Equity markets diverged Thursday as investors brushed off a negative lead from Wall Street while welcoming a drop in Treasury yields and data showing US inflation was holding steady.With the United States heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, business in New York was subdued after a flurry of activity since Donald Trump’s election win at the start of the month.That has allowed Asian traders to take a breather and digest recent developments as the president-elect builds a hawkish cabinet that looks set to renew his hardball approach to world trade, having already flagged tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico.Data out of Washington on Wednesday showed the personal consumption expenditures index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation — edged up to 2.3 percent on-year in October.The figure was up from 2.1 percent the previous month and in line with forecasts, while slightly above the Federal Reserve’s long-term two percent target for price rises.While the Fed appears to be getting a handle on inflation and the labour market is softening, investors have started to scale back their bets on how many rate cuts the central bank will make as they try to assess the impact of Trump’s plans to cut taxes and impose tariffs.Futures markets currently place the odds at about two-thirds that officials will lower rates again in December by 25 basis points.Still, all three main Wall Street indexes ended in the red, with the Dow and S&P 500 pulling back from record highs as investors shifted to the sidelines ahead of the festive break.Treasury yields slipped, weighing on the dollar Wednesday, though the greenback strengthened slightly in Asian trade.Equity markets were mixed, with Tokyo, Sydney and Singapore all up, while Seoul also edged up after a second successive interest rate cut by South Korea’s central bank.Wellington, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok, Mumbai and Jakarta took a leg down. London, Paris and Frankfurt opened on the front foot.Hong Kong and Shanghai retreated as Bloomberg reported that Washington was considering ramping up its crackdown on tech supplies to China by putting fresh sanctions on sales of semiconductor equipment and AI chips to the country. Dealers were also eyeing Beijing, amid speculation authorities will announce fresh stimulus measures at a key meeting expected next month.However, analysts pointed out that hopes ahead of previous gatherings have largely been dashed by measures that fell short.”China’s economy remains unbalanced as a solid export base for goods production is offset by the continued weakness of the property market and weak consumer spending,” Steven Cochrane, chief Asia Pacific economist at Moody’s Analytics, said.He added that “consumer confidence remains shattered, particularly regarding expectations for the labour market”.While Beijing has introduced a raft of policies to boost growth — including interest rate cuts and measures to support the property sector — Cochrane said that “most issues weighing on the economy have not yet been resolved”.And he warned: “The risks are rising for China as the incoming Trump administration threatens to impose tariffs.”In the crypto sphere, bitcoin was hovering around $96,500, having bounced back from just below $90,300 earlier in the week following its worst run since Trump’s electoral success.Still, it is widely tipped to top $100,000 on hopes the new president will try to ease restrictions on the digital currency market.- Key figures around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 38,349.06 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.2 percent at 19,366.96 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,295.70 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,290.76Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0535 from $1.0565 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2649 from $1.2678Dollar/yen: UP at 151.82 yen from 151.17 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.28 pence from 83.33 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4 percent at $68.48 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $72.61 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,722.06 (close)

Ireland-based budget fashion chain Primark has been criticised for its record on workers’ rights and the effect of its low-cost, high-volume model on the environment.But its chief executive Paul Marchant does not agree. “I don’t buy the story that we can’t be ethical buying from Asia,” he told AFP in an interview in Dublin.In the world of low-cost fashion, Primark — a fixture on the high street in the UK, Ireland and beyond — is a one-off.The brand produces its garments in Asia and sells them cheaply in Europe, but ships them by boat rather than by plane, does not sell online, prepares its collections more than a year in advance and does not build up stock.It has been a lucrative formula, with Marchant boasting recently that the retailer had hit the billion-pound ($1.3 billion) profit figure for the first time. Primark, though, still has to bat back critics including environmental campaigners who argue that the brand’s “throwaway” fashion is a drain on resources.Human rights groups meanwhile accuse it of relying on suppliers in countries where workers are afforded little protection. Primark maintains that it trains Indian farmers in regenerative agriculture and that it conducts regular audits of its suppliers to ensure workers and land are not exploited. Nonetheless, its model relies on policing of regulations in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, where its garments are mainly produced.”Providing you have the right partners… and have the right guards and measures and controls in place… I don’t see any reason why you can’t have a very robust ethical supply chain at source,” said Marchant.The company, he added, complies with the International Labour Organization’s code of conduct.