LONDON (AFP) – Pop star Ed Sheeran has acquired a minority stake in Ipswich Town, the Premier League football club announced on Thursday.
The 33-year-old English singer-songwriter, a lifelong fan of the team, has taken a 1.4 per cent stake in the club, having been a shirt sponsor of both Ipswich men’s and women’s teams since 2021.
But an Ipswich statement said Sheeran will not join the board at Portman Road as his shareholding is a passive and minority investment only. “I am really excited to have bought a small percentage of my hometown football club,” said Sheeran.
“It’s any football fan’s dream to be an owner of the club they support, and I feel so grateful for this opportunity.”
The 2024/25 season sees Ipswich returning to the top flight of English football for the first time in 22 years.
Ipswich chairman Mark Ashton added: “The support Ed and his team have shown us over the last three years has been nothing short of remarkable and for him to make this investment in the club feels like the natural progression in our relationship.”
HANOI (XINHUA) – Vietnam’s mergers and acquisitions market is waiting for big deals, local media reported yesterday, given the context that foreign investment flows into the market have slowed down over the past few years.
The market is still waiting for major transactions, not only in real estate but also retail, manufacturing, and finance banking, like what used to be made, according to economists, Vietnam News Agency reported.
According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Japan, with nearly USD595 million, still ranked first among countries and territories investing in Vietnam via capital contributions and share purchases during January-July.
It was followed by Singapore (USD500 million) and South Korea (USD323 million). These are the investors that have conducted large mergers and acquisitions deals in Vietnam in recent years, and the market is waiting for them to spend big in the time ahead.
LONDON (AFP) – Mikel Arteta reportedly hired a group of pickpockets to teach his Arsenal stars a valuable lesson and is now planning to steal the Premier League title from Manchester City.
Arteta’s side suffered an agonising end to last season as City pipped them to the trophy by just two points on the final day.
Arsenal lost only one of their last 18 league games but still couldn’t hold off City’s relentless charge to an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League crown.
That painful near-miss came 12 months after the Gunners allowed City to snatch the 2022/23 title from their grasp after squandering an eight-point lead.
Rather than dull his appetite for success, those blows inspired Arteta to take his already obsessive attention to detail to new heights as he chases Arsenal’s first league title in 21 years.
“I don’t want to get over it,” he said. “We need that pain and that hunger to achieve what we want to achieve because the competition is unbelievable.”
With that in mind, Arteta secretly tasked a team of professional pickpockets with taking phones and wallets during a dinner with his players.
Arsenal’s Spanish manager Mikel Arteta. PHOTO: AP
At the end of the meal, he asked the squad to empty their pockets and they immediately realised they were missing valuable items.
The exercise was done to teach them of the importance of being alert at all times, on and off the pitch.
Arteta, whose side start their Premier League campaign at home to Wolves today, is no stranger to using creative ideas in a bid to motivate his players.
The Spaniard brought an olive tree into a team meeting last season, describing the players as the branches and the staff as the roots. He also once blasted out You’ll never walk alone over loudspeakers during a training session to replicate the raucous atmosphere at Liverpool.
Arteta even adopted a dog called Win to bring a more family feel to the training ground and boost players’ morale.
But the 42-year-old’s admirable ability to think outside the box has yet to deliver a prize that is beyond the reach of even his pickpockets.
Driven by his burning desire to hold a Premier League winners’ medal, Arteta spent the summer consumed by the daunting task of finding a way to end City’s reign as the English game’s pre-eminent force.
Arsenal last won the title when Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles” went unbeaten through the 2003-04 league season.
Wenger and his iconic stars cast a long shadow over the Emirates Stadium in the fallow period that followed.
But winning a title fight with a team of City’s dynastic quality would assure Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, William Saliba and company of a place in the club’s hall of fame alongside the likes of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp and Sol Campbell.
Arteta is convinced Arsenal are ready to make that leap towards north London immortality, citing the way his players pushed City to the brink last season as proof of their character and quality.
“When you are analytical and you gather all the stats and everything the team has done over the past 11 months in the Premier League, we should have won it,” he told ESPN recently.
“The reality is that we didn’t, so there is something that is there that we haven’t managed as well as Man City or other clubs in the past. I think we understand where those margins are.”
