Money Talks

Siemens is joining hundreds of corporations like McDonalds, PepsiCo and Shell pulling out of Russia over its attack on Ukraine. The German multinational company employs around 3,000 people in the country, and had already put all business in Russia and Belarus on hold since February. TRT World's Tayyibe Aydin asked Siemens Türkiye CEO, Huseyin Gelis, how exiting the Russian market will effect business.

#Siemens #Russia #Sanctions

After eight consecutive weeks of sell-off, it hasn't been plain sailing for markets this week either. First of all, natural gas has been on a real roller-coaster, surging above $9 per million British thermal units, hitting the highest level in more than a decade as dwindling inventories push prices higher. On the stocks front, there has also been more than one bump in the road during the week. The S&P500 is down 17% since the beginning of the year, and the Nasdaq nearly 30%.

#NaturalGas #StockMarkets #MarketMeltdown

'Economy is security' - that was the take-away message from this week's summit of the so-called 'Quad' group of Indo-Pacific nations - the US, Japan, India, and Australia. It comes amid rising tensions between the world's two largest economies. US President Joe Biden's administration is taking aim at what it describes as China's attempt to reshape the international order. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken says Beijing is engaging in provocative rhetoric and activity, and he's calling on countries in the region to join ranks with Washington to keep China's ambitions in check. Blinken's comments have drawn a rebuke from Beijing. Chinese officials accuse Washington of running a smear campaign and undermining international law.

For more on the story, we were joined by Christian Lawrence and Harish Bijoor. Christian Lawrence is a senior cross-asset strategist at Rabobank in New York and Harish Bijoor is business strategy specialist in India.

#AsiaPacific #Quad #USChinaTensions

China's industrial profit fell sharply in April, shrinking 8.5% from a year earlier. That is the worst drop since March 2020 and comes as high raw material prices and supply chain chaos squeeze margins and disrupt factor activity. Despite this, stocks are bouncing in Asia this morning. Hong Kong's Hang Seng is up 2.3%, as Alibaba's shares alone surged 13%. Chinese Shanghai Composite is also higher this morning, following an unprecedented nationwide meeting via teleconference held by Chinese authorities in a bid to bolster an economy battered by Covid.

For more on the story, we spoke to Victoria Scholar, who is head of investments at Interactive Investor in London.

#China #ChinaIndustry #ChinaEconomy

Asia-Pacific stocks are mixed this morning as the Bank of Korea announced a 25 basis points increase in its base rate to 1.75%, which is the central bank's second straight rate hike. The Korean exchange KOSPI is down 0.37%, but the Chinese Shanghai Composite, is up 0.44%. The Korean currency, the won, is strengthening against the dollar, after touching a decade-low a few weeks ago.

We spoke David Madden who is a market analyst at Equiti Capital in London.

#SouthKorea #Won #InterestRates

Oil prices have risen to their highest level in 7 years, supported by tight supplies but also by the prospect of rising demand from the start of the summer driving season in the United States, which is the world's biggest crude consumer. Global crude supplies continue to tighten as buyers avoid oil from Russia, amid sanctions following its attack on Ukraine. But the crude supply situation is also tightening in the US ahead of the three-day, Memorial Day weekend, which is expected to be the busiest in two years.

For more on the oil market, AJ Bell's Danni Hewson joined us from the UK.

#OilPrices #OilMarket #MemorialDay

Moving on now to energy markets, which are in turmoil due to the crisis in Ukraine and global heating. Now more than ever, nations are under pressure to wean themselves off fossil fuels so they can protect their people from volatile price swings, and reverse the climate crisis before it's too late. TRT World's Paolo Montecillo was at a recent energy summit hosted by Türkiye's Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association. There he got the latest on government efforts to help the private sector shift toward renewable energy.

#Türkiye #RenewableEnergy #GreenTransformation

Markets in Asia-Pacific were subdued in Tuesday trading, off the back of weak economic data from Asia. And this is despite US President Joe Biden considering cutting tariffs on Chinese goods. Meanwhile, in China, Goldman Sachs says it expects more real estate defaults. Twenty two high-yield bond issuers, all related to the property sector, have either defaulted on their U.S. dollar-denominated bonds or deferred repayments with bond exchanges since the start of this year.

We spoke to Craig Erlam, who is senior market analyst at OANDA.

#AsiaMarkets #JapanManufacturing #ChinaProperty

The international crude benchmark Brent is up around 1% to $113 a barrel to start the week. That comes ahead of what's known in the US as peak driving season, which begins this weekend and stretches all the way to September. During this period, Americans are expected to use their cars more than at any other time of the year.

For more, AvaTrade's Naeem Aslam joined us from Dubai.

#UnitedStates #DrivingSeason #OilPrices

For residents of Afghanistan's capital Kabul, bomb blasts, shootings and other forms of violence remain a constant threat. But one startup is trying to help Afghans stay safe and informed. Ehtesaab is a mobile phone app that provides security updates to its users. We spoke to its founder Sara Wahedi and asked her about the inspiration behind the app. We also asked the Time magazine Next Generation Leader what impact a changing political landscape has had on her operations in Afghanistan.

#Ehtesaab #Afghanistan #Taliban