Singapore bank UOB's second-quarter net profit drops 6%, misses forecast
UOB, Southeast Asia's third-largest bank by assets, said April-June net profit declined to S$1.34 billion ($1.04 billion) from S$1.43 billion a year earlier.
This missed the mean estimate of around S$1.47 billion from three analysts polled by LSEG.
($1 = 1.2847 Singapore dollars)
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New Statesman
10 minutes ago
- New Statesman
Labour is making Britain a more European country
Illustration by Jonathan McHugh / Ikon Images It was Nigel Lawson who stated the ambition most clearly. Nine years ago, a fortnight after the UK voted to leave the EU, the late Conservative chancellor hailed an opportunity to 'finish the job that Margaret Thatcher started'. For free marketeers, Brexit was the method, the object was to change the country's soul. The description of their vision as 'Singapore-on-Thames' has always been erroneous – this imagined libertarian Disneyland has a highly dirigiste state. But the aim was not in doubt: a Britain in which taxes would be cut, spending reduced and regulations eliminated. Brexit is an increasingly friendless project – Labour MPs note with interest how rarely Reform dares mention it; the last reference on the party's X account was in March. Only 29 per cent of the country, according to a new More in Common poll, would still vote Leave, while 49 per cent favour a referendum on rejoining the EU within the next five years. Far from regarding Keir Starmer's Europe deal as a 'betrayal', most believe it is too modest. Leavers can take solace from the implacability of Labour's red lines: Starmer has suggested there will be no return to the single market, the customs union and free movement in his lifetime. But those on the right who always viewed Brexit as a means rather than an end lack such consolation. If there is anything resembling a clear pattern from Labour's first year in office it might be this: the embrace of a more European-style economy. After Brexit, France and Germany took seriously the threat of acquiring a free-market upstart on their doorstep. In practice, the UK is mirroring them. Start with taxes and spending. As Rachel Reeves likes to remind left-wing critics, she used her first Budget to impose the largest increase in the former since 1993: £41.5bn, or 1.2 per cent of GDP. By 2027-28, the UK, a country traditionally described as having 'US-style taxes', will have a tax take of 37.7 per cent, putting it within touching distance of the Netherlands and Germany (even before Reeves' planned sequel). Public spending will settle at a similarly European level of 43.9 per cent of GDP. A shift that the Conservatives could plead was temporary – owing to the emergencies of the pandemic and the energy crisis – is becoming permanent under Labour. Reeves, fittingly, replaced a portrait of Lawson in her office with one of Ellen Wilkinson, Clement Attlee's education minister and a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Next turn to workers' rights. Tony Blair once described his government's role as 'to campaign to extend flexible labour markets to the rest of Europe'. Starmer, by contrast, through the Employment Rights Bill, is importing a more continental model: a ban on 'exploitative' zero-hours contracts, an end to 'fire and rehire' and the extension of full rights to workers from day one. Cabinet ministers proudly point out that, far from being 'watered down', the bill has been strengthened in areas such as non-disclosure agreements. Then there is ownership. The UK's aversion to nationalisation under Thatcher and New Labour was yet another dividing line between it and statist Europe. Now Ed Miliband boasts of having established the 'first publicly owned energy company in over 70 years' (GB Energy), and rail franchises – some of them previously held by France and the Netherlands – are being reclaimed by the British state. This European turn could yet extend to welfare. Papers by Labour Together call for the reassertion of the contributory principle – with a far clearer link between what people pay in and what they get out, as is typical on the continent. This, the think tank suggests, would serve as an antidote to populists exploiting a broken social contract – one adviser references the fury of the Inbetweeners actor James Buckley at having to pay for a garden waste collection even as council tax continually rises. A new digital contribution card – recalling the National Insurance stamps once received by employees – is proposed alongside a system of unemployment insurance (potentially set as a share of earnings). Back in 2021, in a 12,000-word essay for the Fabian Society, Starmer championed the 'contribution society', one based on 'being part of something bigger, playing your part, valuing others'. This notion, cabinet ministers such as Liz Kendall and Shabana Mahmood believe, should be central to Labour's philosophy. There are moments when Starmer's often inchoate approach acquires more definition. During his press conference with Emmanuel Macron last month, he spoke of proving 'that social democracy has the answers' in contrast to the 'performative populism' of Nigel Farage. Here was a riposte to those who accuse him of engaging in no act more complex than chasing Reform's tail. But what direction is Starmer heading in? The UK is charting a different course yet Labour has left voters wondering whether this is the product of accident or design. In his first speech as Prime Minister, Starmer vowed to lead a government 'unburdened by doctrine' – an approach that disillusioned MPs contend has left his administration rudderless. 