Hong Kong Financial News

jobless benefits increased slightly last week, while layoffs dropped to an 11-month low in July, labor department report showed. Jobs report for July is due on Friday. A separate report showed that the US services sector slowed in July.

Metaverse platform The Sandbox will require Know Your Customer (KYC) verification for its staking processes, according to an Aug. 3 announcement. 

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Citadel started this year by betting big on its energy trading business, and CEO of Citadel Energy Marketing.– former Morgan Stanley alum Jay Rubenstein – seems to be bringing in people with the same pedigree as him to bolster the business.

Paris is Europe's new and most shiny financial centre. And HEC is one of France's finest educational establishment for students looking for finance jobs. But HEC students still want to work in London most of all. 

Crypto exchange HashKey has become the first digital asset entity to receive a license under Hong Kong’s new crypto licensing regime.

Crypto exchange Binance, on Thursday, August 3, announced that it would be opening trading for the Bitcoin/First Digital USD (BTC/FDUSD) and Ethereum/ First Digital USD (ETH/FDUSD) trading pairs alongside an updated zero-fee Bitcoin and Ethereum trading with newly added FDUSD stablecoin spot and margin pairs.

BSE Sensex fell 0.82% to 65,240.68. Among the Nifty sectoral indices, only Nifty Media (up 0.93%), Nifty Pharma (up 0.98%), and Nifty Healthcare (up 0.60%) ended in green, while the others closed in red. Adani Enterprises Ltd, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, Eicher Motors Ltd, Divi's Laboratories Ltd, and Infosys Ltd were among the top gainers of Nifty.

The US, which boasts the largest consumer base for crypto, is currently grappling with uncertainty due to the SEC's relentless crackdown on crypto operations. This has significantly impeded progress in terms of regulatory developments, the adoption environment, and the support from financial institutions in providing liquidity for virtual digital assets. In stark contrast, the EU, the UK, Hong Kong, Dubai and Singapore, have been steadily cultivating thriving ecosystems for crypto. Their proactive approach has even enticed crypto entrepreneurs in the USA to consider relocating their operations to these countries for smoother functioning. However, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon in the form of the Fit Act, which aims to bring the US on par with other nations that have implemented forward-looking crypto regulations. The primary objective of this bill is to clearly define boundaries for oversight of the industry between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and remove any ambiguity which might cause differences in verdict or uncertainty for stakeholders. Amid the SEC's ongoing exercise of authority over the crypto industry, the Ripple verdict has ignited hope within the community. This first-of-its-kind positive judgment has raised expectations for additional scrutiny of lawsuits and the possibility of more favourable verdicts in the future. This bill, which marks the first-ever congressional vote on the matter, has boosted the ecosystem's hopes further.

Sydney fund manager Clayton Larcombe worked for US investment bank JP Morgan for three months, in the Philippines, not the two years claimed on his now-defunct LinkedIn profile.

Hong Kong is expanding cryptocurrency trading exposure to individual investors, with at least one exchange getting the regulatory green light to offer such services.

Sanjiv Bhasin, Director, IIFL Securities, says “Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech and Persistent continue to be my three top picks there. But, right now, I am seeing more flavour in other players. Apollo Hospital, SBI Life, HDFC Life, BEL.

Asian shares were subdued on Thursday after Fitch downgraded U.S. sovereign debt sparking profit-taking, with investors now shifting focus to Bank of England's rate decision and earnings from Apple and Amazon. Both S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures added 0.2%, following a heavy wave of selling on Wall Street overnight.

global markets, after Fitch Ratings cut the sovereign credit rating of the US, the world's largest economy, by one level from the highest AAA to AA+. The selloff on account of the unexpected downgrade resulted in the Nifty closing below a key support of 19,560, which analysts said has opened up the likelihood of the index dropping another 2-3% unless there is an immediate rebound.NSE's Nifty fell 207 points, or 1.05%, to close at 19,526.55. BSE's Sensex declined 676.53 points, or 1.02%, to end at 65,782.78.

Fitch downgraded the United States to AA+ from AAA, citing expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years as well as growing government debt. Meanwhile, private payrolls data in the US showed that the companies added 324,000 new jobs last month, much higher than the consensus estimates. In Asia, investors will focus on the Caixin private survey for China’s service sector activity in July.

Siemens Healthineers fell 5.6% after its quarterly profit dropped. German fashion brand Hugo Boss slid 1.9% despite it raised its full-year outlook. In Asia, stock markets closed down on Wednesday.

Hong Kong’s notoriously expensive property market is often seen as a barometer of the city’s economy. It isn’t looking good. Home prices are down.

international flights. But do you need that much time for connections between international flights? Layovers of just 30 minutes can be feasible for domestic flights, especially at small airports where the next flight might be just one gate over. But international layovers are typically far more complicated, and even two hours can be insufficient. Here’s how to book flights with an international layover, and how much time you really need.WAYS TO BOOK A FLIGHT WITH AN INTERNATIONAL LAYOVER Let’s say you’re flying from Houston to Hanoi, Vietnam. There might be no direct flights between those two cities, but you could get there via layover. The most common, least risky way to book international flights necessitating a layover is by searching for flights between your departure and arrival cities. Even with no nonstops available, the airline automatically determines your layover and puts both flights on one reservation. This strategy is ideal for a few reasons:

Nifty had a significant decline on Wednesday's trading session as a result of negative economic data coming out of China, the euro zone, and the US, which prompted caution and had an impact on the risk sentiment. The Nifty 50 index was down 1.05% at 19,526.55, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 1.02% to 65,782.78. Also, the fear gauge index, India VIX soared and closed 9.67% higher amid negative cues from global markets.

Homegrown swimwear brand Seafolly has been sold by its private equity owner, US retail specialist L Catterton, to an Asian strategic buyer in a deal valuing the famous label at about $70 million.

McDonald's Hong Kong has teamed up with The Sandbox, a decentralized virtual gaming platform owned by Animoca Brands, to create the first Web3 experience platform. This partnership has resulted in the launch of «McNuggets Land», a unique metaverse gaming experience that marks the 40th anniversary of McNuggets.