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Asian investors battled Wednesday to kickstart a recovery in equities following the latest stagger across world markets that has been caused by worries over an AI-fuelled bubble and uncertainty over US interest rates.Stocks have endured a tough November as speculation has grown that the tech-led rally this year may have gone too far, and valuations have become frothy enough to warrant a stiff correction.With the Magnificent Seven, including Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Apple, accounting for the majority of the rally to record highs for Wall Street’s three main indexes, there are worries that any problems with them could have huge ripple effects on markets.And so the spotlight Wednesday turns on the earnings report from the biggest of the bunch: chip giant Nvidia, which this month became the first $5 trillion company. Investors are nervous that any sign of weakness could be the pin that pops the AI bubble, having spent months fearing that the hundreds of billions invested may have been excessive.”The AI complex, once the undisputed locomotive of 2025’s rally, now sounds like an engine with sand in the gears,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.”This isn’t a crash, or a panic, or even a proper correction; it’s the unmistakeable sensation of a market trading at altitude with borrowed oxygen, suddenly aware of how thin the air has become.”He added that four days of losses in Wall Street’s S&P 500, the VIX “fear index” hitting 25 — a level that causes traders concern — and a tone shift were “all signs that investors are finally blinking at the speed and scale of the AI capex boom”.Meanwhile, a Bank of America survey of fund managers found that more than half thought AI stocks were already in a bubble and 45 percent thought that that was the biggest “tail risk” to markets, more so than inflation.That came after the BBC released an interview with the head of Google’s parent company Alphabet — Sundar Pichai — who warned every company would be impacted if the AI bubble were to burst.Still, after a tough run in recent sessions, Asia enjoyed a little stability as markets fluctuated between gains and losses.Tokyo edged up but was anchored by simmering China tensions as well as questions over Japan’s fiscal state ahead of an economic stimulus package that has pushed government bond yields to record highs.Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Manila rose, but Seoul, Wellington and Jakarta fell.Also in sight this week is the planned release of key US data, particularly on jobs creation, which will be closely read over for an idea about the Fed’s plans for interest rates.Investors have scaled back their bets on a third successive cut next month — weighing on markets of late — after a string of decision makers, including bank boss Jerome Powell, questioned the need for another as inflation remains stubbornly high.- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.8 percent at 49,077.49 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 25,943.80Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,947.68Dollar/yen: DOWN at 155.52 yen from 155.53 yen on TuesdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1577 from $1.1580Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3134 from $1.3146Euro/pound: UP at 88.15 from 88.09 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $60.58 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $64.67 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 1.1 percent at 46,091.74 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.3 percent at 9,552.30 (close)

India’s $60-billion Bollywood industry is facing a deepening credibility crisis, as insiders warn that manipulated film reviews and inflated box office numbers are distorting public perception, ultimately hurting ticket sales.Streaming platforms have disrupted traditional cinema but industry veterans say Bollywood’s woes are also self-inflicted — including the trend to declare a film a “hit” even before its release.”If you don’t engage these influencers and critics, they will write bad reviews, even if the film is good,” producer-distributor Suniel Wadhwa told AFP.”If the film is bad, they will write good things about the film, provided the producer or studio has paid them.”Trade analyst and veteran distributor Raj Bansal said audiences have grown sceptical of early rave reviews.”As soon as the media gives four stars, people message me saying, ‘Sir, that means the movie is not good,'” Bansal said.”And, even if the film is good, they don’t trust it.”That distrust is now visible at the box office.”Regular cinema-goers wait to know the correct reports,” Bansal said.That means ticket sales during the vital opening shows “take a major dip” as film fans wait for word of mouth or “genuine reviews” to come out, he added.Industry insiders allege that some influencers have “rate cards”, with prices rising for films that generate low pre-release buzz.Producers, meanwhile, are accused of bulk-buying tickets to inflate opening-week numbers.”Everything is bought and manipulated,” Bansal said, referring to both reviews and social media personalities.