Pump jacks operate in a field on March 11, 2026 in Gillett, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday, following volatile trading on Wall Street overnight, as the Middle East war and disruptions to energy supply keep investors jittery. Iran attacked the world’s largest gas plant in Qatar, causing damage…
The war in the Middle East could pose a threat to the semiconductor industry and other sectors dependent on a resource produced in the Gulf — helium. Helium is a little-known but key input in many industries, most notably technology. In semiconductor manufacturing, its cooling properties are used to transfer heat. Helium is also indispensable…
Images of mobile devices at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) Museum of Innovation in Hsinchu, on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. I-Hwa Cheng | Bloomberg | Getty Images Asian technology stocks fell on Thursday as Iran’s latest attacks on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City and a surge in oil prices rattled investor sentiment, amplifying concerns…
Visitors (L) dressed in kimonos look at photos they took during a visit to Sensoji Temple in the Asakusa district of central Tokyo on September 16, 2025. Richard A. Brooks | Afp | Getty Images After living in Tokyo for over a year, Karin Nordin noticed something peculiar. The hot spring towns of Kusatsu and…
A fuel nozzle is inserted into a combustion engine at a petrol pump at a filling station during a refueling process. Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images Countries around the world have scrambled to cope with the fallout of the energy shock from the Iran war, imposing measures from fuel export bans, loosening…
TOPSHOT – US President Donald Trump (L) and China’s President Xi Jinping arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base, located next to the Gimhae International Airport in Busan on October 30, 2025. Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will seek a truce in their bruising trade war on October 30, with the US…
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – DECEMBER 14: The building of the National Assembly is seen in the night after impeachment of South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol on December 14, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Woohae Cho/Getty Images) Woohae Cho | Getty Images News | Getty Images South Korea’s parliament on Thursday passed a…
The artificial intelligence spending blitz has the memory industry dancing to a new tune. Shares of Micron are up more than 370% over the past year, while Sandisk, which only listed in February of last year, is up more than 1100%. For decades, memory stocks were stuck in a trader’s game, a boom-bust-repeat pattern, but…
Mount Fuji and the Shinjuku skyline in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher Wednesday as investors assessed the ongoing Middle East war. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.59% to close at 8,743.5. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.43% to end…
This report is from this week’s CNBC’s The China Connection newsletter, which brings you insights and analysis on what’s driving the world’s second-largest economy. You can subscribe here. The big story Instead of trumpeting China’s tech advances, Premier Li Qiang struck an uncharacteristically somber tone during a nationwide address on policy plans. I’ve heard him speak…
