SO far, 2022 has been a bad year for most stock pickers. At a time when the world is still learning to live with Covid-19 and adapt to the new norms, many countries have seen the highest inflation rates in decades as a result of supply shortages and strong consumer demand. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February not only created Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II, but also caused food shortages around the globe. Ukraine is often described as being the “breadbasket of Europe” as it is among the world’s top agricultural producers and exporters.
Investors expect further gains this year, with Thailand cited as a key beneficiary from a rebound in tourism and Indonesia a winner thanks to its huge natural resources sector.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
(Bloomberg) Southeast Asian stocks are on a tear this month, outperforming the rest of the region in a rally that’s being fueled by rising commodity prices and economic reopening from the coronavirus pandemic.
Anuradha Raghu and Yantoultra Ngui, Bloomberg News Harvested oil palm fruits are loaded into a trailer at a plantation in Kapar, Selangor, Malaysia, on Monday, May 3, 2021. Palm oil jumped the most in 11 months after its closest rival soyoil powered to fresh 2008 highs and as traders weighed tighter-than-expected supplies of the tropical oil in No. 2 grower Malaysia. Photographer: Joshua Paul/Bloomberg , Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) A blistering palm oil rally is stoking a flurry of plantation deals as growers brace for stiffer challenges from environmental and labor risks.
Higher prices of the tropical oil over the past year created a profit windfall for the industry, making the time ripe for cash-rich planters to snap up plantation assets. Itâs also an opportunity to monetize estates for smaller-sized growers grappling with rising operational costs and worker shortages, as well as heightened scrutiny on environmental, social a
EXACTLY a year ago, the euphoria in the stock market saw investors pricing in what they believe to be the start of an economic recovery in the second half of 2021.
As forward looking as the market is and despite the vaccine optimism that lifted markets in November 2020, the state of the global economy is nowhere near the recovery envisioned last year.
The vicious twin of the Covid-19 in the form of the Delta variant took over the dirty work of wrecking the economy, which has recently forced the United Kingdom and Sydney into renewed lockdowns.
Even Israel, being the most vaccinated country in the world, reimposed its mask mandate indoors due to fears over the infectious variant.