- Humble roots -Primark published a report on its supply chain in 2018 but it only covered its own clothing factories, not its partners.It admitted last year that previous partner SMART Myanmar had imposed excessive working time on its staff, and that they were not properly informed of their general leave entitlement.However, it said there was no evidence to back up further claims that staff had limited toilet access and suffered verbal abuse from supervisors. Primark claims to be making efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions but acknowledges that 97.5 percent of its overall carbon footprint comes from the activities of its suppliers. Asked about the sheer volume of clothing his company sells, Marchant is insistent.”We’re not flooding the market with unwanted goods,” he said. “We sell everything that we buy.”He also claimed that his products are less sensitive than other brands to the whims of fashion, with half of its collections consisting of everyday clothing. Primark launched in Ireland in 1969 under the name Penneys and has had only two bosses since: founder Arthur Ryan, then Marchant. But the company, the top-selling budget-fashion flagship in both the UK and Ireland, is no longer a small family business. It is now a thriving subsidiary of the agri-food giant Associated British Foods, and sells its clothes in 17 countries, employing 80,000 people.- Expansion plans -On the back of this success, Primark intends to expand in the United States and Europe (France, Spain, Portugal and Italy), Marchant explained. The brand has also signed with “a franchise partner” to open stores in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and “potentially” Bahrain and Qatar within “12 to 18 months”, he added. Primark’s direct competitors include Europe’s H&M and Zara, as well as Asian giants Shein and Temu, which follow a similar model of “low, low margins”, he said. The company also achieves economies of scale by purchasing larger volumes than its competitors and does not sell online. Instead, it hopes to lure customers to stores by expanding partnerships with popular brands such as Netflix, Disney and Hello Kitty. Its 453 stores sell clothes and accessories, but also stock decorations and host cafes, eyebrow bars and hairdressers. The idea is that everyone can find something. For instance, parents are tempted by “competitive” prices on children’s clothing while women with special clothing requirements, such as those who are pregnant, who have suffered from breast cancer or who have disabilities, all have collections catering to them. 

Asian markets diverged Thursday as investors brushed off a negative lead from Wall Street while welcoming a drop in Treasury yields and data showing US inflation was holding steady.With the United States heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, business in New York was subdued after a flurry of activity since Donald Trump’s election at the start of the month.That has allowed Asian traders to take a breather and digest recent developments as the president-elect builds a hawkish cabinet that looks set to renew his hardball approach to world trade, having already flagged tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico.Data out of Washington on Wednesday showed the personal consumption expenditures index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation — edged up to 2.3 percent on-year in OctoberThe figure was up from 2.1 percent the previous month and in line with forecasts, while slightly above the Federal Reserve’s long-term two percent target for price rises.While the Fed appears to be getting a handle on inflation and the labour market is softening, investors have started to scale back their bets on how many rate cuts the central bank will make as they try to assess the impact of Trump’s plans to cut taxes and impose tariffs.Futures markets currently place the odds at about two-thirds that officials will lower rates again in December by 25 basis points.Still, all three main Wall Street indexes ended in the red, with the Dow and S&P 500 pulling back from record highs as investors shifted to the sidelines ahead of the festive break.Treasury yields slipped, weighing on the dollar Wednesday, though the greenback edged back slightly in Asian trade.Equity markets were mixed in early exchanges, with Tokyo, Sydney and Singapore all rising and Wellington, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta taking a leg down. Seoul was flat as investors shrugged at a second successive interest rate cut by South Korea’s central bank.Hong Kong and Shanghai edged down as dealers turned an eye to Beijing amid speculation authorities will announce fresh stimulus measures at a key meeting expected next month.However, analysts pointed out that hopes ahead of previous gatherings have largely been dashed by measures that fell short.”China’s economy remains unbalanced as a solid export base for goods production is offset by the continued weakness of the property market and weak consumer spending,” Steven Cochrane, chief Asia Pacific economist at Moody’s Analytics, said.He added that “consumer confidence remains shattered, particularly regarding expectations for the labour market”.While Beijing has introduced a raft of policies to boost growth — including interest rate cuts and measures to support the property sector — Cochrane said that “most issues weighing on the economy have not yet been resolved”.And he warned: “The risks are rising for China as the incoming Trump administration threatens to impose tariffs.”In the crypto sphere, bitcoin was hovering around $96,500, having bounced back from just below $90,300 earlier in the week following its worst run since Trump’s electoral success.Still, it is widely tipped to top $100,000 on hopes the new president will try to ease restrictions on the digital currency market.