World news
US markets extend gains as tech, financial stocks rise
August 25, 2021 10:54 PM BST| By Sanjeeb BaruahAll major US stock markets closed higher on Wednesday, August 26, pulled up by gains in technology and financial sectors. The blue-chip S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs for the third consecutive day, buoyed by a posi...
Asia-Pacific shares mixed: Sensex at an all-time high, ASX miners rally
August 25, 2021 09:18 AM BST| By Furquan MoharkanAsia-Pacific stocks were mixed on Wednesday, as optimism continued to drive stocks, with India’s Sensex touching a record high and a rally in the shares of Australian miners. India’s premier benchmark – the BSE Sensex – touch...
Will Bitcoin’s fast recovery fizzle out?
August 25, 2021 05:10 AM BST| By Furquan MoharkanA rally of over 100%, then a crash of over 100%, and now rallying back by close to 100%. Yes, there is one such asset class which has been so volatile in just eight months of this year – and it is Bitcoin. Bitcoin has given year-to-date return...
Why Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is hitting the headlines again
August 25, 2021 03:35 AM BST| By Furquan MoharkanThe United States Monday gave full approval to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, which had earlier been given emergency use authorisation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The full authorisation of the Pfizer’s shot for people aged 16 years...
US stocks rise on vaccine hopes, positive economic outlook
August 24, 2021 11:01 PM BST| By Sanjeeb BaruahBenchmark S&P 500 and NASDAQ composite closed at record highs for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, August 24, after significant gains in consumer discretionary and energy segments. The S&P 500 was up 0.15% to 4,486.23. The Dow Jones ro...
US evacuates 11,000 people from Afghanistan in 30 hours
August 24, 2021 07:42 AM BST| By Furquan MoharkanIn what could be one of the most crucial state-sponsored evacuation programmes in the history, US has evacuated 11,000 people from Afghanistan in the last 30 hours. Since 14 August 2021, a day before the country’s capital fell to Taliban, the...
APAC markets buoyed on Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine’s FDA milestone
August 24, 2021 06:34 AM BST| By Furquan MoharkanEquity markets in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region on Tuesday picked up from where they left on Monday, as the rally in the indices continued on the back of the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) full approval of Pfizer and BioNTech’s...
Pfizer-BioNTech’s COMIRNATY® becomes the first US FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine
August 24, 2021 04:03 AM BST| By Tripti JoshiIn what could be considered a significant milestone in the fight against the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the green light to Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine. On 23 August, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE).....
S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record highs after tech, energy stocks rally
August 23, 2021 10:43 PM BST| By Sanjeeb BaruahBenchmark US indices closed at record highs on Monday, August 23, pulled up by gains in technology and energy segments as investors turned their focus on riskier assets amid hopes of a faster economic recovery. The S&P 500 was up 0.85% to 4,479....
APAC markets start the week on a high, major indices surge 2%
August 23, 2021 09:21 AM BST| By Furquan MoharkanEquity markets in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region were rallying on Monday morning after the Hong Kong markets bounced back from last week’s bearish trend. By Monday afternoon, the benchmark Hang Seng Index of Hong Kong was trading 1.78% higher,...
How have emerging markets fared in 2021?
August 23, 2021 03:49 AM BST| By Furquan MoharkanGlobal equity markets have been garnering everyone’s attention. After tanking into bear zone in March 2020, the markets recovered soon and have been witnessing an unprecedented rally for the past 1.5 years now despite the economy being in tatte...
Convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19: are there any benefits?
August 23, 2021 03:06 AM BST| By Tripti JoshiHighlights The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced the final results from a study assessing convalescent plasma (CP) therapy in COVID-19 outpatients with early symptoms. The results demonstrated no significant benefit of the .....
Anti-lockdown protests turn violent in Australia; scores arrested
August 22, 2021 02:05 PM BST| By Team Kalkine MediaHighlights Over 4,000 people took to the streets in Melbourne and Sydney to protest the extension of the covid lockdown. Police arrested some 200 protestors in Melbourne as they attacked the police personnel trying to stop them. Nine cops were .....
Five stocks that never left Buffet’s basket despite pandemic headwinds
August 21, 2021 03:17 PM BST| By Team Kalkine MediaHelter-skelter is the one word describing everything globally since a tiny virus crossed Chinese borders and wreaked havoc. The financial markets were no exception. Yet, it was interesting that other than the hope of overcoming the challenge, what .....
US indices close higher as tech, consumer stocks rally
August 20, 2021 10:06 PM BST| By Sanjeeb BaruahBenchmark US indices closed higher on Friday, August 20, propelled by gains in technology stocks after investors ignored concerns of delta infections that threatened to halt the economic recovery. The S&P 500 was up 0.81% to 4,441.67. The Dow Jo...
What is big data, and what are its applications in the healthcare sector?
August 20, 2021 03:34 PM BST| By Tripti JoshiHighlights The term big data in healthcare describes the enormous volumes of information generated by digital technologies adoption in the healthcare industry. Big data uses particular statistics in healthcare to explore new developments,.....
Next wave of eCommerce: D2C and live selling
August 20, 2021 03:12 PM BST| By Sonal SinhaHighlights COVID-19 has brought numerous changes in the way people live, work and purchase products. The pandemic gave a massive boost to a new wave of eCommerce - D2C and live selling. D2C eCommerce refers to the strategy through which .....
China’s rate decision dampens APAC markets
August 20, 2021 05:03 AM BST| By Furquan MoharkanA stock market ticker shows financial gains and losses. Equity markets across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region mostly traded in the red on Friday as China left its benchmark lending rate unchanged. The shares in Mainland China fell as the Shang...
Liquid Heist: Hackers siphon off about US$97M from Japanese crypto exchange
August 20, 2021 03:14 AM BST| By Furquan MoharkanBitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple coins - largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation. Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid has revealed that it has faced a cyber-attack, in which hackers have siphoned off US$97 million worth of digital co...
Over 100M US households didn’t pay federal income tax in 2020, says think tank
August 19, 2021 03:18 AM BST| By Furquan MoharkanThe COVID-19 pandemic has jacked up the number of nontaxpayers in the US. In 2020, 61% of American taxpayers did not pay federal income tax in the US, reveals a new study. According to the Tax Policy Center estimates, last year nearly 107 million ho...