- ‘Bleak’ -Sudhir Kasliwal, owner of Jaipur’s Gem Cinema, recalled seeing hundreds of online bookings for one of superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s releases, but only a fraction of the audience showed up in person.”Producers, directors and actors themselves buy tickets… the future of Bollywood looks very bleak if this practice continues,” Kasliwal said.”The wrong messages are conveyed to people and unless good content is produced, things will never improve.”Recent controversies include Bollywood A-lister Akshay Kumar’s fighter jet action movie “Skyforce”.The film’s director denied allegations of so-called “block booking” to boost first-week numbers, but a Mumbai-based trade analyst claimed its gross was inflated from about $6 million to over $9 million.”Online booking platforms showed full houses, but many theatres were nearly empty,” the analyst told AFP, requesting anonymity.Bansal said that critics who refuse to play along also risk being sidelined, while those who comply “flourish”. “Whenever I (post) that the film has opened with weak collections (ticket sales), I receive a barrage of calls from actors, producers asking me to remove it,” he said.- ‘Appetite to buy’ -Producer-distributor Wadhwa said that the box office collection of the 2025 romantic comedy horror “Thamma” was also manipulated, claiming true sales were around $15 million while the film reported $18 million.Thamma director Aditya Sarpotdar defended the $18 million figure, calling it the “most accurate”, having come from distributors and exhibitors.”When a film is still in theatres, the collection figures between producers and the trade will vary,” Sarpotdar told AFP.”Producer numbers are always the honest numbers.”Experts warn that falsifying box office data has lasting consequences, from inflated star salaries to shrinking opportunities for new talent.”You can’t take the audience for granted. They know the truth,” said Wadhwa, adding that to have both reviews and ticket sales manipulated was “a very sad situation.”Streaming platforms, now major players in film distribution, have begun demanding audited box office figures before striking deals which has added pressure on producers.”Streamers have now become sharp and careful about the film they are choosing,” said Wadhwa.Despite the backlash, few expect the trend to end anytime soon.”This practice will continue” Wadhwa said, until producers and studios lose their “appetite to buy tickets.”

Stock markets slid across the board on Tuesday as investors worried about lofty tech valuations on the eve of earnings from AI chip titan Nvidia.Bitcoin also briefly fell below the key $90,000 level for the first time in seven months before rising to around $93,000.Major Wall Street indexes closed lower after a rough day of trading in Europe and a sharp sell-off in Asia, while Nvidia itself gave up 2.8 percent.”The tech-focused sell-off seen in the US has evidently resulted in global contagion,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.In an interview with the BBC released Tuesday, the head of Google’s parent company Alphabet — Sundar Pichai — warned that every company would be impacted if the AI bubble were to burst.Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst with StoneX, pointed out that usually reliable commodities like gold and copper had also been forced downwards.Shares in US online services provider Cloudflare were off 2.8 percent after the firm said it had been affected by a “latent bug” that disrupted traffic to major websites including social network X and AI chatbot ChatGPT.There was no cheer at the European close either as London, Paris and Frankfurt all shed more than one percent.After this year’s record stocks rally, traders have begun to question whether the billions poured into artificial intelligence will ever lead to big returns.Investors will be looking for clues on the health of the industry when Nvidia releases its quarterly earnings on Wednesday.”Better news from Nvidia will likely spur some excitement in some of the other AI names that have also seen a pullback,” said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.Meanwhile, traders increasingly believe the US Federal Reserve could decide against a further interest rate cut next month.They will be parsing the US September jobs report on Thursday — delayed by the government shutdown — for fresh signs that a reduction might still happen.Separately, results from retailers Target and Walmart this week — after Home Depot released its earnings on Tuesday — will provide further insight into consumer sentiment.In a memo dated Monday, the US Treasury Department added that “demand for Russian oil is plunging” following recent US sanctions announcements.Earlier, Tokyo tumbled as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi prepared to unveil an economic stimulus package. Yields on 20-year Japanese government bonds hit their highest since 1999 as speculation grew that the spending bill will ramp up borrowing.The yen slipped to around 155.48 per dollar, its weakest since January, as expectations of more interest rate hikes faded.Razaqzada said of all the worries hitting the markets, Japan was perhaps the biggest. “Markets now worry that the government is mishandling the economy, demanding higher returns to compensate for what they perceive as rising risk in holding Japanese debt,” he said.