Money - Frontal Report

Featured News

America’s Favorite Fruit Is Being Bruised by the Iran War

Oct 12, 2026

The journey of one banana from farm to store shows how the war’s economic effects have cascaded into some surprising industries.

Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford Awarded Nobel for Economics

Oct 12, 2026

What are your rights on auto-renew subscriptions?

Oct 12, 2026

Europeans Have a Love-Hate Relationship With Chinese Cars

Oct 12, 2026

Fridges in French supermarkets hit by cyber attack

Oct 12, 2026

YOUR NEWS, OUR NETWORK.

Do you have Great News you want to tell the world?

Be it updates about your business or your community, you can make sure that it’s heard by submitting your story to our network reaching hundreds of news sites across 6 verticals.

Latest News

Oct 12, 2026

How American Retirees at Different Incomes Rely on Social Security

Social Security funds are on track to run short by 2032, which would mean a reduction in benefits. Here’s how four hypothetical households rely on the program in retirement.

Oct 12, 2026

Why some have no choice but to pay costly oil prices

Oct 12, 2026

AI minister warns 'likely' UK's cyber defences will be breached

Oct 12, 2026

World’s Energy Order Tested Again as Iran War’s Reach Extends Further

Oct 12, 2026

Elon Musk, Delta Airlines and a Feud Over In-Flight Wi-Fi

Interesting Read

Higher rates could be needed to avoid 'inflationary mindset' taking hold, says Fed's Hammack

The Cleveland Fed president said that tighter monetary policy would be needed to bring down inflation.

Oct 12, 2026

Inflation likely peaked for 2026 but will remain sticky, according to prediction markets

Traders think there's little chance core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, will fall to 2.2% this year.

Oct 12, 2026

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Salesforce, First Solar, Biogen & more

These are the stocks posting the largest moves in early trading.

Oct 12, 2026

HSI up, mainland stocks fall amid interest rate fears

Mainland stocks fell on Monday with investors unsettled by higher global interest rates and trade tensions. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 59 points, or 0.2 percent, to 24,271 on turnover of HK$162.63 billion. The tech index dropped 28 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,169 while the China enterprises index gained 20 points, or 0.3 percent, to 8,168. Banks and insurance stocks rose while chipmakers and AI stocks fell. On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 16 points or 0.43 percent, to close at 3,797 on turnover of 714.9 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index dived 256 points, or 2.03 percent, to 12,384 on turnover of 822.9 billion yuan while the ChiNext plunged 79 points, or 2.61 percent, to 2,963 on turnover of 392.3 billion yuan. The US launching probes into technology firms including Luxshare Precision Industry ⁠and Foxconn Industrial Internet further dented risk appetite. "The main anxiety comes from rising global yields," Caitong Securities said in its market outlook. "There's also the tail risk of a potential debt crisis" stemming from the weakest governments in the euro zone, the brokerage said. China's large-cap CSI300 Index dropped 0.7 percent to a 13-month closing low. Market reaction was muted after ⁠top securities regulator Wu Qing ⁠held a seminar with market participants on Saturday to hear their suggestions on improving the capital market. Investors also ignored draft ⁠rules published on Friday that would lower ‌the threshold for setting up equity mutual funds. The market has been dogged by the threat of rising ‌bond yields as the widening war in the Middle East have kept oil prices above US$100 ⁠a barrel, fuelling inflation concerns. In Seoul, the Kospi plunged 241 points, or 3.65 percent, at 6,384 to hit the lowest closing level since August 11 as traders returned from a long weekend and assessed renewed attacks across the Middle East that could further disrupt global energy supplies. (Reuters & Xinhua) The Nikkei in Japan was closed for a holiday. Edited by Edmond Fong

