Asia credit starts to wobble as market pain spreads

SINGAPORE: Credit markets turned shaky in Asia on Monday, with the cost of insuring against corporate and sovereign default higher as recession fears rippled across financial markets. The five-year credit default swap spread on the Markit Itraxx Asia ex-Japan index, comprising sovereign and company debt, rose about 26 basis points to its highest since August last...

Wall Street set to plunge as Trump tariffs rout dollar

LONDON: World stocks, the dollar and oil all tumbled on Thursday as President Donald Trump’s drastic new U.S. trade tariffs stoked fears of a global recession and led investors to seek safe-haven assets like bonds and the yen. A new baseline 10% tariff on imported goods plus some eye-watering reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries that...

Ringgit hits 18-month high amid US recession fears

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit reached an 18-month high today, driven by concerns of a potential recession in the United States, said an analyst. At 6 pm, the ringgit strengthened to 4.3805/3850 against the US dollar, marking its best performance since Feb 14, 2023. On Friday (Aug 16), the ringgit closed at 4.4295/4350 against the greenback. Bank Muamalat Malaysia...

US recession? Look at what rich Americans do on Black Friday

RICH Americans are curtailing their spending ahead of Black Friday, a worrisome sign for an economy that has so far depended on the US consumer to stave off a recession. In the three months ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season, a group of retailers that cater to the upper middle class – including Apple, Coach...