- Key figures at around 2105 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 1.1 percent at 46,091.74 points (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.8 percent at 6,617.32 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 22,432.85 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.3 percent at 9,552.30 points (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 1.9 percent at 7,967.93 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 1.7 percent at 23,180.53 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.2 percent at 48,702.98 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7 percent at 25,930.03 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,939.81 (close)Dollar/yen: UP at 155.53 yen from 155.23 yen on MondayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1580 from $1.1589Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3146 from $1.3156Euro/pound: FLAT at 88.09 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.1 percent at $64.89 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.4 percent at $60.74 per barrelburs-cw-bys/ksb

Stock markets slid across the board on Tuesday as investors worried about lofty tech valuations on the eve of earnings from AI chip titan Nvidia.Bitcoin also briefly fell below the key $90,000 level for the first time in seven months  before rising again, as traders increasingly believe the US Federal Reserve will decide against an interest-rate cut next month.With US markets slumping on opening after a rough day of trading in Europe and a sharp sell-off in Asia, Nvidia itself dropped more than three percent.”The tech-focused sell-off seen in the US has evidently resulted in global contagion,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst with StoneX, pointed out that usually reliable commodities like gold and copper had also been forced downwards.After this year’s record stocks rally, traders have begun to question whether the billions poured into artificial intelligence will ever lead to big returns.Investors will be looking for clues as to the health of the industry when Nvidia releases its quarterly earnings, expected on Wednesday.They will also be parsing the US September jobs report on Thursday — delayed by the government shutdown — for fresh signs that a rate cut could happen.Meanwhile, reports from retailers Home Depot, Target and Walmart will also give an insight into consumer sentiment.Earlier, Tokyo tumbled as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi prepared to unveil an economic stimulus package.Yields on 20-year government bonds hit their highest since 1999 as speculation grows that the spending bill will ramp up borrowing.The yen slipped to around 155.38 per dollar, its weakest since January, as expectations of more interest rate hikes faded.Razaqzada said of all the worries hitting the markets, Japan was perhaps the biggest. “Markets now worry that the government is mishandling the economy, demanding higher returns to compensate for what they perceive as rising risk in holding Japanese debt,” he said.- Key figures at around 1450 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.9 percent at 46,169.20 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.8 percent at 6,621.79New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 22,432.39London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.3 percent at 9,552.06 pointsParis – CAC 40: DOWN 1.1 percent at 7,988.17Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 1.5 percent at 23,206.39Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.2 percent at 48,702.98 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7 percent at 25,930.03 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,939.81 (close)Dollar/yen: UP at 155.33 yen from 155.23 yen on MondayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1597 from $1.1589Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3155 from $1.3156Euro/pound: UP at 88.15 pence from 88.09 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $63.94 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $59.75 per barrelburs-cw/jxb

In Belem, the Brazilian city hosting COP30, it’s hard to miss the BYD Dolphin Mini — the Chinese hatchback that’s dominating the local electric vehicle market, even as the company races to catch up in Europe and is absent in North America.Trade-restrictive measures loom large over this year’s UN climate summit, with China pushing for wider market access for its green technologies and major developing economies challenging Europe over its new carbon border tax on carbon-intensive imports like steel and fertilizer.Even smaller developing countries whose exports aren’t targeted by Europe’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) fear broader measures to come.”Trade, at this COP, unlike previous COPs, has already been elevated,” Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute, told AFP. “We can already expect that trade will form the most prominent part of the outcome.”Traditionally, climate ambition and finance have dominated discussions — how far major emitters will curb pollution, and how much money rich nations will provide to help developing countries adapt and accelerate their transition away from fossil fuels.Countries including China, India and Brazil have repeatedly tried to put trade on COP agendas, without success. That’s changing.A draft text issued by the Brazilian presidency on Tuesday — seen as paving the way for the final outcome text — listed trade as the second of its four top bullet points.