- Key figures around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 38,295.13 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 19,390.65Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,308.21Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0549 from $1.0565 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2666 from $1.2678Dollar/yen: UP at 151.71 yen from 151.17 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.28 pence from 83.33 penceWest Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $68.72 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $72.83 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,722.06 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,274.75 (close)

Donald Trump’s tariff threats have rattled foreign businesses and governments, with many fearing it could signal the opening salvo of an all-out trade war when he returns to the White House next year.The president-elect on Monday placed both allies and rivals on notice, vowing to quickly slap an across-the-board tariff of 25 percent on Canada and Mexico, and add a 10 percent tariff on China.Following through on that threat — or his campaign promise of a 10 percent levy on all US imports — will spark retaliation and have ripple effects across the global economy, analysts say.”Our assumption is that all these other countries, all these other advanced economies, especially in Asia, they will retaliate in kind,” economist Bernard Yaros of Oxford Economics told AFP.US tariffs and retaliation including from Europe and Asia would “depress growth” and trade flows, he said, estimating a cut to global growth of 0.1 to 0.9 percentage points in 2026.Even before tariffs take effect, threats weigh on sentiment and could delay investments and hiring, ING economists Ruben Dewitte and Inga Fechner warned in a note.Trump has long viewed tariffs as a negotiating tool — or an “all-purpose bludgeon” as a recent Wall Street Journal editorial put it.On Monday, Trump said that the tariffs on Mexico and Canada would only be removed when illegal immigration and drug trafficking to the United States are stopped.While seeking to build US leverage, he also risks longer term impacts, with some suggesting he would push countries toward China, Columbia Law School professor Petros Mavroidis said.”What he definitely does is alienate all his allies,” he told AFP.Erin Murphy, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in Trump’s threats “there is no differentiation” regarding countries’ economic development status or affinity with Washington.- Europe pushback -Europe could be particularly impacted, Dewitte and Fechner said, warning that “a looming new trade war could push the eurozone economy from sluggish growth into recession.”EU tariffs on car imports were a particular target of Trump during his campaign.But US reliance on the bloc for strategically important products, mainly in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, could give the EU some leverage in talks, ING said.”European countries will be less likely to strike any kind of bargain with Trump than Canada or Mexico,” said Peterson Institute for International Economics nonresident senior fellow Gary Hufbauer.He expects the EU could offer to reduce auto tariffs and buy more US agricultural products like soybeans, but it may not be enough for an administration seeking greater market access or rules exemptions.Should the US impose tariffs, the EU will probably retaliate on iconic US goods like iPhones or whiskey, he said.European countries could turn to the World Trade Organization (WTO), though even favorable rulings from the international body may not significantly change US practices.EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has said she will work towards “constructive cooperation” with US authorities.Jovita Neliupsiene, the EU ambassador to the United States, meanwhile said the bloc is ready to respond to new trade frictions.- Avoiding escalation -In Asia, economies like Japan and South Korea could be targeted over metals and auto exports, while Vietnam may also draw US scrutiny over solar panels, Yaros said.The US trade deficit with Vietnam has widened in recent years on a surge in goods imports.Yaros said that countries targeted by Trump’s tariffs, in seeking to avoid escalation, will “retaliate in a way that’s commensurate to the action done by the US, but no greater.”China, based on precedent, might eschew equal retaliation for tools like export controls, he added.Daniel Russel of the Asia Society Policy Institute said both Tokyo and Seoul are very focused on preparing for potential tariffs.He expects partners like South Korea could seek exemptions from blanket US tariffs, for example, by citing its high-tech investments in America.