Author: Admin

Certain brands of one of the country’s most popular spices, cinnamon, could be hazardous to your health.In the last week, the Food and Drug Administration has identified four additional makers of ground cinnamon it says contain elevated levels of lead. In all, the agency has listed 16 labels as having concerning amounts of lead. The new additions include brands HAETAE, Roshni, Durra and Wise Wife. “Based on the FDA’s assessment, prolonged exposure to these products may be unsafe and could contribute to elevated levels of lead in the blood,” the government agency says in its alert.The FDA said it has asked…

TOKYO :Shares of Tekscend Photomask climbed nearly 13 per cent in their Tokyo debut on Thursday, riding the wave of gains in Japan’s tech sector.The photomask manufacturer, which produces masks used to transfer patterns onto semiconductor wafers, raised 138.9 billion yen ($920 million) by pricing its initial public offering at 3,000 yen per share, the top of the range.Shares of Tekscend Photomask began trading nearly 20 per cent above the IPO price at 3,570 yen apiece, before paring gains to finish the day at 3,380 yen per share.The Nikkei 225 share average rose 1.27 per cent, supported by upbeat performances…

[BEIJING] Chinese households ramped up their cash holdings last month in a sign that they have begun shying away from local stocks just as the market is challenged by renewed trade tensions.Household savings rose by 2.96 trillion yuan (S$538.3 billion) in September, the most since March, according to data released by the People’s Bank of China late on Wednesday (Oct 15). The pace of increase was higher than that in the same month last year.The renewed build-up of savings may deprive the stock market of a key source of support, after low deposit rates and meager government bond yields spurred…

Washington — Nationwide, states are racing to win their share of a new $50 billion rural health fund. But helping rural hospitals, as originally envisioned, is quickly becoming a quaint idea.Rather, states should submit applications that “rebuild and reshape” how health care is delivered in rural communities, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services official Abe Sutton said late last month during a daylong meeting at D.C.’s Watergate Hotel. Simply changing the way government pays hospitals has been tried and has failed, Sutton told the audience of more than 40 governors’ office staffers and state health agency leaders — some from as…

Construction of the project in one of Vietnam’s most sought-after addresses is set to begin in late 2026 [HO CHI MINH CITY] After more than three decades since it snagged an investment licence for Vietnam’s iconic project Saigon Centre, Singapore conglomerate Keppel is set to revive the third phase of its flagship mixed-use development at the heart of Ho Chi Minh City’s central business district.For decades, 8,632 square metres (sq m) of prime land in one of Vietnam’s most sought-after locations could not be developed as planned due to delays caused by the complex process of transferring the land from…

SINGAPORE: The High Court has upheld a decision for telco Circles.Life to pay a recruitment agency its placement fee for introducing a candidate who was later hired as head of legal.At the centre of the dispute was the interpretation of SearchAsia Consulting’s terms of service, which said that if an introduction of a candidate results in a hire within 12 months, the agency would be entitled to the relevant fees.The candidate, identified only as Ms C in a judgment published on Thursday (Oct 16), started working with Circles.Life in October 2024.She was first introduced by SearchAsia Consulting on Mar 10,…

Unlike past episodes, the latest show of strength comes as the US dollar struggles to extend gains[SINGAPORE] Policymakers from Asia’s largest economies turned out in force this week to defend their currencies as the trade war intensified, and strategists say their mission has only just begun.Officials from China, India, Japan and South Korea have stepped in to bolster their currencies using both words and deeds – efforts market participants say are a pre-emptive move as Washington’s trade war threatens to undermine growth.In India, the central bank sold US dollars in onshore and offshore markets to fend off speculative attacks on…

The most significant cost of this whiplash approach isn’t a single tariff or trade restriction, but the perpetual uncertainty it createsTHE Trump administration’s recent attempts to de-escalate trade tensions with China demonstrate a fraught balancing act between projecting strength and preventing economic damage. After President Trump announced a dramatic 100 per cent tariff on Chinese goods just days ago, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent now claims the two nations have “substantially de-escalated”, highlighting the administration’s volatile approach to one of America’s most consequential bilateral relationships.The current situation follows a familiar pattern. On Oct 10, President Trump announced sweeping new tariffs –…

[SYDNEY] Australian shares rose to a record close on Thursday (Oct 16), driven by strong gains in financials, property and gold stocks after an unexpected spike in unemployment bolstered views of an interest rate cut next month.The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.9 per cent to 9,068.4. It rose to a record of 9,109.70 earlier in the day, crossing the 9,100 mark for the first time.Labour market data showed the unemployment rate in September jumped to its highest in nearly four years, raising bets of a November rate cut to about 72 per cent from 40 per cent before the data.However,…

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC has sued Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio and two of its top executives for allegedly inflating revenues.In the lawsuit, filed in August in the US district court for the southern district of New York, GIC said Nio and two executives misled investors with false statements and withheld information about its business and prospects.These include the company’s ties to an affiliated firm called Nio Battery Asset, known as Weineng in Chinese.Nio stock plunged more than 13 per cent on Thursday (Oct 16), on course for its biggest one-day drop in about six months, as…