Money Mind 2025/2026 - How to pick an ETF
Money Mind 2025/2026
How to pick an ETF that's right for you. Top red flags to avoid when you're looking for a job. Plus, how one young Singaporean fed her travel bug, all on her own dime.
Money Mind 2025/2026
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Straits Times
38 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Romanian deputy PM resigns after bribery case resurfaces
BUCHAREST - Romanian deputy prime minister Dragos Anastasiu resigned on Sunday after an old corruption scandal in which he was involved as a witness resurfaced at a time when the one-month-old coalition government is trying to enforce cost-cutting reforms. Anastasiu had been tasked by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan with overseeing the reform of state-owned companies, part of broader efforts to reduce the largest budget deficit in the European Union and root out waste and inefficiency. Last week, an old corruption case revealed that one of Anastasiu's firms had been blackmailed by a tax authority inspector into paying bribes disguised as consultancy fees for eight years from 2009 or risk lengthy inspections. The company later denounced the inspector, who was convicted in 2023. Anastasiu and his business partner were never charged with a crime. Anastasiu said his company had paid all its taxes and the bribes were "for survival, not profit". "I encourage every entrepreneur to speak out and say under what conditions business has been done in Romania and no longer accept what we did while making mistakes," he told reporters on Sunday. The government, which will hike several taxes from August and is laying off staff and cutting bonuses, has already faced several street protests but has narrowly avoided a ratings downgrade from the lowest rung of investment grade. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Sewage shaft failure linked to sinkhole; PUB calling safety time-out on similar works islandwide Singapore Tanjong Katong Road sinkhole did not happen overnight: Experts Singapore Workers used nylon rope to rescue driver of car that fell into Tanjong Katong Road sinkhole Asia Singapore-only car washes will get business licences revoked, says Johor govt World Food airdropped into Gaza as Israel opens aid routes Sport Arsenal beat Newcastle in five-goal thriller to bring Singapore Festival of Football to a close Singapore Benchmark barrier: Six of her homeschooled kids had to retake the PSLE Asia S'porean trainee doctor in Melbourne arrested for allegedly filming colleagues in toilets since 2021 The European Union and NATO state has been rocked by political instability in the wake of a presidential election, which was cancelled in December and re-run in May, with market turmoil boosting borrowing costs and crashing the leu currency. REUTERS
Straits Times
38 minutes ago
- Straits Times
US, China to resume tariff talks in effort to extend truce by 90 days
Find out what's new on ST website and app. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng will lead tariff talks on July 28, in Stockholm. STOCKHOLM – Senior US and Chinese negotiators will meet in Stockholm on July 28 to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of the countries' trade war, aiming to extend a truce keeping sharply higher tariffs at bay. The South China Morning Post reported on July 27 that the two sides are expected to agree to extend the truce by three more months. China is facing an Aug 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump's administration, after Beijing and Washington reached a preliminary deal in June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs. Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from duties exceeding 100 per cent. The Stockholm talks, led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, take place a day after European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen meets Mr Trump at his golf course in Scotland to try to clinch a deal that would likely see a 15 per cent baseline tariff on most EU goods. Trade analysts on both sides of the Pacific say the discussions in the Swedish capital are unlikely to produce any breakthroughs but could prevent further escalation and help create conditions for Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet later in 2025. Previous US-China trade talks in Geneva and London in May and June focused on bringing US and Chinese retaliatory tariffs down from triple-digit levels and restoring the flow of rare earth minerals halted by China and Nvidia H20 AI chips and other goods halted by the United States. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Sewage shaft failure linked to sinkhole; PUB calling safety time-out on similar works islandwide Singapore Tanjong Katong Road sinkhole did not happen overnight: Experts Singapore Workers used nylon rope to rescue driver of car that fell into Tanjong Katong Road sinkhole Asia Singapore-only car washes will get business licences revoked, says Johor govt World Food airdropped into Gaza as Israel opens aid routes Sport Arsenal beat Newcastle in five-goal thriller to bring Singapore Festival of Football to a close Singapore Benchmark barrier: Six of her homeschooled kids had to retake the PSLE Asia S'porean trainee doctor in Melbourne arrested for allegedly filming colleagues in toilets since 2021 So far, the talks have not delved into broader economic issues. These include US complaints that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, and Beijing's complaints that US national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth. 