- ‘Free flow of green products’ -The tone was set earlier at a leaders’ summit in November, when Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang urged countries to “remove trade barriers and ensure the free flow of quality green products.”The EU imposes steep tariffs on Chinese EVs — reaching up to over 45 percent depending on the company — while Canada and the United States go far higher still, exceeding 100 percent.A Southeast Asian negotiator told AFP these realities rankle countries in Asia, which are buying up cheap Chinese green tech to accelerate their transitions, and find it “illogical” and “inconsistent” that Western nations are spurning the chance to do the same.”We need to achieve the radical decarbonization of the global economy in the next two decades if we are to meet the Paris temperature goals,” Alden Meyer of the think tank E3G told AFP. “To the extent trade policies are creating barriers to achieving that objective, that’s a legitimate topic.”The European Union’s CBAM is another flashpoint. The policy aims to level the playing field for industries covered by EU emissions rules by preventing companies from relocating to countries with weaker standards. But major developing economies — including India and South Africa — are heavily exposed.- CBAM and beyond -“The Global North, having used carbon-intensive industries to develop themselves, are now throwing up the gates to the Global South,” Mohamed Adow, of think tank Power Shift Africa, told AFP.Concerns also extend beyond the sectors CBAM covers. An African negotiator from a cocoa-exporting country said the EU’s paused deforestation regulations — requiring proof commodities don’t come from recently cleared land — were another major worry. The EU insists CBAM is not a trade policy but a climate one.   “Pricing carbon is something that we need to pursue with as many as possible, as quickly as possible,” the bloc’s climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, said Monday. “We’re not going to be lured into the suggestion that CBAM is a unilateral trade measure.””Some countries say one thing here in negotiations, and they say another thing when we speak to them bilaterally,” Sweden’s Climate Ambassador Mattias Frumerie told AFP, explaining that privately some nations welcome CBAM as an incentive to decarbonize.Brussels says CBAM was designed to comply with World Trade Organization rules. Russia has launched a complaint, but with the WTO’s dispute mechanism effectively paralyzed since 2019, opponents are seeking other venues to raise concerns, especially as the UK and Canada move forward with their own mechanisms.David Waskow, director of the World Resources Institute’s International Climate Initiative, said even if trade appears in the COP’s final decision text, no one expects the summit to “magically” resolve these disputes. “They want to surface them, they want to poke each other,” he told AFP. “Sometimes doing that can lead to some recalibration of policy.”

Stock markets slid and bitcoin dropped under $90,000 Tuesday as investors worried about lofty tech valuations on the eve of earnings from AI chip titan Nvidia.The top cryptocurrency briefly fell below the key level for the first time in seven months, also as traders increasingly saw the US Federal Reserve deciding against an interest-rate cut next month.Having struggled in the first half of this year, bitcoin soared to a record high of $126,251 last month.London, Paris and Frankfurt stock markets each dropped more than one percent around the half-way stage Tuesday, and after a sharp sell-off in Asia.”The tech-focused selloff seen in the US has evidently resulted in global contagion,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.After this year’s record rally for global equities, traders have begun to question whether the billions poured into artificial intelligence will lead to big returns.All eyes will be on Nvidia’s quarterly earnings due Wednesday for clues about the AI sector’s outlook.Reports from retailers Home Depot, Target and Walmart will also give an insight into consumer sentiment.”The risk-off tone was reinforced by the latest signals from the Fed, as investors continued to price out the likelihood of a December rate cut,” said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.Investors will look to the US September jobs report Thursday — delayed due to the government shutdown — for fresh signs on rates and the health of the world’s largest economy.After a day deep in the red on Wall Street, Tokyo and Seoul led losses in Asia.Tokyo tumbled more than three percent, with investors nervously eyed Japanese bond markets as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi prepared to