'There's too many concepts floating around at too high a level, which is what happens when intellectual leadership is lacking,' says one. The task facing Labour this autumn is to provide it. Rather than finishing the job that Thatcher started, Starmer has chosen to begin reversing it. He will soon have to tell voters why. [See also: The Online Safety Act humiliates us all] Related
Reuters
10 minutes ago
- Reuters
Japan's Topix hits record high on Wall Street rally, solid earnings
TOKYO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Japan's Topix index touched a record high on Thursday, tracking strong overnight gains on Wall Street, while solid corporate earnings from domestic firms reinforced expectations of wage growth. The broader Topix (.TOPX), opens new tab was up nearly 1% at 2,993.14, as of 0206 GMT. Earlier in the session, the benchmark index hit an all-time peak of 2,993.21. The Nikkei (.N225), opens new tab climbed 0.9% to 41,151.07. Both indexes were on track for a third consecutive session of gains, provided the current momentum holds. The three-day rally follows a sharp decline on Monday, when the Nikkei posted its largest drop in two months amid growing concerns over the U.S. economy and trade. "The market is now convinced that the U.S. economy will not slow down," said Hiroyuki Ueno, chief strategist, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management. "That is important for the Bank of Japan's decision process for raising interest rates. With solid corporate earnings results and a trend for wage increases, the market now expects the BOJ to raise rates by the end of the year," Ueno said. However, government data released on Wednesday indicated that Japan's real wages fell for a sixth consecutive month in June, as inflation continued to outpace pay growth. The trend clouded the outlook for a BOJ policy shift, with wage growth seen as a key indicator for sustainable inflation. There is growing expectation that the U.S. Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates as early as September to support the economy. Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T), opens new tab rose 1.8%, providing the biggest boost to the Topix, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T), opens new tab gained 1.56%. M3's shares surged 22% after Goldman Sachs raised the target price for the medical services platform operator to 2,300 yen from 2,250 yen. Cosmetic maker Shiseido (4911.T), opens new tab jumped 10%. Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron (8035.T), opens new tab fell for a third day, falling 2.7% on Thursday to weigh on the Nikkei the most. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest (6857.T), opens new tab fell 0.7%. Shares of chipmakers declined on concerns over a potential slowdown in global chip production after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would impose a tariff of about 100% on semiconductor chips imported from countries not producing in America or planning to do so. Of the more than 1,600 stocks trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime Market, 70% advanced and 26% fell, and 3% were flat.
Reuters
10 minutes ago
- Reuters
Deutsche Telekom meets Q2 profit expectations, lifts guidance
Aug 7 - Deutsche Telekom ( opens new tab reported second quarter core profit in line with analyst expectations on Thursday, citing continued growth in both Germany and the U.S., and edged up its full-year profit guidance. The Germany-based telecoms giant reported second quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and amortization after leases (EBITDA AL) of 11 billion euros ($13 billion), compared with the 10.95 billion euros expected by analysts in a company provided poll. "We are again seeing sustained strong growth on both sides of the Atlantic throughout the second quarter," Chief Executive Tim Hoettges said in a statement. The group slightly raised its core profit guidance for 2025, now expecting more than 45 billion euros, adjusted from around 45 billion euros expected before. It also adjusted its free cash flow AL expectations for 2025, now expecting over 20 billion euros from around 20 billion euros. The new guidance comes after its New York listed subsidiary T-Mobile US (TMUS.O), opens new tab in July raised its annual forecast for postpaid net customer additions after adding more wireless subscribers than expected in the second quarter. ($1 = 0.8566 euros)
