Category: Business

Business

US Dollar Sinks to 3-Month Low After Treasury Steps Into Bond Market—but the Bigger Debt Problem Hasn’t Gone Away

The U.S. dollar has fallen to its weakest level in roughly three months, after an unusual move by the U.S. Treasury helped calm a violent selloff in government bonds that had pushed long-term borrowing costs to levels not seen in nearly two decades. But while the intervention gave financial markets some breathing room, analysts are warning that it does little to solve the much larger problem hanging over the United States: rising government debt, persistent inflation risks and growing investor

August 20, 2026

Business

Australia Forces Big Tech to Pay for News Under New 2.5% Levy Law

SYDNEY — Australia has escalated its long-running battle with the world’s biggest technology companies, passing a landmark law that could force Meta, Google, TikTok and LinkedIn to pay millions of dollars to support Australian journalism — or face a hefty levy on their advertising businesses. The Australian Parliament passed the News Bargaining Incentive on Thursday, August 20, introducing a system designed to push major digital platforms into commercial agreements with local news publishers ra

August 20, 2026

Business

Singapore and India Are Deepening Their Chip and Food Partnership—But the Biggest Opportunity May Be What Comes Next

SINGAPORE — Singapore and India are moving to deepen cooperation in semiconductors, food security, digital payments, aviation and capital markets, signaling that one of Asia’s increasingly important economic partnerships is entering a more ambitious phase. Senior ministers from both countries met in Singapore on Thursday, August 20, for the fourth India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR), where discussions centered on six areas: sustainability, digitalisation, skills development, healthcar

August 20, 2026

Business

Skanska Just Landed a $1.2-Billion Deal for Four U.S. Data Centers—But the Biggest Name in the Project Is Being Kept Secret

Swedish construction giant Skanska has landed a massive $1.2-billion contract to build four new data centers in the southeastern United States, putting the company squarely in the path of one of America's fastest-growing infrastructure booms. The deal, valued at roughly SEK 11.2 billion, was signed with an existing Skanska client and will be recorded in the company's U.S. order bookings for the third quarter of 2026, according to Skanska's August 20 announcement. But there is one major piece o

August 20, 2026

Business

Digital Payments Just Hit 64.7% in the Philippines—But One Change Could Push Cash Aside Even Faster

MANILA — The Philippines’ long-promised cashless future may no longer be a distant goal. Digital payments reportedly accounted for 64.7% of Philippine retail transactions in 2025, according to a Nikkei Asia report, pushing the country deeper into territory once considered ambitious for an economy where cash, over-the-counter payments and physical bank branches dominated everyday transactions for decades. If sustained, the shift would mean nearly two out of every three retail-payment transactio

August 20, 2026

Business

Starbucks’ Mofusand Cats Are Returning to Singapore on Aug 25—But One Exclusive Item Goes on Sale Four Days Earlier

SINGAPORE — Mofusand fans may want to mark two dates on their calendars. Starbucks Singapore is bringing back its wildly popular collaboration with the Japanese cat brand, with a new collection launching on August 25, 2026 — but an exclusive item will arrive several days earlier. The latest Mofusand x Starbucks Singapore collection brings back illustrator Juno’s familiar ginger and grey cats, this time paired once again with Starbucks-inspired designs and a fresh range of drinkware, accessories

August 20, 2026

Business

SK Hynix Workers Could Get 60% of Their Bonuses in Stock—But the Biggest Surprise Is How Much the Average Payout Could Be

SEOUL — The artificial intelligence boom has already transformed SK hynix into one of the biggest winners of the global semiconductor surge. Now, some of that extraordinary wealth could land in employees’ hands in a very different form. The South Korean memory-chip giant has reached a preliminary agreement to pay 60% of its 2026 employee bonuses in company shares and the remaining 40% in cash, according to a person familiar with the negotiations cited by Reuters. But despite the eye-catching n

August 20, 2026

Business

Women’s Suits Are Back in 2026 — But This Isn’t the Old Power Suit

Women’s suits are making a major comeback in 2026 as Saint Laurent, Prada, Celine and Tom Ford reinvent tailoring with softer cuts, relaxed proportions and everyday versatility. The women’s suit is making a serious comeback in 2026—but anyone expecting a return to stiff shoulders, restrictive trousers and old-school corporate dressing may be surprised. This time, designers are bringing tailoring back on very different terms. Across the latest collections, jackets are becoming softer, trousers

August 20, 2026

Business

Korea Artiz Studio Vanishes From Singapore After Couples Paid Thousands—But the S$271,000 Losses May Be Only Part of the Story

SINGAPORE — Couples who thought their dream wedding photos were already secured are instead scrambling for refunds, replacement photographers and answers after Korea Artiz Studio abruptly stopped operating in Singapore, leaving more than S$271,000 in reported prepayment losses. The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) said it received 66 complaints against the bridal photography studio between August 14 and 18, involving more than S$271,000 in prepayments. Some customers had already paid t

August 20, 2026

Business

Humanoid Robots Can Dance, Fight and Work—Now China Is Waiting for the One Breakthrough That Could Change Everything

BEIJING — China’s fast-growing humanoid robotics industry may be approaching a breakthrough that could transform robots from impressive demonstrations into machines capable of performing everyday tasks with little human guidance, according to Unitree founder and CEO Wang Xingxing. Speaking at the 2026 World Robot Conference in Beijing on Aug. 20, Wang said the industry is “marching towards” a “ChatGPT moment” in embodied intelligence—a point at which robots could be placed in unfamiliar environ

August 20, 2026