Indonesia says 19pc US tariff might kick in before August 1
Airlangga said the timing of the tariff depended on a joint statement expected soon between the two countries, which reached a trade deal last week that led to a reduction in the threatened US proposed tariff rate to 19 per cent from 32 per cent.
The deal was one of only a handful reached so far by the Trump administration ahead of the August 1 negotiation deadline with numerous countries. — Reuters
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New Straits Times
13 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
AI bets pay off as Meta delivers US$18.3bil profit in Q2
SAN FRANCISCO: Meta reported robust second-quarter financial results Wednesday, with revenue jumping 22 per cent year-over-year to US$47.5 billion as the social media giant continues investing heavily in artificial intelligence. The Facebook and Instagram owner's share price soared as much as 12 per cent in after-hours trading, with investors buoyed by the company's growing advertising business and a rise in users across its family of platforms. "We've had a strong quarter both in terms of our business and community," said CEO Mark Zuckerberg. "I'm excited to build personal superintelligence for everyone in the world." Meta posted a net profit of US$18.3 billion, compared with US$13.5 billion in the same period last year. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations as advertising revenue climbed a stellar 21 per cent to US$46.6 billion. Meta's Family of Apps segment, which includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, saw daily active users reach 3.48 billion in June, up 6 per cent from a year earlier. The company significantly increased its capital expenditures to US$17 billion in the quarter, primarily for AI infrastructure investments. Meta projects total 2025 capital spending between US$66 billion and US$72 billion. Zuckerberg has embarked on a major AI spending spree, poaching top researchers with expensive pay packages from rivals like OpenAI and Apple as he builds a team to pursue what he calls AI superintelligence. "To win the superintelligence race requires the best of the best talent and Meta's been on a roll when it comes to recruiting top AI talent. Money talks and Meta has plenty of it," said Forrester research director Mike Proulx. The big question is whether Wall Street will continue backing the expensive strategy. Meta is locked in a bitter rivalry with other tech behemoths as they invest heavily in AI, aiming to ensure the technology benefits society and generates profits in the not-so-distant future. Most analysts believe Meta will make the investment pay off by improving its advertising efficiency and creating new opportunities, such as with its smart glasses through a partnership with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica. "Capital expenditures are still shockingly high, but with these strong results, Meta has bought itself more time with investors," said Debra Aho Williamson, chief analyst at Sonata Insights. However, others signal that Meta's AI spending spree needs a clearer sense of direction. A strong quarter "won't shield Meta from questions concerning the company's future as it breathlessly tries to keep up in the AI race," said Emarketer analyst Minda Smiley. Another reason that Zuckerberg's spending bonanza may raise eyebrows is because it echoes his previous leap into spending vast amounts on virtual reality and entering the metaverse, with the CEO even changing the company's name from Facebook to Meta to reflect the strategy change. The bleeding continued in that segment, with the Reality Labs division, Meta's virtual and augmented reality unit, posting significant losses. The unit lost US$4.5 billion in the quarter on revenue of just US$370 million, highlighting ongoing challenges in the metaverse business. Zuckerberg's AI team is headed by Alexandr Wang, the former CEO of Scale AI, a startup in which Meta invested US$14.3 billion at the beginning of the company's spending blitz in June. Hours before the earnings report, Zuckerberg insisted that the attainment of superintelligence is now "in sight." In a post outlining Meta's AI strategy, Zuckerberg signaled that the remainder of the decade would be a transformative period for artificial intelligence development and that the company's priority was to bring AI to its users. "There's no other company that is as good as us at taking something getting it in front of billions of people," he told analysts.--AFP
The Star
13 minutes ago
- The Star
Oil rises as investors weigh Trump's Russia stance, tariff threats
The Brent crude September contract closed 73 cents, 1.01%, higher at US$73.24. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 79 cents, or 1.14%, at US$70. HOUSTON: Oil prices settled 1% higher on Wednesday as investors focused on developments on US President Donald Trump's tighter deadline for Russia to end the war in Ukraine and his tariff threats to countries that trade its oil. The Brent crude September contract, which was set to expire on Thursday, closed 73 cents, 1.01%, higher at US$73.24. