newsmart – Business

koreatimes.co.kr | 1 hrs. 7 min. ago

Mirae Asset to reenter Japan with acquisition of Sanko Securities

A decade after it exited the country, Mirae Asset Securities is set to reenter Japan through its acquisition of local brokerage Sanko Securities, as it looks to expand its presence in a market where retail investment is gaining momentum, the company said Thursday. The company said its board approved a plan to purchase 100 percent of the stakes in Sanko Securities through its U.S. affiliate, Mirae Asset Securities Holdings.

The deal is valued at an estimated 42.6 billion won ($35.62 million), with the final price to be determined at closing after regulatory approvals and other conditions are met. Mirae Asset will inject a total of 100.6 billion won into its U.S. affiliate to fund the acquisition and subsequent business expansion in Japan.

Sanko, which operates under Japan’s Okasan Securities Group, specializes in proprietary trading — buying and selling stocks, bonds and other securities with its own capital to generate returns. It posted a net profit of roughly 400 million won and net assets of 39.1 billion won for the fiscal year ended March 2026, the company said.

The acquisition w

koreatimes.co.kr | 3 hrs. 17 min. ago

US stocks hold steady ahead of Fed rate decision

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are drifting Wednesday as the countdown ticks toward this afternoon’s announcement from the Federal Reserve on what it will do with interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent and pulled within 1 percent of its all-time high, which was set earlier this month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 149 points, or 0.3 percent, as of 12:46 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was mostly unchanged. The day’s highlight will likely be what the Federal Reserve says, if anything, about where interest rates are heading. The Fed raised its main interest rate last month for the first time in three years in hopes of slowing the high inflation that’s squeezing the economy and discouraging Americans.

The widespread expectation on Wall Street is that the Fed will leave the federal funds rate alone at this meeting, and the question is whether it will give hints about what may happen at later meetings. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, though, has been adamant since taking over the Fed about wanting it to give fewer indications about its future moves.

Wall Street cares so

koreatimes.co.kr | 3 hrs. 34 min. ago

After the Han, a miracle on the Mekong?

Forty years after Vietnam launched Doi Moi, a farmer in Can Tho offers a starting point for considering its next leap. Le Dong Phuong initially doubted that sowing fewer seeds could maintain her rice harvest. According to a 2024 World Bank account, repeated visits to demonstration farms eventually convinced her.

Before changing how she worked, she needed evidence that the change would benefit her household. Vietnam’s ambitions are on a different scale. Its 14th Party Congress in January set a target of average annual GDP growth of at least 10 percent for 2026-2030, alongside the goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045. These ambitions invite a familiar Korean question: could a miracle on the Mekong follow the miracle on the Han? I believe Korea’s most useful contribution begins with an honest reading of its own experience.

Education, infrastructure and technological learning helped Korean companies raise their competitiveness. Yet success at the top did not automatically produce prosperity throughout the supply chain. These achievements and difficulties are cues Vietnam can t

koreatimes.co.kr | 4 hrs. 52 min. ago

FM Cho leaves for US for G20 meeting, talks with Rubio

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun departed for the United States on Thursday to attend a Group of 20 (G20) foreign ministers' meeting and hold talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on key bilateral issues, officials said. Cho is scheduled to visit Atlanta through Monday to attend the two-day G20 gathering, where participating countries will discuss ways to jointly address geopolitical crises, energy and food security, supply chains, and other global challenges, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

South Korea is set to assume the G20 presidency in 2028 and plans to work with member countries to ensure continuity in discussions on global issues, ministry officials added. During his visit, Cho is also expected to meet with Rubio to discuss developments on the Korean Peninsula, including North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's recent visit to China and the prospects for renewed dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington, as well as pending bilateral issues.

Kim visited the Chinese border city of Dandong on Saturday amid efforts by Pyongyang and Beijing to deepen ties. Cho has said the two count

koreatimes.co.kr | 6 hrs. 27 min. ago

Transactions of repo loans rise 3.16% in Q3

Transactions of repurchase agreement (RP) loans among financial institutions grew more than 3 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, data showed Thursday. The combined turnover of RP loans extended by local institutions and brokerages reached 12,862 trillion won ($9.62 trillion) as of end-September, up 3.16 percent from a year ago, according to data from the Korea Securities Depository.

An RP allows a borrower to use a security as collateral for a cash loan at a fixed interest rate and buy it back from the lender at a set price at a later date. The outstanding value of RP transactions stood at 271.2 trillion won as of end-September, up 8.13 percent from a year earlier, according to the data.

newsbeep.com | 7 hrs. 43 min. ago

What we now know about the UK economy in four charts

Inflation also raises the cost of borrowing for the government, with spending on debt interest set to rise.…

independent.co.uk | 14 hrs. 35 min. ago

Inflation to surge beyond forecasts as UK economy set for growth slowdown

The Office for Budget Responsibility said UK inflation is set to rise to a peak of around 3.75% by the start of next year.

nytimes.com | 15 hrs. 49 min. ago

Trump’s Push to Fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook Looms Over Warsh

Lisa D. Cook, a Fed governor, is set to face an unorthodox, private hearing over allegations of mortgage fraud she has consistently denied.

theguardian.com | 16 hrs. 58 min. ago

Income tax: Healey’s budget leaves thresholds frozen again. How much more will you pay?

Tax policy means freezes reduce take-home pay as earnings rise in line with inflationIncome tax thresholds are set to remain frozen after John Healey’s first budget as chancellor.One of the biggest tax rises in recent years has happened without a change in the rates at which people are taxed on their incomes.

