Search / 56 results found Showing: 1-10 of 56
A court in military-ruled Myanmar has convicted former leader Aung San Suu Kyi in another criminal case along with Australian economist Sean Turnell. They were accused of breaking Myanmar’s colonial-era official secrets law, and Turnell was accused of an immigration offense. A legal official said Suu Kyi received a sentence of three years in prison Thursday, in addition to the sentences she’s already serving. Turnell had served as an adviser to Suu Kyi and was arrested a few days after the army ousted her elected government last year. The legal official said Turnell was given a sentence of three years. Both denied the allegations when they testified. Australia has repeatedly demanded Turnell’s release.
Asian stock markets have followed Wall Street higher after Britain’s central bank moved forcefully to stop a budding financial crisis. Market benchmarks in Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney added more than 1%. Shanghai and Tokyo also rose. Oil prices edged lower after jumping by more than $3 per barrel the previous day. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index surged 2% for its biggest gain in seven weeks after the Bank of England announced it would buy as many government bonds as needed to restore order to financial markets. Investors worried that planned British tax cuts would push up already high inflation.
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:
People pass the Bank of England in London, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. The Bank of England has launched a temporary bond-buying programme as it takes emergency action to prevent "material risk" to UK financial stability.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Japan and China are getting ready to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1972 normalization of their ties. But there isn’t much of a celebratory mood. Improved ties between Asia’s two biggest economies are considered vital to the region’s stability and prosperity, but they remain at odds over disputed East China Sea islands and China’s growing military and economic assertiveness in the region.
FILE - Ships of China Marine Surveillance and Japan Coast Guard steam side by side near disputed islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea, Oct. 25, 2012. Japan and China on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, mark the 50th anniversary of the 1972 normalization of their ties, but there isn't much of a celebratory mood. Improved ties between Asia’s two biggest economies are considered vital to the region's stability and prosperity, but they remain at odds over disputed East China Sea islands and China’s growing military and economic assertiveness in the region. (Kyodo News via AP, File)
Asian shares have tumbled after a wobbly day on Wall Street as markets churn over the prospect of a possible recession. U.S. futures and oil prices also fell. The volatile trading Tuesday in New York came a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average followed other major U.S. indexes into a bear market. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, the Dow fell a bit more and the Nasdaq composite wound up with a gain of 0.2%. With just a few days left in September, stocks are heading for another losing month as investors fear that the higher interest rates being used to fight inflation could help knock the economy into a downturn.
The British pound has stabilized in Asian trading after plunging to a record low, as the Bank of England and the British government try to soothe markets nervous about a volatile U.K. economy. The instability is having real-world impacts, with several British mortgage lenders withdrawing deals amid concern that interest rates may soon rise sharply. The pound was trading at around $1.08 on Tuesday morning. On Monday it plunged to $1.0373, the lowest since the decimalization of the currency in 1971, on concerns that tax cuts announced Friday by Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng would swell government debt and fuel further inflation. but some analysts warned that was “too little, too late.”
People walk past a currency exchange bureau in London, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. The pound today slumped to its lowest level against the dollar since 1971, after the Chancellor hinted more tax cuts would follow those he announced last week. The pound dipped as low as $1.0349 per U.S. dollar early Monday but then rebounded to $1.0671, down 2.3%. (AP Photo/David Cliff)
FILE- Pedestrians pass a currency exchange sign outside a shop in London, Sept. 23, 2022. The British pound has resumed a slide against the U.S. dollar that picked up pace last week after the U.K.’s new government outlined plans to cut taxes and boost spending. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
