Asia's richest woman loses half her $24 billion fortune due to China’s growing real estate crisis
Asia’s wealthiest woman, Yang Huiyan, lost over half of her $24 billion fortune in the past year as China’s property crisis has continued to escalate, with buyers less inclined to purchase homes and housing prices falling further. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the world’s top 500 richest people, Huiyan now has a total net worth of $11.3 billion, a $12.4 billion plunge from 2021. The drop also puts her neck and neck with fellow female Chinese billionaire Fan Hongwei, who chairs chemical fiber production company Hengli Petrochemical and was once miles behind Huiyan with a worth of $11.2 billion.
news.yahoo.comWhat does the evil eye symbol really mean?
The evil eye symbol (🧿) has been found through thousands of years of history across cultures, including in Latin America and parts of Asia . The symbol, most often depicted as four concentric circles in the shape of an eye, is used to ward off variations of evil intentions. More recently, it’s trended on the pages of fast fashion websites and manifestation TikToks. In much of the Middle East and North Africa, the symbol wards off “nazar” — a curse motivated by the envy of others that can bring about bad things in your life. It even made me hesitant to make this comic — the evil eye is always watching.
washingtonpost.comHow a Buddhist monk won one of the cooking world's most prestigious awards without a restaurant or customers
Jeong Kwan, this year’s recipient of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Icon Award, has captivated the culinary world without a single Michelin star, restaurant or customer to her name. Following her mother’s death, Kwan went to a temple at the age of 17 and began her path to monkhood. "Temple food is the connection that brings physical and mental energy together,” Kwan told CNN.
news.yahoo.comNorth Korea: Medication offered as Covid fight continues
A North Korean army medic hands out medication to counter 'fever' -- a term Pyongyang often uses to refer to Covid -- and related sickness. The medic, Jong Jun Ho says the number of people receiving treatment for 'fever' has gone down in recent times. North Korea says its Covid-19 outbreak has been brought under control, but experts question the official numbers given the isolated country has one of the world's worst healthcare systems and likely no Covid-19 drugs or mass testing ability.
news.yahoo.comJapan, Italy to lift defense ties amid China, Russia worries
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said he and his Italian counterpart agreed Tuesday to step up military cooperation as Japan expands security ties with Europe amid concern about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its impact on Asia. Kishi told reporters that he and Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini discussed the possible expansion of joint military drills and development of defense technology. Guerini, who is visiting Tokyo, especially expressed interest in possible Italian participation in Japan’s F-X next generation fighter jet, Kishi said, declining to elaborate.
news.yahoo.comA mystery made this tiny Outback town infamous. Can it be solved?
With no body and few leads, theories abound about what might have happened to Paddy Moriarty. Some suggest the 70-year-old was fed to a crocodile or baked into a pie and served to tourists. Other potential culprits include a sinkhole, a serial killer, a snake bite or a simple heart attack.
washingtonpost.comFDA clears second COVID booster for adults 50 and over
Millions of Americans 50 and older are now eligible to receive another booster shot, after the Food and Drug Administration authorized a new round of COVID-19 vaccines for those who want them. But there are questions about both the effectiveness and who will pay for the optional shots. Senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang has the latest.
news.yahoo.comThis award-winning bakery blends flavors from around the world
What do you get when you blend flavors from Algeria, Asia, and France in desserts? Likely, something unique and refreshingly different than the norm. One local woman is bringing these flavors together for our enjoyment, again as she opens her second location of Warda Pâtisserie in Midtown.
Suez Canal blockage adds to pressure points in global trade
(Maxar Technologies via AP)The plight of a mammoth container ship stuck in Egypt’s Suez Canal has highlighted still more pressure points in global trade, a year after supply chains were disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. The Panama-flagged, Japanese-owned ship has been lodged in a single-lane stretch of the canal for nearly a week, holding up $9 billion each day in global trade. The disruption from the Suez Canal blockage is less dramatic but not insignificant. The canal carries over 10% of global trade, including 7% of the world’s oil. The Suez Canal accounts for 30% of the world’s daily shipping container freight.
S&P 500 returns to a record high after best day in weeks
Stocks rose in afternoon trading on Wall Street Friday with technology companies and banks leading the way higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 453.40 points, or 1.4%, to 33,072.88, and both it and the S&P 500 set all-time highs. The higher yields helped lift stocks of banks, in part because higher interest rates allow them to make bigger profits from making loans. Steelmaker Nucor climbed 8.9% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500, and miner Freeport-McMoRan rose 5.9%. AdSince interest rates began rising last autumn, tech stocks have been most caught within the the market's crosswinds.
EXPLAINER: Suez Canal block could hit product supply chains
This satellite image from Cnes2021, Distribution Airbus DS, shows the cargo ship MV Ever Given stuck in the Suez Canal near Suez, Egypt, Thursday, March 25, 2021. The skyscraper-sized cargo ship wedged across Egypt's Suez Canal further imperiled global shipping Thursday as at least 150 other vessels needing to pass through the crucial waterway idled waiting for the obstruction to clear, authorities said. The iconic shipping journal Lloyd’s List estimates that goods worth $9.6 billion pass through the canal every day. Jim Burkhard, who heads crude oil research at IHS Markit, said the impact on the global oil market will be limited if the canal is cleared soon. Wood Mackenzie analyst Lucas Schmitt said only a few LNG shipments were near the canal when the blockage occurred.
Asian stocks advance on optimism over pandemic recovery
Shares were higher across Asia on Friday after a strong gains on Wall Street driven by hopes for a powerful recovery from the pandemic. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)BANGKOK – Shares were higher across Asia on Friday after a strong gains on Wall Street driven by hopes for a powerful recovery from the pandemic. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai all gained and U.S. futures also were higher. Investors have been moving money away from expensive tech stocks as part of a broader shift to stocks tied more closely to economic growth. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks outdid the rest of the market, climbing 2.3% to 2,183.12.
Supply bottlenecks leave ships stranded, businesses stymied
In this Wednesday, March 3, 2021 photo, container cargo ships are seen docked in the Port of Los Angeles. The pandemic has wreaked havoc with the supply chain since early 2020, when it forced the closure of factories throughout China. The cluster of ships offshore are perhaps the most dramatic symptom of an overwhelmed supply chain. Ships holding as many as 14,000 containers have sat offshore, some of them for over a week. But when all those trucks hit the road, there aren’t enough available when dockworkers are trying to unload the next ships in port.
Asian markets follow Wall St lower after Fed bump
Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower on Friday after rising U.S. bond yields pulled stocks lower, dampening enthusiasm driven by the Federal Reserve's promise of low interest rates. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)BEIJING – Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower on Friday after rising U.S. bond yields dampened buying enthusiasm driven by the Federal Reserve's promise of low interest rates. Overnight, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index closed down 1.5%, putting it on track for its first weekly loss in three weeks. The S&P 500 fell to 3,915.46. Bank stocks did well because investors bet higher interest rates would translate into higher profits.
Asia shares mostly higher after US stocks gain for fifth day
(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)BANGKOK – Asian shares mostly rose on Tuesday, cheered by a rally to all-time highs on Wall Street. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.7% to 3,368.94 after having been down 0.5% in early trading, extending its winning streak to a fifth day. Technology stocks, airlines, cruise operators and other companies that rely on consumer spending helped lift the market. The mild drop in yields has affected bank stocks, where investors have placed big bets that higher yields would translate into banks charging borrowers higher rates. The bond market has pulled tech stocks mostly lower this year, because as yields push interest rates higher, they make high-flying stocks look expensive.