'Stockholm will be the first meaningful round of US-China trade talks,' said Mr Bo Zhengyuan, Shanghai-based partner at China consultancy firm Plenum. Deals, deals, deals Mr Trump has been successful in pressuring some other trading partners, including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines , into deals accepting higher US tariffs of 15 to 20 per cent. He said there was a 50-50 chance that the US and the 27-member European Union could also reach a framework trade pact, adding that Brussels wanted to 'make a deal very badly'. Two of Mr Trump's top trade officials, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, will attend the Scotland talks and then travel to Stockholm. Analysts say the US-China negotiations are far more complex and will require more time. China's grip on the global market for rare earth minerals and magnets, used in everything from military hardware to car windshield wiper motors, has proved to be an effective leverage point on US industries. Trump-Xi meeting? In the background of the talks is speculation about a possible meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Xi in late October. Mr Trump has said he will decide soon whether to visit China in a landmark trip to address trade and security tensions. A new flare-up of tariffs and export controls would likely derail any plans for a meeting with Mr Xi. 'The Stockholm meeting is an opportunity to start laying the groundwork for a Trump visit to China,' said Ms Wendy Cutler, vice-president at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Mr Bessent has already said he wants to work out an extension of the Aug 12 deadline to prevent tariffs snapping back to 145 per cent on the US side and 125 per cent on the Chinese side. Still, China will likely request a reduction of multi-layered US tariffs totaling 55 per cent on most goods and further easing of US high-tech export controls, analysts said. Beijing has argued that such purchases would help reduce the US trade deficit with China, which reached US$295.5 billion (S$379 billion) in 2024. China is currently facing a 20 per cent tariff related to the US fentanyl crisis, a 10 per cent reciprocal tariff, and 25 per cent duties on most industrial goods imposed during Mr Trump's first term. Mr Bessent has also said he would discuss with Mr He the need for China to rebalance its economy away from exports toward domestic consumer demand. The shift would require China to put an end to a protracted property crisis and boost social safety nets to encourage household spending. Mr Michael Froman, a former US trade representative during former president Barack Obama's administration, said such a shift has been a goal of US policymakers for two decades. 'Can we effectively use tariffs to get China to fundamentally change their economic strategy? That remains to be seen,' said Mr Froman, now president of the Council on Foreign Relations think-tank. REUTERS
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
US says tariff deadline of Aug 1 is firm, no extensions
Find out what's new on ST website and app. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the US will no longer offer grace periods after Aug 1. WASHINGTON – The US deadline of Aug 1 for imposing tariffs on its trading partners is firm and there will be no extensions, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on July 27. 'So, no extensions, no more grace periods. Aug 1, the tariffs are set. They'll go into place. Customs will start collecting the money, and off we go,' Mr Lutnick told Fox News on Sunday. After the levies kick in, President Donald Trump – who was negotiating on July 27 in Scotland with European Union officials – is still willing to keep talking, Mr Lutnick said. Of the Europeans, he said, 'you know they're hoping they make a deal, and it's up to President Trump, who's the leader of this negotiating table. We set the table'. So far, five countries have struck deals with the Trump administration ahead of the Aug 1 deadline as it tries to overhaul the global system of largely free trade by slapping tariffs on countries that the United States deems as engaging in unfair practices. These five are Britain, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan. The levies they accepted are often higher than the new base rate of 10 per cent that the US has applied to most countries since April. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Tanjong Katong Road sinkhole did not happen overnight: Experts Singapore Workers used nylon rope to rescue driver of car that fell into Tanjong Katong Road sinkhole Singapore Car that fell into Tanjong Katong Road South sinkhole removed; road remains closed for repairs Asia Singapore-only car washes will get business licences revoked, says Johor govt Sport Arsenal beat Newcastle in five-goal thriller to bring Singapore Festival of Football to a close Singapore Benchmark barrier: Six of her homeschooled kids had to retake the PSLE Singapore Younger generation must inherit and strengthen Singapore's multiculturalism: David Neo Asia S'porean trainee doctor in Melbourne arrested for allegedly filming colleagues in toilets since 2021 But they are far below the levels the Trump administration threatened to impose if no deal were reached. AFP
