the raid was part of a criminal investigation. President Donald Trump said some of those detained are "not the best of people." South Korea expressed "concern and regret" over the operation and urged the US government to respect the rights of its citizens. The factory, which has been in operation a year, makes electric cars.
War of words
President Donald Trump signed an executive order changing the name of the US Department of Defense to the Department of War, reverting back to the name given the agency by first president George Washington. It was changed to defense in 1949. "We won World War 1 and World War 2 and it was called the Department of War. To me, that's what it really is," Trump said. Since Trump took office in January, the Gulf of Mexico has been renamed Gulf of America, the Confederate-era names of several military bases have been restored, and the name of a US Navy ship honoring Harvey Milk – he first openly gay man elected to public office in California, who was assassinated in 1978 – was changed.
US warns it will "blow up" foreign drug gangs
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US will "blow up" foreign criminal gangs if that's what it takes to stop illegal drug traffic into the US. His remarks came days after the US Navy attacked a Venezuelan boat in the Caribbean Sea that it says was carrying drugs to America, killing 11.
Russia to grant China citizens visa-free entry
Moscow will allow Chinese citizens to travel visa-free to Russia, President Vladimir Putin announced in a reciprocal courtesy after Beijing recently eased entry for Russian citizens to allow visa-free entry for up to 30 days.
Top Business
Starbucks bidders said to value China unit at US$5 billion
Bidders seeking to buy a stake in Starbucks' China operations are valuing the unit at as much as US$5 billion based on projected 2025 earnings, Reuters reported, citing knowledgeable sources. Starbucks invited about 10 potential buyers to submit bids by this month. The size of stake Starbucks plans to sell and the names of bidders haven't been disclosed. Starbucks' market share in China dropped to 14 percent last year from 34 percent in 2019 on stiff competition from mainland rivals like Luckin Coffee. In its earnings report for its fiscal third quarter ended June 29, the US chain said revenue from China increased 8 percent from a year earlier to US$790 million.
Elon Musk could become a trillionaire if Tesla value increases eightfold
subject to shareholder approval, would give Musk 423 million additional shares if the company's market capitalization reaches US$8.5 trillion, roughly eight times its current value. The unprecedented package is designed to keep Musk focused on the electric vehicle maker amid his other business ventures, including SpaceX his AI company xAI.
Citi exits participation in China UnionPay
Citigroup withdrew from participation in China UnionPay, a global payment network set up by Industrial & Commercial Bank of China and other lenders, with 2,600 institutional members across 183 countries and regions, Bloomberg reported. The decision came after Citi closed its retail banking business in China, first announced in 2021 as part of a global restructuring of its consumer business. In 2023, it sold its retail wealth management portfolio in mainland China to HSBC.
TikTok users rise to a third of EU residents
TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, said monthly users in Europe have risen above the 200-million mark, accounting for about a third of residents on the continent. That's an increase form 127 million last year and takes the global total to 1 billion. TikTok's future in the US remains in limbo after the Congress has banned its continuation if operations remain in Chinese hands. President Donald Trump has thrice delayed implementation of the law pending negotiations on a possible sale to a group of US-backed investors.
Economy & Markets
US jobs report shows significant hiring slowdown
The US economy added a fewer-than-forecast 22,000 jobs in August, sending the unemployment rate up to a four year high of 4.3 percent, undercutting President Donald Trump's claim of a booming economy and reinforcing predictions of a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut this month. The jobs report revised July's job figures up 6,000 to 79,000 and lowered the June figure to show a net loss. US Treasury yields fell on expectations of a rate cut.
China imposes tariffs on EU pork, US optical fibers, extends rubber probe
China imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties of up to 62.4 percent on pork imports from the EU. The Ministry of Commerce said its probe found EU exporters had dumped pork, damaging Chinese producers. Duties ranging from 15.6 percent to 62.4 percent will take effect September 10, hitting more than US$2 billion in shipments from Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and others countries. The ministry also said it is extending until next March an anti-dumping investigation into halogenated butyl rubber imports from Canada, Japan and India, citing the complexity of the probe.
China has also slapped penalty tariffs of between 33 percent and 78 percent on imports of certain US optical fibers after a probe concluded that American producers were skirting Chinese anti-dumping duties. It's China's first use of "anti-circumvention" tariffs.
Signs China's property market slump is slowly improving?
