Developer Greentown to issue $350 mln additional bonds to refinance debt
Feb 18 (Reuters) - Greentown China (3900.HK), opens new tab on Tuesday said it will issue an additional set of $350 million worth of bonds to help refinance its existing borrowings, mirroring a similar move it made last week.
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NBC News
3 hours ago
- NBC News
In Indianapolis, with largest U.S. Burmese population, tariffs and travel ban hit hard
In Indianapolis, Than Hre, the Burmese-born owner of Chin Brothers Restaurant & Grocery, stands behind his counter tallying receipts that tell the story of a business under pressure. Over the past year, he says, the profit margin for his restaurant and grocery business has dropped from around 35% to about 10% as tariffs and shipping costs have driven up the price of rice and Burmese staples by as much as 40%. The same is true for numerous other businesses in Indianapolis, the city with the largest Burmese community in the United States, at 30,000 people, according to the Burmese American Community Institute. Tariffs on importing Myanmar goods have risen to 45%, driving up the cost of staples like rice and spices and creating significant challenges for Burmese businesses across the United States. 'It's hard because we cannot increase the prices, yet if we do, we're going to lose customers,' said Hre, 48. On top of the tariff toll, it has been a struggle for Burmese in the United States as the travel ban blocks nearly all travel and immigration from Myanmar, halting family reunifications and student visas as the country faces civil war and forced conscription. The emotional toll is compounded by the civil war in Myanmar, which has made communication with relatives nearly impossible because of frequent Wi-Fi blackouts and government crackdowns, according to Tha Zi, owner of Mommy Thai, an Asian restaurant serving Burmese, Chinese and Thai food in a a small, family-run spot on the Southside of Indianapolis. 'Sometimes the Wi-Fi is cut off for days,' Zi said, making it nearly impossible to check whether her relatives are safe. She said that her cousin was supposed to come to the United States for college but that the new travel ban means her visa was denied and she's now stuck in Myanmar. Stories like theirs echo across the community as families worry about loved ones facing forced military conscription, bombings and the uncertainty of war — all while trying to keep their businesses afloat in Indiana. To help recover profits, Hre has cut back on inventory, and he orders product conservatively — by box now, instead of pallet. He doesn't need to cut back on staff as he relies on his three sons and wife to keep the family business afloat, joking that he can pay them in more Burmese food. Most Burmese families arrived in the United States as refugees, fleeing harsh military rule, ethnic persecution and ongoing civil war in Myanmar. The first wave came after the 1962 military coup and continued through the 1980s and the 1990s, but the largest influx began in the mid-2000s as the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program prioritized those escaping religious and ethnic violence, especially among the Chin, Karen and Rohingya minorities. Affordable housing, job opportunities like factory work and a strong network of Christian churches made Indianapolis especially attractive for Chin and other ethnic minorities. As more Burmese settled in the city, secondary migration followed — new arrivals and even refugees initially placed in other states moved to Indianapolis to join family and friends and benefit from the established community and support systems. At Mommy Thai, Zi, the owner, describes how rising costs for meat and authentic noodles have made it difficult to keep the doors open, even though most of her ingredients are sourced domestically. 'The price of meat is really high, and the noodles that we use for authentic dishes, the price has gone up a lot because of tariffs and shipping,' she said. Zi tries not to raise prices too much, knowing her customer base is mostly families and students, but it's getting hard to keep up, she said. She has had to cut back on specialty menu items and watch as regulars visit less frequently, a trend echoed across the industry as a projected 7% dip in consumer restaurant spending hits small businesses especially hard. Siam Square, a mom-and-pop Thai restaurant in Indianapolis, is also feeling the strain of the tariffs and the travel ban. While the travel ban doesn't directly target Thailand, owner Ed Rudisell said it still has a major impact on his business. About 70% of his staff are Burmese — primarily Chin refugees. The ban means people don't 'have any hope of seeing family from Burma,' Rudisell said, and it creates fear and tension among staff members about their families back home. Rudisell has watched the cost of essential ingredients like garlic nearly double — from $56 to $93 a case — forcing him to raise menu prices twice since January. 'Food costs have gone through the roof,' Rudisell said. But he'd rather raise prices than reduce portion sizes or compromise on quality, as customers expect consistency, he said. Often, importers raise their ingredient prices before the tariffs are officially active, Rudisell said. 'The damage is done,' he said. 'By that point, we've already paid the increased bills.' Zi said the travel ban and the tariffs, meant to address security and trade concerns, instead deepen the challenges facing Burmese-Chin families fleeing violence, instability and economic hardship. The ban suspends both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas for Myanmar nationals, squandering hope for reunification or educational opportunities, Zi said. 'My cousin was supposed to come here for college, but now with the travel ban, her visa was denied and she's stuck in Burma,' she said.
