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South Korean giants make bold pledge after major US deal
Samsung Electronics and several other major firms announced new domestic investment plans yesterday during a meeting with President Lee Jae Myung, who expects the move to ease concerns that Korean companies might excessively refocus their attention and money towards the United States after the recent trade agreement. In his meeting with the companies’ chiefs, Lee praised the country’s business sector for helping his government negotiate the trade deal with Washington, but urged them to maintain strong domestic investments amid concerns they might cut spending at home to invest more in America. President Lee told media his government is exploring various policy steps, including easing regulations, to help create a more favourable business environment for the companies. The meeting followed Seoul’s decision to invest US$350 billion in American industries, a move that helped the country avoid the highest tariffs threatened by the Trump administration. The two governments on Friday released the details of the trade agreement, including US$150 billion in South Korean investments in the U.S. shipbuilding sector and an additional US$200 billion in other American industries, which Seoul says will be capped at US$20 billion an
Industries
ESG focus: Sustainable investments up 49% in 2yrs
While the market has had a love-hate relationship with sustainable investing - an approach that integrates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors - a new report published during COP30 in Belém, Brazil, earlier this week reveals that a sustainable economic transition is currently underway. According to the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA), sustainable investments have jumped 49% over the last two years to US$16.7 trillion, with the GSIA attributing the increase to a tectonic shift in underlying thinking towards the sector. No longer seen as a niche practice, the GSIA is witnessing greater market appreciation of the role renewables and all-things-ESG related will play in supporting technological growth needed to advance the world’s climate change goals. The GSIA’s biennial Global Sustainable Investment Review report reveals a steep rise in investment allocated to the clean energy sector.Second fastest-growing industryDespite the highly volatile and fragmented global economic, political, and sustainability landscape since 2023, the report’s data suggests the green economy is now the second fastest growing industry globally. “This report demonstrates that the sustainable investment industry is on
Industries
Toyota opens US battery plant, will invest US$10bn
Toyota has started production at its new battery plant in North Carolina, its first outside Japan, and will invest up to $10 billion in the United States over the next five years. The $13.9 billion site is Toyota’s 11th factory in the U.S. Its U.S. investments now total almost $60 billion over the past seven decades, the company said. “Today’s launch of Toyota’s first U.S. battery plant and additional U.S. investment up to $10 billion marks a pivotal moment in our company’s history,” said Toyota Motor North America CEO Ted Ogawa. “Toyota is a pioneer in electrified vehicles, and the company’s significant manufacturing investment in the U.S. and North Carolina further solidifies our commitment to team members, customers, dealers, communities, and suppliers.” U.S. President Donald Trump first said last month that Toyota planned a $10 billion investment in the U.S., though the company said it had not made a specific promise at that time. The investment will “support future mobility efforts”, Toyota said. The North Carolina facility will create up to 5,100 new jobs, according to Toyota. It is located in Liberty, near Greensboro, in the centre of the state. The site’s 14 production lines will build batteries for hy
Industries
US subprime car loan delinquencies hit record highs
Americans with the lowest credit scores or limited credit histories, typically known as subprime borrowers, are falling behind on their car loans at the highest level in decades, with record numbers missing their payments last month. The growing number of Americans struggling to afford their monthly car payments is the latest sign that lower-income borrowers are being hit hardest by high borrowing costs, rising living expenses and shrinking savings that have seen total household debt in the United States climb to US$18.6 trillion. According to Fitch Ratings data that goes back to the early 1990s, the share of subprime borrowers - typically charged higher interest rates to offset a greater likelihood of default - at least two months (60 days) behind on their car loans rose to 6.65% in October. A recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reveals that in the third quarter, around 3% of auto loans - the second-largest category of consumer debt, behind mortgages - became seriously delinquent (90 days or more past due), the highest rate since 2010. However, while subprime borrowers are increasingly vulnerable, for those with stronger credit histories, the rate held steady at 0.37%, unchanged from both the previ
Industries
OPEC+ halts 2026 output hikes amid oversupply concerns