Oct 12, 2026

Asia benefits from AI build-out: IMF

Strong investment in AI infrastructure is keeping global growth at around 3 percent, yielding major benefits for many Asian economies that supply the hardware, ⁠such as Thailand, International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday. The artificial intelligence investment boom was already delivering a "demand shock, an investment shock" that could boost growth in advanced Asian economies by a half to one full percentage point, and emerging Asian economies by 0.2 to 0.8 percentage points, she said. "AI, love it, hate it. It's already here," Georgieva said. "That shift into higher gear is what is keeping the world economy growing at around 3 percent, despite the fact we are being dragged down by the energy supply shock," she told hundreds of participants on the first day of a weeklong set of meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Bangkok. The IMF in July forecast global ⁠growth at 3 percent in 2026. It will release an updated outlook on Tuesday. Some 18,000 people are expected ⁠to attend the meetings this week, including ⁠finance officials from the IMF's 191 members. Several ministers will skip the meeting to focus on domestic priorities, including US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Spanish Finance Minister Arcadi España, sources said. Georgieva said AI amounted to a "slow-moving tsunami" that would have profound ‌consequences for jobs, growth, education and even how governments generate revenue through taxation, given the expected shift from labour to capital. The IMF estimates that AI could lead to 40 percent of jobs being augmented, ‌downgraded or eliminated, over time, she said. An initial study showed that 10 percent of jobs in the United States already required AI skills. While routine, repetitive ⁠jobs were shrinking, low-paying jobs were increasing in two lower-paying sectors, construction and data centres. "It is a transformative technology. It so completely changes how we work, how we live," she said, noting that an AI assistant now gave her a 30-second message about her schedule each day. The United States, China and India are the most important producers in the ‌AI supply chain, but many of the firms building the needed infrastructure are in Asia, Georgieva said, referencing Thailand, host of this year's annual meetings. World Bank president Ajay Banga, who has made jobs a central focus of his presidency, said the development bank was focused on leveraging "small AI", which is not dependent on large language models, to generate enormous productivity gains for farmers, healthcare ⁠systems, educators and others ‌in emerging markets. Singapore's President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said governments should address ‌how AI was reducing job opportunities for graduates. "There is a particular problem that we have to address very soon... and that is that, the first rung in employment, your first job upon graduation, ‌is now seeing less demand," he said. He said the world should also guard against AI resulting in a "new divergence" in growth and job creation between developing and advanced economies. (Reuters) Edited by Edmond Fong

Oct 12, 2026

HK stocks rise as focus turns to US earnings

Asian share markets got off to a cautious start on Monday as earnings season loomed as a challenge to sky-high tech valuations, while oil was choppy after strikes on shipping and airports in the Gulf. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index opened up 223 points, or 0.9 percent, at 24,434. The China enterprises index was up 81 points, or 1 percent, at 8,229 and the tech index was 43 points, or 1.03 percent, higher at 4,241. Up north, the Shanghai Composite Index opened down six points, or 0.18 percent, at 3,806. The Shenzhen Component Index was 54 points, or 0.43 percent, lower at 12,586 while the ChiNext Index slipped 19 points, or 0.65 percent, to 3,023. Brent futures started higher but soon slipped 1.1 percent to US$103.50 a barrel, away from the recent top of US$109.97 while US crude futures lost 1.2 percent to US$90.73 a barrel. The Kospi in Seoul opened 47 points, or 0.72 percent, lower at 6,578 and slipped further to be 177 points down at one stage before lunch. Trade was thin with Japan markets shut and the US on a partial ⁠holiday ahead of the earnings season with major US banks kicking off on Tuesday. S&P 500 earnings are ⁠expected to have jumped by more ⁠than 30 percent in the third quarter, according to LSEG IBES, though the bulk of that comes from the tech sector. My Bui, an economist at AMP, noted all the gains in the S&P 500 since mid-September had been ⁠in tech, while investors were demanding higher yields to fund the ‌massive borrowing for AI. The US investment-grade credit default swap index, which tracks the cost of insurance against default, had also risen sharply to its highest level since the Iran war began. "Overall, wider ‌spreads suggest investors are questioning whether AI revenues can keep pace with rising borrowing costs," added Bui. "Corporate bond issuance to fund AI capex, combined with ⁠wider high-yield spreads, will raise refinancing costs as the current wave of debt matures over the next few years." (Reuters & Xinhua) Edited by Edmond Fong

Oct 12, 2026