Category: z-Exclude

Singapore-based video game distributor GCL seeks US listing via $1.65 billion Spac deal

BENGALURU – Grand Centrex Limited (GCL) said on Wednesday that it will list in the US by merging with a blank-cheque firm in a deal that values the Singapore-based video game distributor at US$1.2 billion (S$1.65 billion). Special purpose acquisition companies (Spacs) have largely fallen out of favour following a bumper 2020, after they drew intense scrutiny from the United…

Keppel snags $306 million for China-focused sustainable urban renewal fund

SINGAPORE – Keppel Corporation has raised a 1.4 billion yuan (S$262.8 million) initial investment from an undisclosed global institutional investor, capturing opportunities in China’s sustainability transition. Together with 160 million yuan of a sponsor stake by Keppel, the total 1.6 billion fund (S$306 million) marked the closing of its China-focused sustainable urban renewal programme, said the company on Thursday. About…

US stocks sink as bond yields hit new highs

NEW YORK – US stocks fell on Wednesday as underwhelming earnings and ongoing fighting in the Middle East weighed on investor optimism. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1 per cent to 33,665.08. The broad-based S&P 500 sank 1.3 per cent to 4,314.60, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.6 per cent to 13,314.30. The yield on the popular…

IMF cuts S’pore 2023 growth forecast on weak exports, China slump; sees Asia slowing next year

Things may take a positive turn only if the US economy achieves a soft landing, boosting the outlook for manufacturing and capital expenditures, the technology cycle bottoms out, and disinflation in Asia accelerates to provide scope for easing monetary policy in 2024, the IMF said. However, medium-term prospects are uncertain due to geo-economic fragmentation, with de-risking policies of major economies creating a…

Hong Kong crypto exchange OSL weighs sale at over $170 million

HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s BC Technology Group is exploring the sale of its crypto platform OSL, one of only two exchanges licensed under digital-asset rules the city introduced in June, people familiar with the matter said. BC Technology has gauged interest in OSL from possible buyers such as industry players and funds, and a HK$1 billion (S$175.13 million) valuation…

Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday; Iran issues warning

U.S. President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and make clear Israel has the right to defend itself, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday. Blinken said after lengthy talks with Netanyahu that Biden will reaffirm solidarity with Israel, which has widely been expected to launch a ground assault in…

Global smartphone market slumps to lowest Q3 level in decade

BENGALURU – The global smartphone market contracted by 8 per cent to its lowest third-quarter level in a decade on subdued demand for major brands including Apple and Samsung in most developed markets, according to data from Counterpoint Research. The data, shared exclusively with Reuters, showed that the share of the top five brands, which also include Chinese firms Xiaomi,…

How An Undercover Lawyer Helped to Topple Denmark’s Torrent Tracker Scene

Last Thursday, a Danish court sentenced a 24-year old programmer from Silkeborg to 60 days probation for his role in operating the torrent tracker ShareUniversity. The sentencing is the latest in Denmark following an unprecedented crackdown on local torrent trackers that has already resulted in more than a dozen prosecutions, with more yet to come. The National Unit for Special…

Israeli death toll rises to 1,300 since beginning of al-Aqsa Flood Operation

Occupied Jerusalem, SANA-More than 1,300 Israeli soldiers and settlers have been killed since the beginning of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. The enemy media admitted that the number of deaths among Israeli soldiers and settlers has risen to more than 1,300, and more than 3,000 injuries, in addition to evacuating tens of thousands of settlers from 24 settlements in Gaza vicinity. The…

18 Palestinians martyred in two massacres committed by Israeli aircraft in Khan Yunis

Occupied Jerusalem, SANA- The Israeli occupation forces committed two new massacres in Gaza Strip, killing 18 Palestinians as the occupation aircraft targeted residential buildings in Khan Yunis city, south of the besieged Gaza Strip. The occupation aircraft shelled a house in Ma’an area, causing the death of a family of seven persons, as it also targeted another house in the…

Three Palestinians injured as Israeli occupation forces storm Jenin

Occupied Jerusalem, SANA- Three Palestinians were injured, on Thursday at dawn, as the Israeli occupation forces stormed Jenin city of the West Bank. Wafa News Agency stated the occupation forces raided Jenin city and opened fire on the Palestinians, wounding three young men while dozens suffered suffocation, in addition to arresting five others. The occupation forces also broke into Jericho…

15 Palestinians martyred in Israeli airstrike on a house in northern Gaza Strip

Occupied Jerusalem, SANA – 15 Palestinians were martyred and dozens were injured at dawn on Thursday in a new massacre committed by Israeli occupation aircraft which targeted a house in the besieged northern Gaza Strip Palestinian media reported that the occupation aircraft bombed a house for Al-Mutawaq family on al-Nuzha Street in Jabalia Al-Balad area, northern Gaza Strip. 15 people…

US stocks rise ahead of key inflation data

  NEW YORK – Wall Street stocks closed higher on Wednesday as traders await key US consumer inflation data, while shrugging off hotter-than-expected wholesale price increases. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.2 per cent up at 33,804.87. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.4 per cent to 4,376.95, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.7 per cent to 13,659.68….

Hollywood and Netflix Flag ‘Priority’ Piracy Threats

Over the past two decades, online piracy has proven a massive challenge for the entertainment industries. It’s a global issue that’s hard to contain, but various anti-piracy group are doing their best to fight back. There’s a seemingly perpetual stream of takedowns, as evidenced by press releases that come out every week. However, some targets are particularly resistant to enforcement…

Microsoft: State hackers exploiting Confluence zero-day since September

  Microsoft says a Chinese-backed threat group tracked as ‘Storm-0062’ (aka DarkShadow or Oro0lxy) has been exploiting a critical privilege escalation zero-day in the Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Server since September 14, 2023. Atlassian had already notified customers about the active exploitation status of CVE-2023-22515 when it disclosed it on October 4, 2023. Still, the company withheld specific details on the…

Germany to send Ukraine $1B in air defense tech, plus more tanks

  PARIS — Germany will send about €1 billion (U.S. $1.1 billion) worth of air defense systems to Ukraine as part of a second “winter package” for the embattled country, the German Defence Ministry said in a statement Tuesday. The support will include a Patriot air defense system and two IRIS-T surface-to-air systems, as well as 10 more Leopard 1…