He added, “One thing is to get the 90 per cent that we want and actually the 10 per cent, five per cent, one per cent is what defines success and winning major trophies,” he added.
People at the Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea. PHOTO: XINHUA
SEOUL (XINHUA) – The South Korean government saw signs of economic recovery for the fourth consecutive month in its monthly economic report yesterday thanks to robust export and manufacturing production.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance said in its monthly report, called Green Book, that the South Korean economy recently continued a steady recovery due to solid export and manufacturing production as well as modest recovery in domestic demand and facility investment amid the stable inflation.
The ministry noted that the global economy showed an overall recovery on the improved trade and manufacturing, but it cautioned that uncertainties remained such as geopolitical risks in Europe and the Middle East, raw materials price volatility, and concerns about economic slump in major economies.
Export advanced 13.9 per cent in July from a year earlier, continuing to grow for the 10th straight month.
Production in the mining and manufacturing industry gained 0.5 per cent in June from a month earlier, while output in the service sector added 0.2 per cent in the cited month.
Retail sale, which reflects private consumption, swelled 1.0 per cent in June on a monthly basis, and facility investment expanded 4.3 per cent in the same month.
Production in the construction industry declined 0.3 per cent in June compared to the previous month on the back of the still lackluster real estate market.
The number of jobs rose 172,000 in July from a year earlier, higher than a growth of 96,000 in the previous month. Consumer prices mounted 2.6 per cent in July on a yearly basis after going up 2.4 per cent in June.
People at the Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea. PHOTO: XINHUA
File photo shows Sepp Kuss of Jumbo-Visma celebrates after winning the Vuelta cycling race in Madrid, Spain. PHOTO: AP
BARCELONA (AFP) – The gruelling Vuelta a Espana begins today with Sepp Kuss aiming to defend his crown while veteran Primoz Roglic hopes to secure a joint-record fourth victory in the Spanish race.
With star trio Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel not competing this year, several other cyclists are eyeing the chance to claim a Grand Tour triumph.
American rider Kuss has endured a tough season after competing in all three Grand Tours last year.
Kuss withdrew from the Tour de France in June after struggling with COVID-related fitness issues, but won the Vuelta a Burgos last week to gear up for his Spanish tour defence.
“I quickly got over the disappointment of missing the Tour, but it was definitely a letdown… luckily, I was able to focus on the Vuelta afterwards,” said Kuss, who lives in Andorra and enjoys some ‘home’ support.
“I definitely don’t see myself as the top favourite for the overall victory. I’m ready to lead the team in the Vuelta, but I don’t feel any pressure.
“Hopefully, I can grow into the race and quickly find a good rhythm.”
Wout Van Aert is also riding for Visma in the Vuelta for the first time, aiming to claim stage wins as well as supporting teammate Kuss.
While Kuss started last year’s Vuelta set to play second fiddle to Visma team-mates Vingegard and Roglic, now of German team Bora-Hansgrohe, the 29-year-old took the lead in stage eight never relinquished it.
It completed a remarkable treble of Grand Tour wins for the Dutch team after Roglic won last year’s Giro d’Italia and Vingegaard was crowned Tour de France champion.
This year Pogacar’s Giro and Tour triumphs mean UAE Team Emirates can replicate that success if they emerge victorious in Spain.
File photo shows Sepp Kuss of Jumbo-Visma celebrates after winning the Vuelta cycling race in Madrid, Spain. PHOTO: AP
SINGAPORE (XINHUA) – The non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in Singapore expanded 15.7 per cent year-on-year in July, reversing the 8.8 per cent decline in June, the government agency Enterprise Singapore said yesterday.
Both electronic NODX and non-electronic NODX picked up growth in July. NODX to Singapore’s top markets as a whole expanded in July. The United States, Malaysia, and the Chinese mainland were the largest contributors to the expansion. Singapore’s total trade increased 13.7 per cent year-on-year in July, following the 1.2 per cent growth in June.
Total exports in Singapore grew 13.4 per cent year-on-year last month, and total imports expanded 14.0 per cent.
KUALA LUMPUR (BERNAMA) – The ringgit is moving in the right direction as it reflects the nation’s economic fundamentals and strong prospects, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
Governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said the recent spread in the ringgit’s performance indicates a recovery from the previous levels.