NBC News
2 days ago
- NBC News
Apple sued by shareholders for allegedly overstating AI progress
(Reuters) — Apple was sued on Friday by shareholders in a proposed securities fraud class action that accused it of downplaying how long it needed to integrate advanced artificial intelligence into its Siri voice assistant, hurting iPhone sales and its stock price. The complaint covers shareholders who suffered potentially hundreds of billions of dollars of losses in the year ending June 9, when Apple introduced several features and aesthetic improvements for its products but kept AI changes modest. Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. CEO Tim Cook, Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh and former CFO Luca Maestri are also defendants in the lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court. Shareholders led by Eric Tucker said that at its June 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple led them to believe AI would be a key driver of iPhone 16 devices, when it launched Apple Intelligence to make Siri more powerful and user-friendly. But they said the Cupertino, California-based company lacked a functional prototype of AI-based Siri features, and could not reasonably believe the features would ever be ready for iPhone 16s. Shareholders said the truth began to emerge on March 7 when Apple delayed some Siri upgrades to 2026, and continued through this year's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9 when Apple's assessment of its AI progress disappointed analysts. Apple shares have lost nearly one-fourth of their value since their December 26, 2024 record high, wiping out approximately $900 billion of market value.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Reuters
TRADING DAY On weekend war-watch again
ORLANDO, Florida, June 20 (Reuters) - - TRADING DAY Making sense of the forces driving global markets By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist I'd love to hear from you, so please reach out to me with comments at opens new tab. You can also follow me at @ReutersJamie and @ Cautious optimism around a possible de-escalation in the week-long war between Israel and Iran helped foster a relatively positive tone across world markets on Friday, lifting most stock markets and sealing oil's biggest decline in over a month. You'll note a high degree of equivocation there. President Donald Trump taking up to two weeks to decide on America's involvement offers no immediate clarity, even if he is open to direct talks, and negotiations between Iran's foreign minister and his European counterparts in Geneva are at the early stage. However, Wall Street didn't feel much of the earlier optimism on Friday. Tehran insists it will not talk directly to Washington about a new nuclear deal until Israel ceases its attacks. The bombing and retaliatory strikes continue. It's a fluid and fragile situation, but compared to a week ago when the conflict started, it's perhaps less bleak, which explains why many markets have regained their footing. It's worth remembering that Wall Street and world stocks earlier this week were a whisker away from their record highs. Developments in the war and on the diplomatic field over the weekend will go a long way to setting the tone for markets on Monday. And investors will continue to digest what was, in many ways, a pretty monumental week for central banks. To recap, the Federal Reserve took a hawkish turn in its projected interest rate path even though Chair Jerome Powell signaled policymakers are flying blind, while the Bank of Japan took a dovish turn in its balance sheet reduction plans. The Swiss National Bank cut rates to zero and admitted, albeit reluctantly, that rates could go negative, Norway's central bank delivered a surprise rate cut, and Brazil's central bank defied expectations by raising rates to the highest since 2006 and signaling it could tighten policy further. A raft of Fed officials are on the stump next week, and investors will be looking through the blizzard of headlines to see how the consensus stacks up against the new, less dovish 'dot plots'. Top of the bill will be Powell's semi-annual testimony to Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday. Fed Governor Christopher Waller told CNBC on Friday that a rate cut should be on the table next month because inflation is tame and unlikely to be boosted on a lasting basis by import tariffs. But Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin told Reuters in an interview there's no rush to cut rates because tariffs could indeed fuel inflation. What's more, the economy and labor market are holding up well right now. It's gone pretty quiet on the trade front, an indication that the Trump administration is finding it harder than it imagined to secure the dozens of trade deals it promised - Trump himself has said that China and Japan are "tough" in their negotiations. China is not blinking, and why should it? As CIBC economists point out, China holds all the cards when it comes to global rare earths and pharmaceuticals supply, the U.S. is a much smaller market for its exports than it used to be, and Beijing has a wider array of retaliatory tools at its disposal than it did in 2018. Last but not least, "the tolerance to pain in autocratic China is notably higher than in the (still) democratic US," they note. The next few weeks will be pivotal for markets as investors eye the half-year point, the July 9 expiry of Trump's pause on 'reciprocal' tariffs, and Trump's two-week window to decide on the level of U.S. involvement in the Iran-Israel war. This Week's Key Market Moves Chart of the Week Two charts again, and they are related. The first is from Goldman Sachs and shows wage pressures in the developed G10 countries noticeably cooling (admittedly from elevated levels). This helps explain the second, from economist Phil Suttle, which shows developed and emerging market interest rate paths are diverging sharply - interest rates are coming down in DM, not so in EM. How long will that divergence last? Here are some of the best things I read this week: What could move markets on Monday? Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. Trading Day is also sent by email every weekday morning. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here.