unveil an economic stimulus package.Yields on the 20-year government bond hit their highest since 1999 amid speculation the spending bill will ramp up borrowing.Takaichi is due to meet BoJ head Kazuo Ueda to discuss bank policy, with its plans to raise rates likely to be on the agenda.The yen slipped to around 155.38 per dollar, its weakest since January, amid fading expectations for more interest rate hikes.Selling was compounded by tensions between Japan and China over Takaichi comments on Taiwan, prompting both governments to warn citizens about travel.Seoul tanked more than three percent, having enjoyed a spectacular rally of more than 60 percent so far this year led by chip titans Samsung and SK hynix, which were both hammered on Tuesday.Taipei shed more than two percent as market heavyweight chip firm TSMC suffered selling pressure.Hong Kong lost nearly two percent, while Shanghai also closed lower.- Key figures at around 1120 GMT -London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.1 percent at 9,568.18 pointsParis – CAC 40: DOWN 1.1 percent at 8,030.79Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 1.0 percent at 23,346.02Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.2 percent at 48,702.98 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7 percent at 25,930.03 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,939.81 (close)New York – Dow: DOWN 1.2 percent at 46,590.24 (close)Dollar/yen: UP at 155.39 yen from 155.23 yen on MondayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1582 from $1.1589Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3141 from $1.3156Euro/pound: UP at 88.12 pence from 88.09 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $64.26 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $60.03 per barrel

Around 500,000 air tickets to Japan are thought to have been cancelled by Chinese passengers, an aviation analyst told AFP Tuesday, after Beijing warned its citizens not to visit as the two countries lock horns in a diplomatic spat.The two sides have been at loggerheads since Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested her country could intervene militarily if Taiwan — which Beijing claims as part of its territory — were to be attacked.As the disagreement escalated, China late Friday issued a warning to citizens to avoid travel to Japan for the foreseeable future. That warning has had a dramatic effect, said independent aviation analyst Li Hanming, who has compiled daily data on Chinese passengers’ active flight bookings from major airlines and online travel agencies since 2023.According to his data, active bookings to Japan dropped from around 1.5 million on November 15 to just one million two days later, leading Li to conclude that around 500,000 trips had been cancelled.Since he has started his database, active ticket bookings normally drop by around five percent on a day-to-day basis, he told AFP — a stark contrast to the 33 percent plunge observed between those dates.”There will definitely be more cancellations if the tensions intensify,” Li said.Several Chinese airlines, including its three largest, have offered full refunds for flights to Japan booked until December 31.China-based travel agencies had mixed reactions to the travel advice when contacted by AFP on Tuesday.One large state-owned tourism company had removed all Japan travel options from its app, while another Beijing-based agency said it was no longer accepting Japan bookings.Others contacted by AFP said their Japan tours were still operating as normal and expressed hope that the disruption would be temporary.Chinese tourists are the largest source of visitors to Japan, with almost 7.5 million visiting in the first nine months of 2025 according to Japanese figures. They collectively splurged more than a billion dollars a month in the third quarter, accounting for almost 30 percent of all tourist spending.Japanese tourism and retail shares dived on Monday after China’s travel warning.

Tokyo and Seoul led equity losses on Tuesday, while bitcoin fell below $90,000 as investors grow increasingly worried about frothy tech valuations, with focus on earnings this week from AI chip titan Nvidia.Building anxiety that this year’s record rally linked to all things artificial intelligence has made some traders question whether the billions spent on the industry might not see the big returns as soon as hoped.Compounding the negativity are concerns that the Federal Reserve will decide against a third straight interest rate cut next month, as stubborn inflation plays up against a weakening jobs market.The rally this year has been driven by fears of missing out on the AI bandwagon and bets on US borrowing costs coming down.That has put two major events this week well in the spotlight.Wednesday sees Nvidia — at the forefront of the AI push with its top-end chips — release its latest earnings report, which will be pored over for an idea about the outlook for the sector.Reports from retailers Home Depot, Target and Walmart will also give an insight into consumer sentiment.Investors have become sensitive to any negative news surrounding the AI universe and were given a jolt this week when it emerged that tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s hedge fund had offloaded all its Nvidia stake, which Bloomberg valued at about $100 million.”Analysts are sounding upbeat ahead of the report,” Neil Wilson at Saxo Markets said in a note. “But the bar is set very high and we know that if investors are starting to wobble the whole house of cards can come crashing down at any point.”Profitability at the stocks at the heart of the AI bubble remains very strong, but any weakness evident in the (third quarter) from Nvidia would be punished hard by markets.”Thursday is expected to see the release of the US September jobs report after delays due to the government shutdown. The data will provide a fresh snapshot of the world’s number one economy and give an idea about the chances of another rate cut.The chances of a December reduction are around 50-50, with Fed officials recently flagging concerns about inflation more than the jobs market.Bank boss Jerome Powell said last month that another cut at its December policy meeting was not a “foregone conclusion”, a comment that has been echoed by a number of colleagues.- Keeping powder dry? -Still, Fed governor Christopher Waller said on Monday that “my focus is on the labour market, and after months of weakening, it is unlikely that the September jobs report later this week or any other data that’s going to come out in the next few weeks is going to change my view that another cut is in order”.Reserve vice chair Philip Jefferson said that, while he saw further downside risks to jobs, he wanted decision makers to proceed carefully, suggesting he is keeping his powder dry.After a day deep in the red on Wall Street, Asia also struggled with Tokyo and Seoul — which have enjoyed hitting numerous records this year — at the forefront of the selling.Tokyo tumbled more than three percent, with investors nervously looking at Japanese bond markets as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi prepares to unveil an economic stimulus package.Yields on the 20-year government bond hit their highest since 1999 amid speculation the spending bill will ramp up borrowing. The yields on other long-dated notes also jumped.Takaichi is due to meet BoJ head Kazuo Ueda to discuss bank policy, with its plans to raise rates likely to be on the agenda.The yen slipped to around 155.38 per dollar, its weakest since January, amid fading expectations for more Bank of Japan interest rate hikes. The unit’s retreat has also raised the possibility of officials intervening to provide support.The selling comes amid a deepening spat between Japan and China over Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan, which have seen the two warn their citizens about visiting the other’s country.Seoul also tanked more than three percent, having enjoyed a spectacular rally of more than 60 percent so far this year led by chip titans Samsung and SK hynix, which were both hammered on Tuesday.Taipei was another casualty, shedding more than two percent as market heavyweight chip firm TSMC suffered selling pressure.Hong Kong and Sydney each lost close to two percent, while Shanghai, Singapore, Wellington, Mumbai, Manila and Bangkok were well down.London, Paris and Frankfurt all fell more than one percent.Bitcoin continued to struggle with the risk-averse atmosphere, and fell below $90,000 for the first time in seven months.The unit has been on a rollercoaster this year, having struggled in the first half to hit as low as $74,424 in April before soaring to a record high of $126,251 last month.- Key figures at around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.2 percent at 48,702.98 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7 percent at 25,930.03 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,939.81 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.0 percent at 9,575.69 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 155.10 yen from 155.23 yen on MondayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1597 from $1.1589Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3157 from $1.3156Euro/pound: UP at 88.14 pence from 88.09 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.8 percent at $59.45 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $63.75 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 1.2 percent at 46,590.24 (close)

Gangs in Haiti are profiting from a lucrative trade in baby eels caught in the crime-ridden country’s rivers and estuaries and sold abroad for thousands of dollars.Demand for the worm-like creatures with dots for eyes comes largely from Asia and is filling the coffers of the criminal organizations terrorizing Haiti, experts warn.Known in Haitian creole as “Zangi,” the glass eels drift each year from the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic to the ocean’s coasts — including along the coasts of the island of Hispaniola, shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.They infiltrate the rivers where they grow until they return to sea to reproduce.The global trade of European eels has been strictly controlled since 2009 by the CITES convention on endangered species, but the trade of American eels is not.They are however classed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species — primarily due to overfishing of the species which commercial fish farms cannot breed in captivity.They are used to supply farms where they are fattened up for sale in Asia where eels are a highly sought delicacy.Haiti along with the Dominican Republic has become a key exporter of American eels in recent years, CITES says.    