Worldwide: Headlines
Trump saw Singapore summit as exercise in publicity, says Bolton in memoir
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump went into his 2018 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore viewing it as a publicity exercise and was prepared to sign a substance-free joint statement, said former national security adviser John Bolton in his upcoming memoir.
The 577-page book, titled The Room Where It Happened, is an account of Mr Bolton’s 17 months in the Trump administration and details the President’s dealings with several foreign leaders, including his three meetings with Mr Kim.
The former top official is highly critical of the President in his book, calling him uninformed and accusing him of putting his personal interests over the nation’s. The memoir is scheduled to be released on Tuesday (June 23) in defiance of legal challenges by the Trump administration, but excerpts have already been published by the media.
Mr Bolton, who was against the meeting from the beginning and repeatedly hoped it would be cancelled, sides with the critics and wrote that the President was more interested in the optics than the substance of the historic summit.
Mr Trump wanted to go to Singapore, saying “it will be great theatre”, according to Mr Bolton. On the flight on the way to Singapore, the President was also obsessed with watching press coverage of the North Korean leader’s arrival in Singapore and with what the coverage of his own arrival would be.
Full coverage: THE STRAITS TIMES
Worldwide: Technology
Google faces employee petition to end tech sales to police
OAKLAND, Calif. – More than 1,600 workers at Alphabet Inc are petitioning its Google unit to stop selling email and other services to police departments, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The workers in a petition seen by Reuters expressed disappointment with Google not joining the “millions who want to defang and defund” police departments. Civil rights activists across the United States for years have called for scaling back traditional policing, and the efforts have gained momentum through protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody last month.
“We should not be in the business of profiting from racist policing,” the Google petition said. It cited sales of the company’s G Suite package, which includes tools for email, document editing and file storage, to the police department in Clarkstown, New York.
Full coverage : REUTERS
Worldwide: Business
SoftBank kicks off $21 billion sale of T-Mobile shares
NEW YORK – SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) unveiled a series of transactions on Monday to divest more than $21 billion worth of stock in U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.O), as it seeks funding for a $41 billion share buyback and debt reduction plan.
SoftBank’s shares have more than doubled since the middle of March, despite the economic uncertainty fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, as CEO Masayoshi Son moves to shed or trim its stakes in other companies such as Alibaba Group Holding (BABA.N).
While the divestments have bankrolled a string of share buybacks, delighting investors including hedge fund Elliott Management Corp, they have raised concerns among credit ratings agencies about the Japanese conglomerate’s financial standing.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Oil prices steady amid signs of demand coming back after coronavirus
TOKYO – Oil prices were steady on Tuesday, holding onto the previous session’s gains, amid more signs of fuel demand picking up after the depths of the coronavirus pandemic as major crude producers continue to stick to supply cuts.
Brent crude was up 6 cents at $43.14 a barrel at 0046 GMT, after gaining 2.1% on Monday. U.S. oil was up 8 cents at $40.81 a barrel, having risen 1.8% in the previous session.
“We’re starting to see the green shoots of recovery,” Exxon Mobil Australia Chairman Nathan Fay said at Credit Suisse’s annual Australian energy conference on Tuesday, referring to oil demand’s recovery from the collapse triggered by anti-coronavirus lockdowns.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Asian stocks set to track upbeat Wall Street despite rising infections
NEW YORK – Asian stocks were set to edge up on Tuesday after oil prices rose and technology firms pushed Wall Street higher, although investors remained worried about fresh coronavirus outbreaks across the globe.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures rose 0.58% in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures added 1.34% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were up 0.80%.
In a sign there was still some demand for safe havens, spot gold added 0.1% to $1,755.53 an ounce.
“Global financial markets began the week slowly as investors and businesses focus on (the end of the quarter) in what has inevitably been the worst quarter for economic growth since World War II,” ANZ Research said in a note. “If nothing else, expect volatility.”
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.59%, the S&P 500 gained 0.65% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.11% to set a record closing high.
Full coverage: REUTERS