Instead it has come from successive government decisions to keep the thresholds associated with the tax at the same level each year, regardless of inflation. Continue reading...

independent.co.uk | 17 hrs. 1 min. ago

UK growth forecast slashed to 1% for next year. Here’s how it could affect you

UK gross domestic product (GDP) is set to improve by 1.2 per cent this year but slow in 2027

theguardian.com | 18 hrs. 17 min. ago

Fed set to hold interest rates steady in last decision before midterms

US central bank last month raised rates for first time since 2023, in move that infuriated Donald TrumpThe US Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday during its last rate-setting meeting before the midterm elections, keeping rates at one of the highest pre-election levels seen in over 20 years.Last month, Fed officials raised rates for the first time since 2023, citing rising inflation.

Inflation has hovered for years above the Fed’s target rate of 2%, and for most of this year, the annualized inflation rate has remained above 3%. Continue reading...

defence-blog.com | 19 hrs. 3 min. ago

Ukraine plans to spend 43.8% of its GDP on defense in 2027

Ukraine’s parliament has approved in a first reading a 2027 state budget that sets aside 4.885 trillion hryvnias (about $107.5 billion) for security and defense, equal to 43.8% of the country’s projected gross domestic product. The Verkhovna Rada passed draft budget No. 16000 on Oct.

28 with 239 votes in favor, 25 against and 26 […]

newsbeep.com | 19 hrs. 16 min. ago

Burnham’s government unveils its first UK budget: What to expect

Business and Economy News | British Chancellor John Healey will set out the country’s autumn budget, the government’s tax and spending plans, the…

businessinsider.com | 21 hrs. 52 min. ago

4 events that could make the next 48 hours a wild ride for the AI trade

The Fed will set the rate backdrop, while Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon face fresh questions about AI spending.

kyivindependent.com | 1 days ago

Export hurdles and visa waits for Ukrainian companies force Pentagon to slow its drone contest

One morning in June, the head of export at Ukrainian drone company Stellarion found himself unexpectedly in need of a U-Haul outside the Detroit Metro Airport in Michigan. Stellarion was set to test its drones in front of American soldiers at a competition organized by the Pentagon at Camp Grayling,

axios.com | 1 days ago

Key Senate Democrats set high bar for permitting bill support

Four Senate Democrats are pressing Trump officials to begin restoring billions of dollars in clean energy grants before a key vote on the permitting deal.Why it matters: The path for the bipartisan bill in the lame duck session just got steeper. The big picture: Before the first vote, the senators — Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Ron Wyden (Ore.), Ed Markey (Mass.), and Jeff Merkley (Ore.)

— want Trump aides to tell the Energy Department to:Begin reinstating grants terminated in October 2025 that have not already been restored with a clear timeline for completion, and allow recipients to draw on the funds under the original terms.Pledge in writing not to cancel grants based on the political hue of a state or its officials.Driving the news: Their new letter to the bill's authors stops shy of an ultimatum, but says it would be "compelling" if these steps occurred.It shows deep misgivings about the bill, arguing it could provide new tools for Trump to favor fossil fuels."[T]he promise of BAAJA will only succeed if President Trump takes care that it is faithfully executed.

The Trump administration's record gives us no basis to assume that he will," the letter states, calling the bill by its acronym.Catch up quick: The letter recounts the scuttling of Biden-era grants, and White House budget chief Russ Vought listing states that did not vote for President Trump in 2024.The Energy Department has acknowledged, in a court filing, that selections of grants for termination in October 2025 were based on politics.Restoring "unlawfully terminated DOE clean energy awards would be a small but important first step" toward fairness in permitting, it states.Friction point: Co-authors Sens.

Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) want to see more federal approvals of stalled renewables projects.They've called some recent administration moves a step in the right direction. But the new letter shows that other lawmakers have separate asks of the administration. Already, some House Democrats have criticized other portions of the bill and called for changes, such as its effects on tribal input into energy projects.

State of play: The status of billions of dollars in scuttled or frozen grants — under the 2021 infrastructure and 2022 Inflation Reduction Act — is a moving legal and administrative target. Many are in "limbo," per a report this month from the DOE Alumni Network and Lawyers for Good Government.It also found that most projects DOE retained have received "negligible" funding.

The October 2025 cancellations largely targeted blue states, but wider delays and uncertainty have affected places of varying political stripes.Flashback: DOE has said it reviewed grants for financial soundness, economic viability, consistency with administration goals, and other criteria. Sign up here for Axios' Future of Energy newsletter.

theguardian.com | 1 days ago

Why won't MPs tax the rich? We asked them – and their answers gave us hope

Faiza Shaheen | Even most Reform voters are in favour of a tax on the super-wealthy. Yet the first budget of the Burnham era looks set to dodge the issueIn John Healey’s first budget this week, we will finally get a sense of the economic policies that will deliver Andy Burnham’s pledge to end neoliberalism.

Or will we? Capital gains tax equalised with income tax? Ruled out. A genuine wealth tax on those sitting on over £10m? Off the table. Even the briefed increase in the banking surcharge only takes us back to where it was until the Conservatives cut it in 2023. We can cross our fingers for trailed policies on supporting high streets, financial devolution and longer-term investment, but there is still more than a whiff of trickle-down economics in the air.Poll after poll shows that the British public overwhelmingly supports wealth taxes on the super-rich – including three in five Reform-leaning voters.

We know that wealth inequality – with the richest 50 families in the UK possessing more wealth than half of the UK population – is weakening our economy, eroding our social fabric and undermining our democracy. Just last year, Burnham, then mayor of Greater Manchester, explicitly acknowledged that we have “overtaxed labour and undertaxed wealth”.

So what on earth is going on?Faiza Shaheen is executive director of Tax Justice UK Continue reading...