Investment bank Morgan Stanley predicted in a report that the slump in China's property market would improve in the last six months of the year. It said sales will slow their decline to 2 percent and profitability will start to pick up for major property developers, the South China Morning Post reported. Even so, the bank is predicting an annual sales decrease of 10 percent for 2025. Major listed developers reported an aggregate 4 percent drop in revenue in first-half earnings.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that its August survey of 11 economists predicts that new-home prices will decline a slower-than-earlier-forecast 3.8 percent this year and improve to a 0.5 percent decline next year. Sales in the market are seen as remaining weak for the remainder of the year. The property slump was triggered five years ago by developer debt defaults on an oversupply of construction.
Foreign investment in Chinese stocks slows
Foreign purchases of Chinese stocks slowed in August, with only long-only funds increasing investment as the Shanghai Composite Index rose to a 10 year high, the South China Morning Post reported, citing a report from US investment bank Morgan Stanley. Long-only funds are investments made with the intention of holding them for a significant time. Inflows from US and European funds into Chinese equities declined to US$900 million from US$2.7 billion in July. Among the most popular companies attracting foreign investment were battery maker CATL, toymaker Pop Mart and gold producer Zijing Mining. Among those losing favor were on-demand services giant Meituan, PetroChina and China Construction Bank.
China's wafer output targeted to rise in September
Chinese makers of semiconductor wafers lifted September production targets, signaling firmer demand and recent price increases. Output is projected to rise 2.3 percent from August, according to industry data. Most manufacturers are reluctant to cut output amid rising prices, with integrated firms expanding output more aggressively to stabilize costs and ensure supply security.
Deep Dive
First-half earnings a bitter pill for many companies selling traditional Chinese medicine
The bottom lines of traditional Chinese medicine purveyors in the first half of the year weren't as healthy as the centuries-old herbal remedies they dispense. Many struggled to turn a decent profit.
Corporate
Google hit with hefty fine in EU anti-monopoly case
US search engine Google was slapped with a 3 billion euro (US$3.5 billion) fine by the EU for violating the bloc's anti-monopoly laws in the advertising technology market. President Donald Trump threatened to impose further tariffs on the EU, calling the fine discriminatory. The company has 60 days to respond to the decision.
Hengrui signs licensing agree with US firm for heart drug
Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, a Chinese developer of novel drugs, could receive up to US$1 billion in upfront and milestone payments after granting US startup Braveheart Bio exclusive rights to manufacture and market its heart disease drug HRS-1893 worldwide outside of Greater China. Braveheart was founded a year ago. Licensing deals struck by Chinese companies with overseas partners totaled US$47 billion last year and have continued into this year.
China's gold jewelry retailers post mixed first-half results
Laopu Gold and five other listed Chinese jewelry retailers reported combined half-year revenue fell 5 percent to 88.7 billion yuan (US$12 billion), but aggregate net profit jumped 37 percent to 5 billion yuan, largely on the back of stellar earnings from Laopu. Beijing-based Laopu, which specializes in heritage jewelry, reported a 291 percent increase in profit to 2.4 billion yuan, on 12.4 billion yuan in revenue. Among other jewelers, Lao Feng Xiang's revenue slid 16.5 percent and net income dropped 13 percent, and China National Gold Group's profit tumbled 46 percent on an 11.5 percent decline in revenue. Chow Tai Seng posted a 1.3 percent drop in profit on a 44 percent plunge in revenue, and CHJ Jewelry increased net income 44 percent on a 20 percent rise in revenue. Zhou Liu Fu's revenue rose 5.2 percent, delivering a 12 percent gain in profit. China's gold consumption in the first half fell 3.5 percent to 505.2 metric tons, with jewelry demand plunging 26 percent and purchases of bullion bars and coins rising 24 percent.
Fosun to sell stake in Portugal hospital group
Fosun International, the Hong Kong-listed holding company of Shanghai-based conglomerate Fosun Group, said its Portuguese unit will sell a 40 percent stake in Portugal hospital operator Luz Saude for 310 million euros (US$363 million) to an entity linked to Australia banking group Macquarie, Reuters reported. Fosun, which will retain 59.86 percent of the company, has global interests in healthcare, tourism, fashion, insurance, pharmaceuticals and banking. It owns the English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Fosun Pharma shares are listed in Shanghai.