To protect American and European eels, indistinguishable to the naked eye, from continuing to be shipped to Asia under false labels, the EU and Panama want CITES to restrict the trade of all eels. If their move is adopted at a meeting in Uzbekistan starting on November 24 “it will certainly penalize several stakeholders — exporters in particular — as well as poor and vulnerable small-scale fishermen” in Haiti, Natural Resources Minister Vernet Joseph told AFP. To protect the species Haiti — which is not a party to CITES — has implemented a “modest approach,” significantly reducing the overall harvest, while acknowledging a lack of reliable data on exploitation of the species.- ‘Like the Mafia’ -Haiti’s glass eel industry is entirely geared to export, is not “organized” and does not record “clear and reliable data — whether at the level of fishermen or the government,” an environmental activist told AFP on condition of anonymity.”It’s a sector like the Mafia.”Ghada Waly, the outgoing head of the UN’s drugs and crime office, warned “there is growing evidence that several Haitian nationals are part of a wider criminal network connected to lucrative eel trafficking, operating in Haiti and beyond.”Evidence showed “powerful political and economic figures in Haiti use the eel industry to launder drug profits,” she added.UN experts charged with enforcing sanctions have stepped up their monitoring of fishermen, intermediaries, customs officers and airlines.In a report published in October, they criticized how the opaque and unregulated sector had created “an ideal environment for criminals to launder money.”The government is responsible for fishing licenses — but a lack of controls allows for money laundering, fishermen and couriers to be extorted by gangs, with contraband often added to their outbound shipments, the experts said.Reliable data is scanty, but experts point to a 2009 government estimate of an export “capacity” of 800 tonnes — enough to make the trade highly lucrative.One gram of exported Haitian eels — seven to 10 actual specimens — can be sold for between $3.60 and $4.50, with the fishermen paid between 50 cents and $1.50 a kilogram.Though paid a fraction of the eels’ true value, the sums earned by the fishing community are still significant and attractive at a time of deep crisis in Haiti. Between fall and spring, the fishermen “spend 12 hours in challenging conditions, barefoot in the waters of the river mouths, from 6 pm until sunrise — all without appropriate kit,” said the environmental campaigner.To catch the minute, translucent fish, fishermen often use mosquito nets in wooden frames. A fisherman in Bas-Limbe anonymously told the UN sanctions report’s authors it was “every man for himself” and that he had seen hundreds of people hospitalized for various ailments including infections.The campaigner said “it would be better to put an end to eel fishing and help supply fishing communities with equipment to catch other species of seafood.”

Shares in the South Korean studio behind the ultra-catchy “Baby Shark” — YouTube’s most-viewed video — surged as much as 60 percent on Tuesday as the company made its market debut in Seoul.Beloved by young children, “Baby Shark Dance” has racked up more than 16 billion views on YouTube, roughly double the second-place clip “Despacito”.It was posted on the platform nearly a decade ago by The Pinkfong Company, which owns a portfolio of children’s animation and educational franchises.In morning trade, the company’s shares were up around 17 percent from their offering price of 38,000 won ($26), having earlier soared over 60 percent.”Baby Shark”, in which a shark family is introduced one by one to a chirpy tune, is a global megahit and has featured as a Macy’s parade balloon in New York.The Pinkfong Company was founded in 2010 and most of its income comes from selling content online and for live shows.Analysts said the surge in share price was normal for an initial public offering (IPO).”In theory, newly listed stocks are supposed to rise by around 30 to 40 percent on their first day of trading,” Choi Jong-kyung at Heungkuk Securities told AFP.”The level of gain (for The Pinkfong Company) is, textbook-wise, a very natural phenomenon.”The Pinkfong Company posted revenue of 97.4 billion won last year, up 11 percent, and operating profit of 18.8 billion won, nearly quadruple the previous year.Last month, CEO Kim Min-seok said the firm has “a structure that generates profit from the content itself”.”We recoup production costs through our own channels like YouTube and apps, which lowers our dependence on external distributors and reduces variable-cost burdens,” Kim told South Korea’s Edaily.South Korea is a global popular culture powerhouse, home to K-pop band BTS and the origin of recent Netflix TV hits such as “Squid Game” and “KPop Demon Hunters”.