Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine
Asian share markets dropped and safe-haven assets such as gold rose on Tuesday as investors contemplated the implications of a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.5 per cent after stock markets in the US and Europe lost ground on Monday.
Japan's Nikkei fell 0.91 per cent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed down 0.51 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slid 1.1 per cent, although China's CSI 300 Index bucked the sell-off trend across the region and was up 0.7 per cent.
Geopolitical risk will be the clear driver of sentiment for markets this week
Marcella Chow,
global markets strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management
“Geopolitical risk will be the clear driver of sentiment for markets this week,” said Marcella Chow, global markets strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management.
“The broader risk appetite among investors is going to be under pressure and, as a result, we expect to see a flight to safety in gold, US dollars and longer-term Treasuries.”
The negative tone in Asia was set to be replicated in equity markets across the world on Tuesday.
In early European trade, pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were off 0.32 per cent at 4,039, German Dax futures eased 0.31 per cent to 15,033 and FTSE futures slipped 0.31 per cent at 7,448.50.
US stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were down 0.07 per cent at 4,391.
The share market sell-off, driven by risk aversion, helped to push gold to an eight-month high as investors sought shelter in the traditional safe-haven asset. Spot gold was up 0.4 per cent at $1,877.72 an ounce.
“In the near term, there will be support for gold because of the uncertainty of a potential military conflict,” said Jack Siu, Credit Suisse's chief investment officer for Greater China.
“It can be a hedge but the overall fundamentals of central banks hiking rates and a firming dollar in the next few weeks and months are negative factors for gold.”
Oil shot to the highest level in seven years in US trading on Monday on Russia-Ukraine tension but weakened slightly during the Asian session.
The US issued a warning on Monday that Russia could soon invade Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US embassy would be relocated from Kyiv to Lviv, citing the “dramatic acceleration in the build-up of Russian forces".
“There are concerns about the possibility of the biggest military action in Europe since the Second World War,” said James Rosenberg, a financial adviser at EL&C Baillieu.
“So far, the market is just keeping a watchful eye and it does not appear to have had much impact. This could change dramatically if the Russians do attack Ukraine.”
The Group of Seven (G7) large economies warned of “economic and financial sanctions, which will have massive and immediate consequences on the Russian economy".
Global index provider MSCI said it was monitoring developments in Ukraine and access to the Russian equity market.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes was at 1.9753 per cent compared with its US close of 1.996 per cent on Monday. The two-year yield, which rises with traders' expectations of higher Fed fund rates, touched 1.5589 per cent compared with a US close of 1.589 per cent.
Despite the Russia-Ukraine tension, futures markets are still pointing towards a high likelihood of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates at its March meeting.
“Global financial markets are caught in a pincer movement between geopolitics [Ukraine] and high inflation,” ANZ economists wrote in a note.
US crude dipped 0.6 per cent to $94.92 a barrel during the Asian session after notching a seven-year high. Brent crude was down 0.5 per cent at $96.02 per barrel.
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Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Essentials
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes.
Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur, Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes.
In Penang, Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes.
23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes.
In Langkawi, Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Profile of VoucherSkout
Date of launch: November 2016
Founder: David Tobias
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers
Sector: Technology
Size: 18 employees
Stage: Embarking on a Series A round to raise $5 million in the first quarter of 2019 with a 20 per cent stake
Investors: Seed round was self-funded with “millions of dollars”
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Sleep Well Beast
The National
4AD
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The specs
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
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Saturday's schedule at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 race, 12:30pm
Formula 1 final practice, 2pm
Formula 1 qualifying, 5pm
Formula 2 race, 6:40pm
Performance: Sam Smith
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