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 79 cents, or 1.14%, at US$70, with investors largely shrugging off mixed US data on crude and fuel inventories. Both contracts had fallen nearly 1% earlier in the day. The more active Brent October contract settled 79 cents, or 1.1% higher, at US$72.47. On Tuesday, Trump said he would start imposing measures on Russia, such as secondary tariffs of 100% on trading partners, if it did not make progress on ending the war in Ukraine within 10 to 12 days, moving up from an earlier 50-day deadline. He imposed a 25% tariff on goods imported from India starting August 1, along with an unspecified penalty for buying Russian weapons and oil. The US also warned China, the largest buyer of Russian oil, that it could face huge tariffs if it kept buying. JP Morgan analysts wrote that while China was unlikely to comply with US sanctions, India has signalled it would do so, which could affect 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil exports. "Traders seem more focused on the tariffs (related to Russia) and the compliance by India is being taken as a positive towards crude prices," Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. Meanwhile, US crude inventories rose by 7.7 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.3 million-barrel draw. US gasoline stocks fell by 2.7 million barrels, exceeding expectations for a 600,000-barrel draw. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 3.6 million barrels, higher than forecasts for a 300,000-barrel build. US economic growth also rebounded more than expected in the second quarter, but that measurement grossly overstated the economy's health as declining imports accounted for the bulk of the improvement and domestic demand increased at its slowest pace in 2-1/2 years. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady in a split decision that gave little indication of when borrowing costs might be lowered. Fed chair Jerome Powell also added it was too soon to say whether the central bank will cut its interest rate target in September, as financial markets expect. — Reuters
Malay Mail
13 minutes ago
- Malay Mail
Stablecoins inspire hope, and hype, in Hong Kong
HONG KONG, July 31 — Stablecoin excitement has gripped Hong Kong as the city prepares to launch a licensing system for the less volatile type of cryptocurrency, but authorities warn against overplaying its future role in financial systems. The digital units have been touted as a cheaper, easier way to carry out monetary transactions—and their popularity is soaring, with more than US$270 billion in circulation worldwide. Unlike the heady highs and lows of bitcoin, the value of most stablecoins is kept steady by being linked to an existing national currency—mainly the dollar—or a commodity like gold. Stablecoins are useful internationally because they enable fast, low-cost cross-border payments, handy in markets where hard currency is limited, such as Argentina and Nigeria. The tokens, bought and sold on digital exchanges, are also used as a safe way for crypto investors to station their profits, instead of converting to cash. 'The size of the stablecoin market has reached a level where the cash flows have geopolitical implications,' said Paul Brody, global blockchain leader at consulting firm EY. More than 99 per cent of stablecoin assets are in US dollars, so for other countries 'if you're not a player, you could find yourself frozen out', Brody told AFP. The US House of Representatives this month passed an act codifying stablecoin use, which Senator Bill Hagerty said will 'ensure the dominance of the US dollar'. Hong Kong's own stablecoin regulations come in on Friday, part of a push to position itself as an Asian crypto hub as US President Donald Trump's support for the sector fuels a global resurgence. 'Overly idealistic' 'The opportunities are massive,' said Rita Liu, whose payment company is developing a Hong Kong dollar-denominated stablecoin in a government-run trial. 'There's a wave of legitimising the digital asset industry... Hong Kong is trying to be at the forefront of that wave,' said Liu, chief executive of RD Technologies. Crypto trading has been banned since 2021 in mainland China, which sees it as a 'bit too close to gambling', Brody said. He and others think stablecoins could prove more acceptable to Beijing, which has experimented with its own 'e-yuan' central bank digital currency. Officials may first want to see how things go in the semi-autonomous territory of Hong Kong. So far, 'a few dozen institutions' have expressed interest in issuing stablecoins or requested more information, Hong Kong Monetary Authority head Eddie Yue said last week. But he called for the public to 'rein in the euphoria' over the new bill, as 'in the initial stage, we will at most grant a handful of stablecoin issuer licences'. 'Some discussion on stablecoins may be overly idealistic,' Yue warned, especially around their 'potential to disrupt the mainstream financial system'. The hype can inflate companies' stock prices, he added, a point echoed by Lily King of crypto company Cobo. 'Some applications may be influenced by public relations strategies, as stablecoin-related news often drives market sentiment,' she said. Bigger problems RD's Liu, a former senior manager at Chinese payment platform Alipay, feels that 'some of it is fake hype, and some is real', fuelled by 'people's hope in this industry'. Stablecoins account for about seven per cent of the global cryptocurrency market capitalisation, according to CoinGecko. If they eventually become 'a mainstay of the plumbing' in finance, Hong Kong could enjoy something of a 'first-mover advantage', said Jonas Goltermann at Capital Economics. Japan and Singapore already regulate stablecoins, while South Korea is exploring the possibility. While stablecoin issuers usually assure buyers their currency is backed up by real-world reserves, they are not risk-free, and sometimes deviate from their pegged value due to market fluctuations, tech issues or problems with the underlying assets. There is also the risk that stablecoins will become 'more of a niche product' if banks work out how to make their own programmable money, Goltermann said. 'It makes sense for Hong Kong to try anything—it's kind of on a declining path, for reasons that are not to do with technology. It's mostly about the politics, and its relationship with China,' he told AFP. 'It's not like stablecoins are a silver bullet that can fix that. But that doesn't mean it can't help.' — AFP
