AFP

Animal ears and pom-poms on fuzzy hats adorn tourists’ heads on the streets of the frigid northeastern Chinese city of Harbin, which is enjoying a surge in visitors driven by social media.Photos and videos taken around the city’s landmarks flood platforms such as TikTok counterpart Douyin and Instagram-esque Xiaohongshu — many featuring tourists from the …

China’s frigid northeast thrives on ‘little potato’ tourism boom Read More »

Global stock markets mostly fell Monday in jittery holiday trading ahead of a potentially tumultuous 2025 that will see Donald Trump return to the White House.Wall Street’s three main indices slumped to end the day, adding to losses on Friday that have put paid to Wall Street’s usual holiday-period “Santa Claus rally.””We can’t drive major …

No Santa rally for stocks as equities slide Read More »

European and Asia stock markets mostly fell Monday in jittery holiday trade ahead of a potentially tumultuous 2025 when Donald Trump returns to the White House.With volumes thin, US futures were also pointing lower after losses on Friday that put paid to Wall Street’s usual holiday period “Santa Claus rally”.”We can’t drive major conclusions in …

Stock markets, dollar retreat Read More »

Asia stocks mostly fell Monday in jittery holiday trade ahead of a potentially tumultuous 2025 when Donald Trump returns to the White House.With volumes thin, US and European equity futures were also pointing lower after losses on Friday that put paid to Wall Street’s usual holiday period “Santa Claus rally”.Tech stocks had led the way, …

New year nerves hit Asian stocks Read More »

Asia stocks mostly fell in thin holiday trade on Monday after tech losses killed off the traditional year-end lift on Wall Street at the end of last week.The “Santa Claus rally” got off to a good start but US stocks then fell across the board on Friday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both dropping …

Asia stocks mostly down after Wall St losses Read More »

After South Korea’s president and his replacement were both deposed over a failed bid to impose martial law, deepening political turmoil is threatening the country’s currency and shaking confidence in its economy.The won, which plunged Friday to its lowest level against the dollar since 2009, has been in near-constant decline since President Yoon Suk Yeol’s …

Political turmoil shakes South Korea’s economy Read More »

Authorities in Brazil said Friday they were probing Chinese auto giant BYD and one of its contractors for suspected “trafficking” of Chinese workers who were building a factory in the South American country.Federal prosecutors in Brazil are weighing possible criminal action after labor inspectors found 163 Chinese workers “in slave-like conditions” at the construction site …

Brazil views labor violations at BYD site as human ‘trafficking’ Read More »

Hopes for a Santa Claus rally on Wall Street fell Friday as tech stocks slid lower, while a weaker yen lifted Japanese equities.US indices slumped to end the holiday week, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite losing 1.5 percent.Shares in Tesla were closed around 5.0 percent lower, while those in AI chipmaker Nvidia shed around 2.0 …

Tech slump slays Santa rally, weak yen lifts Japan stocks higher Read More »