Author: Charlotte

Elliptic noted that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has issued its inaugural pair of stablecoin issuer licenses. The approvals, announced on April 10, 2026, came just eight months after the territory’s Stablecoins Ordinance officially launched on August 1, 2025. The two recipients—global banking leaders HSBC and Standard Chartered—secured the licenses through partnerships involving Hong Kong Telecommunications and Animoca Brands. Both now feature on the HKMA’s official Register of Licensed Stablecoin Issuers, listed as FRS02 and FRS01 respectively. The decision caps an initial review cycle that drew 36 formal applications by the September 30, 2025 deadline. With only a 5.6…

Blackstone’s private wealth segment’s performance for the first quarter – announced alongside overall group results last week – comes at a time when parts of the private market space have been roiled by redemptions in private credit funds. US-listed Blackstone, which is a major player in the private markets space and something of a bellwether for its health, said late last week that net attributable income rose to $649.7 million in the first three months of 2026, up from $614 million a year earlier. Management and advisory fees rose; total revenues rose to $3.62 billion from $3.29 billion a…

Nigeria recorded improvements in key macroeconomic indicators, including stronger growth performance and declining inflation, the sacked finance minister, Wale Edun, has said. This was disclosed in a statement by Edun, in Abuja, reflecting on his roles across different stages of the President Bola Tinubu administration’s economic management team since May 2023.Edun attributed the improvements in key macroeconomic indicators to reforms aimed at restoring investor confidence and improving policy coordination.“I am proud of what we achieved alongside colleagues in the Federal Executive Council, state governors, partners in the public and private sectors, and the many dedicated professionals whose work continues to…

The artificial intelligence (AI) boom has triggered a seismic reshuffling of global equity markets, with Taiwan and South Korea muscling past European nations one by one.With its stock market now valued at nearly US$4.3 trillion, Taiwan surpassed the UK, Europe’s biggest market, earlier this month, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. South Korea is about US$140 billion away from doing the same. The tech-heavy Asian markets have shot past Germany and France in the past seven months.The shift is largely down to massive gains in shares of three companies that provide essential hardware for AI: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電),…

Viktoriya Grafeyeva secured the gold medal in the women’s -60 kg category, topping the podium. In the final, the Kazakhstani boxer defeated Rebeca Santos of Brazil. The bout ended with Grafeyeva’s victory by judges’ decision, 4-1. It is worth noting that other Kazakhstani boxers will also compete in the finals: Aida Abikeyeva (up to 65 kg), Valeriya Aksenova (over 80 kg), and Sultanbek Aibaruly (up to 85 kg). Earlier, Qazinform reported Alexander Bublik advances in the Madrid Open doubles.  Source link

If you’re at least a little bit worried about how the American economy is going to fare in the years ahead, what with tariff wars, the war with Iran, general global unrest, and so on, you might be seeking some investments that are focused outside our borders — for diversification’s sake. A fine investment to consider for your long-term portfolio is the Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Fund ETF (VEU +1.00%). It’s an exchange-traded fund (ETF) — a fund that trades like a stock, meaning that you buy as many or as few shares of it as you want, from…

When Jeff Bezos said that one breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were caught off guard. Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy described generative AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” technology that is already being used across Amazon to reinvent customer experiences. At the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference, Elon Musk predicted that by 2040 there would be at least 10 billion humanoid robots, with each priced between $20,000 and $25,000. Do the math. According to Musk, this technology could be worth $250 trillion by 2040. Put another way, that’s roughly equal to:…

India’s top IT firms—TCS, Infosys, HCLTech, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra—are experiencing a transformative period influenced by macroeconomic changes, geopolitical tensions, and the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Earnings reports reveal a shift away from traditional service models towards AI-driven initiatives, causing both challenges and opportunities for these industry giants.The financial performances of these companies reflect a mixed outlook for FY27. While TCS and Infosys signal diminishing macroeconomic challenges, companies like HCLTech and Wipro face ongoing volatility. Despite revenue deflation in legacy services, new AI-native engagements are driving growth, with AI poised to capture a significant revenue share by 2030.Executives…

Miss something this week? Don’t panic. The CBC’s Marketplace rounds up the consumer and health news you need.Want this in your inbox? Get the Marketplace newsletter every Friday.Enterprise demanded almost $10K from couple over alleged diesel damage — evidence suggests otherwiseHow this couple beat a $9.5K car rental damage claim | Go PublicA B.C. couple says Enterprise falsely accused them of putting diesel in the gas car they rented, causing thousands in damage. After Go Public got involved, the company dropped the claim.Kelly and Katherine Graves say returning their rental car was uneventful. A week later, they were accused of damaging it.Enterprise says the Kelowna,…

Kevin O’Leary has cut his crypto exposure from 27 tokens down to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), saying the pair captures 97% of altcoin volatility. O’Leary Strips Portfolio The “Shark Tank” investor shared the shift on FOX Business’ “Varney & Co.” on Apr. 22. About 90% of his digital asset holdings now sit in Bitcoin and Ethereum, with USDC (USDC) making up the rest. O’Leary called the rest of the market “pooh-pooh coins” and said thousands of them collapsed last October and never recovered. He had previously held positions across 27 different tokens. He pointed to regulatory shifts and institutional…