OPEC+ has announced plans to pause any further hikes during the first quarter of next year – after making modest hikes next month – in an attempt to balance its push for market share with growing worries of an emerging global oil surplus. With the first quarter typically being a period of weaker demand, coupled with current uncertainty for oil traders, key OPEC+ members led by Saudi Arabia have agreed to revive 137,000 barrels a day next month, matching increases scheduled for October and November, before hitting the pause button between January to March. “Beyond December, due to seasonality, the eight countries also decided to pause the production increments in January, February, and March 2026,” OPEC+ said in a statement. Since April, the alliance has boosted output targets by approximately 2.9 million barrels per day (bpd) — equal to about 2.7% of global demand. However, production growth began to slow in October with analysts warning of an imminent oversupply. What's making it more difficult for OPEC+ to accurately gauge supply dynamics are the new Western sanctions on Russia, one of the group’s key members. Oil prices slipped to a five-month low of around US$60 per barrel on October 20 as fears of oversup

Industries
China's industrial profits up 21.6% even as mining sinks
China’s industrial enterprise profits grew by 21.6% year-over-year in September, its largest monthly gain since November 2023, even as mining profits have plummeted. In the first nine months of 2025, these enterprises’ total profit increased by 3.2% to CN¥537.30 billion (A$115.2 billion), according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics. “At the end of September, the total assets of industrial enterprises above the designated size were 186.27 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.0% year-on-year; the total liabilities were 107.96 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.2%,” wrote the National Bureau of Statistics. “At the end of September, the operating income per 100 yuan of assets of industrial enterprises above the designated size was 74.7 yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 1.9 yuan.” Industrial profits were up 20.4% in August, following year-over-year losses during May, June, and July. The inventory of finished products at these major companies was ¥6.71 trillion at the end of September, rising 2.8%. Mining enterprises’ total profits dropped by 29.3% year-over-year from January to September, while their operating income sank by 12.5%. The coal mining and washing industry reported the largest fall in profit of any sector, d
Industries
Canada grants tariff relief to steel, aluminium products
Canada has granted tariff exemptions to some steel and aluminium imports from the United States and China, which it has said will sustain its supply chains. Products from China that cannot be made in Canada and products from the U.S. related to critical industries have been granted remission. Canada added 25% retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminium products in March, after the U.S. announced tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium. Current exemptions for U.S. imports used in manufacturing and by the health and national security sectors were extended for two months on Friday. “As negotiations to reach a trade deal with the U.S. continue, Canada’s new government is taking immediate action,” said Canada’s Minister of Finance François-Philippe Champagne. The remission order for steel and aluminium entered into effect on 15 October. It has offered tariff relief to an additional 160 Canadian businesses, according to the order-in-council. These exemptions are targeted at “exceptional circumstances”, according to Champagne, and are intended to maintain supply chains. Some U.S. steel and aluminium products used by the public health, national security, agriculture, manufacturing, and food packaging sectors have been g
Industries
EU private equity giants tumble on US credit fears
Shares in some of Europe’s largest private equity firms fell on Friday as anxiety over tightening credit conditions in the United States financial sector began to unsettle global markets. Intermediate Capital Group (ICG), listed in London, saw its stock tumble 5.5%, while Jersey-based CVC Capital Partners experienced a 6.6% decline. Switzerland’s Partners Group also slipped 3.4%, and Swedish investment firm EQT lost 4.6%. These declines followed a major sell-off in U.S. regional banks earlier in the week, driven by mounting fears over bad loans lurking within Wall Street’s private credit sector and their potential to impact the broader banking system. ICG, which oversees over $30 billion in private debt - roughly a quarter of its total assets under management as of late June - was among the largest casualties. Partners Group handles around $38 billion in private credit, while CVC’s direct lending arm manages approximately €17 billion ($19.9 billion). What recently spooked Wall Street investors is a spate of corporate collapses in the U.S., with the credit quality across the private equity sector now under intense scrutiny. Notably, First Brands, a U.S. auto parts supplier, recently failed due to a complex labyr
Industries
Private credit shock deepens after First Brands collapse
While car parts aren’t something that typically keep financial markets awake at night, last month’s bankruptcy of United States auto parts maker First Brands - owing between US$10 to $50 billion – has clearly spooked investors who fear the same fate could await other players with hidden exposures to private credit. Details of First Brands' collapse highlight how the boom in the U.S. private credit industry during the past decade has turbocharged private companies’ ability to borrow money. While First Brands held $6 billion in high-yield, or “junk”, debt on its balance sheet, the company’s current crisis stems from its “off balance sheet” debt courtesy of private credit lenders. It was only when the company hired mid-sized Wall Street lender, Jefferies, to help renegotiate the terms of the debt on its balance sheet, that its lenders started asking further questions about its finances.Undisclosed additional loansWhat they discovered was that the company had been carrying billions of dollars in hitherto undisclosed additional loans – a la private debt. Lenders also discovered that the company had pledged future proceeds from some of its unpaid invoices to multiple creditors. An investigation has since been establis