Rounding up top investing articles from around the web, including articles shared on Twitter.
Most households on HDB lease buyback scheme received between $100k and $300k (Straits Times)
The vast majority of households which have opted for the Housing Board’s Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) received between $100,000 and $300,000 in proceeds for selling part of their flat’s lease back to HDB.
This was the case for more than 90 per cent of the 12,656 households which have tapped the scheme as at June 30, HDB said in an update on the LBS on Aug 14.
HDB’s figures show that the take-up rate for the LBS has remained steady, at an average of 1,680 households annually over the last five years.
Launched in 2009, the LBS allows those aged 65 and older to supplement their retirement income by selling part of their flat’s lease back to HDB.
Proceeds from the sale are used to top up their Central Provident Fund (CPF) Retirement Account and purchase a CPF Life plan, which provides monthly payouts for life. Any balance proceeds after the CPF Retirement Account top-up are returned to home owners in cash.
Depending on the quantum of the CPF top-up, HDB also provides an additional cash bonus to home owners under the LBS. This ranges from $7,500 to $30,000.
10 S’pore Olympians, including Max Maeder, greet public in celebratory parade through town (Straits Times)
Japan PM Kishida to step down after successor is chosen in September (Straits Times)
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will resign as Prime Minister after a successor is chosen in a ruling party elections in September, he announced on Aug 14, sending shockwaves through the political system.
The 67-year-old’s decision not to seek re-election in the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) internal polls paves the way for a heated contest to succeed him.
Court dismisses Thai PM Srettha over Cabinet appointment (CNA)
Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday (Aug 14) dismissed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin for appointing to his Cabinet a former lawyer who served jail time, raising the spectre of more political upheaval and a reset of the governing alliance.
Real estate tycoon Srettha becomes the fourth Thai premier in 16 years to be removed by verdicts by the same court, after it ruled he violated the constitution by appointing a minister who did not meet ethical standards.
Srettha’s removal after less than a year in power means parliament must convene to choose a new premier, with the prospect of more uncertainty in a country dogged for two decades by coups and court rulings that have brought down multiple governments and political parties.
The same court last week dissolved the anti-establishment Move Forward Party (MFP), the hugely popular opposition, ruling that its campaign to reform a law against insulting the crown risked undermining the constitutional monarchy. It regrouped on Friday under a new party.
S’poreans owe $1m in Malaysia traffic fines, make up largest group of offending foreign motorists (Straits Times)
Singaporeans make up the largest group of foreign motorists with outstanding traffic fines in Malaysia, owing an estimated RM3.5 million (S$1 million).
Out of the 51,128 outstanding traffic summonses involving motorists from Singapore, Brunei and Thailand from 1990 to June 2024, 35,011 were incurred by Singaporeans, reported news outlet Utusan Malaysia on Aug 13.
Another roughly RM1.6 million in fines are owed by motorists from the other two South-east Asian nations.
Action will be taken against foreign drivers with outstanding fines as they enter or exit Malaysia, as part of the Foreigners’ Outstanding Summons Operation, said Commissioner Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri, director of the Royal Malaysia Police’s Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department, as quoted by Utusan.
In total, including local cases, the government recorded nearly 41 million outstanding traffic summonses, with an estimated RM4 billion yet to be paid.
UBS smashes second quarter profit expectations as Credit Suisse consolidation boosts revenue (CNBC)
- UBS reported net profit attributable to shareholders came in at $1.136 billion for the period, versus a company-compiled consensus forecast of $528 million.
- In the bank’s global wealth management unit, revenue increased by 15% to $6.053 billion which UBS said was largely due to the consolidation of Credit Suisse.
Apple supplier Foxconn’s second-quarter profit rises 6% on AI boom (CNBC)
Apple supplier Foxconn reported on Wednesday a 6% rise in second-quarter net profit, driven by strong AI server demand as the company touted “strong growth momentum” from the technology boom.
The Taiwanese company, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, said net profit for the April-June quarter rose to 35.05 billion New Taiwan dollars ($1.09 billion) from NT$33 billion in the same period the previous year.
The company said AI servers accounted for more than 40% of its server business in the second quarter, saying its next generation AI computing solution has brought “strong growth momentum.”
Intel sells stake in UK chip designer Arm amid company-wide restructuring and cost cuts (CNBC)
Intel has sold its 1.18 million share stake in British chip firm Arm Holdings, according to a regulatory filing, as the California chip designer shores up its balance sheet amid intense competition.
The sale, disclosed on Tuesday, likely raised Intel nearly $147 million, based on Arm’s average stock price between April and June.
The divestment from Arm comes amid a tumultuous financial period for Intel, as it undergoes what CEO Pat Gelsinger has called “the most substantial restructuring of Intel since the memory microprocessor transition four decades ago.”
At the start of August, Intel announced a $10 billion cost-reduction plan that will see it cut around 15,000 employees, eliminate its fiscal fourth-quarter dividend and reduce capital expenditures.
At the same time, Intel had reported worse-than-expected quarterly results and issued a light guidance for the current period. The results were followed by the largest single day drop in Intel’s stock price in 50 years, down 26%.
The chip firm, which both designs its own chips as well as manufactures them, has been struggling to keep up with other semiconductor competitors amid intensifying competition due to the AI boom.
Competitors such as AMD and Qualcomm have also been racing to roll out more AI-focused chips, chasing the success of Nvidia.
China’s Huawei is reportedly set to release new AI chip to challenge Nvidia amid U.S. sanctions (CNBC)
- Huawei is preparing to launch a new AI chip to challenge Nvidia’s H100 amid U.S. sanctions aimed at curbing its tech advances, The Wall Street Journal reported.
- Potential clients have already begun testing the chip, Ascend 910C.
- TikTok parent ByteDance, Baidu and China Mobile are among those in early discussions to purchase it, the report said.
Reliance, Disney offer concessions to win antitrust nod for India media merger, Reuters reports (CNBC)
Reliance and Walt Disney have offered to sell some channels to win faster antitrust approval for their $8.5 billion India media assets merger, but are resisting changes to cricket broadcast rights they own, two sources familiar with the matter said.
Antitrust experts have warned that the Reliance-Disney merger, announced in February, could face intense scrutiny as it will create India’s biggest entertainment player which will compete with Sony, Zee Entertainment, Netflix and Amazon with a combined 120 TV channels and two streaming services.
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