“In terms of whether we have a comfortable level for ringgit, we don’t target a certain particular level for the ringgit as it is market-driven,” he said at a press conference on the second-quarter 2024 gross domestic product (GDP) yesterday.
In terms of the support for the ringgit moving forward, he said it is positive.
He noted that support for the ringgit comes from several factors, namely the United States (US) monetary policy, coordinated measures between the government and BNM, and Malaysia’s strong prospects.
On the ringgit’s performance recently, he said it has been appreciating of late, with financial market participants expecting imminent policy rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve, which has softened the US dollar and alleviated pressure on regional currencies including the ringgit.
With these latest developments, the ringgit has appreciated by 3.1 per cent against the US dollar year-to-date as at August 31. On a nominal effective exchange rate (NEER) basis, the ringgit has also appreciated by 5.3 per cent.
PHOTO: FREEPIK
He said the coordinated initiatives by the government and BNM with Government-Linked-Companies (GLCs) and Government-Linked Investment Companies (GLICs) alongside engagements with corporates, exporters, and investors continued to provide support to the ringgit.
“These efforts have resulted in greater and more consistent flows into the foreign exchange market. The daily average foreign exchange (FX) trading volume has risen to USD18.0 billion from February 26 to August 13 (January 2 – February 23: USD15 billion).
“The bid-ask spread is also narrower, indicating improved liquidity in the domestic FX market,” he said.
In April, BNM rolled out a pilot fast-track pre-approval framework, known as the Qualified Resident Investor (QRI) programme, to reduce frictions for corporates to repatriate and convert their foreign currency funds from overseas investments and seeking to reinvest abroad when the time comes.
“This is to ensure two-way flows in the foreign exchange market,” Abdul Rasheed said, adding that the outcomes of the pilot programme were encouraging, whereby more than USD1 billion of additional inflows were seen entering the domestic forex market.
These additional flows have helped to provide support to the ringgit’s performance, contributing to the recovery of the ringgit that was observed in recent months, he stressed.
As such, BNM announced that the pilot QRI programme will be extended from now until December 31 for eligible resident corporates who have outstanding direct investment abroad with assets of MYR1 billion and above.
On Malaysia’s external performance, export is projected to expand further this year, driven by the improving external demand, global tech upcycle, and higher tourist spending.
He said travel receipts increased further to MYR22.4 billion in Q2 this year or an annual growth of 37 per cent.
“In particular, tourist arrivals from China and India have been supported by the visa exemption measure that was introduced recently.
“In Q2, tourists from China improved to more than 690,000 arrivals from 2019 levels, while arrivals from India were close to 325,000, or about 165 per cent of what we saw in 2019,” he said.
Moving forward, travel receipts are expected to increase further driven by higher tourist arrivals and spending per capita due to the visa exemption for China and India and also the expansion in flight network and capacity.
On the overnight policy rate (OPR), he said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) believes the system remains conducive to sustainable economic growth.
“The MPC will continue to assess the evolving conditions and implications on the inflation and domestic growth trajectories, going into 2025. The MPC will ensure that the monetary policy stance remains conducive,” he said.
Globally, Abdul Rasheed said that the monetary policy path is shifting towards central bank easing, but noted that the financial markets remain susceptible to economic developments, including growth prospects and any divergence between market participants’ expectations and the central bank’s actions.
“Other sources of volatility also remain, including the geopolitical tensions, which continue to weigh on investor sentiments.
“Nevertheless, the domestic landscape remains positive, despite this shifting external outlook. A narrowing of interest rate differentials in the US would be conducive to inflows, especially given Malaysia’s positive economic prospects,” he added.
Chris Kirk of the United States plays a shot. PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Chris Kirk aced the par-three 14th hole on his way to grabbing a one-stroke lead after Thursday’s first round of the PGA St Jude’s Championship.
The 39-year-old American, seeking his seventh PGA triumph, fired a six-under par 64 at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, in the FedEx Cup playoff opener.
Sharing second on 65 were Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, playing without his regular caddie and coach after a London restaurant robbery, plus Canada’s Taylor Pendrith and France’s Matthieu Pavon.
On a hot day, Kirk had the most sizzling shot of all when he played a six-iron high draw from 205 yards at 14 that landed 10 feet right of the flagstick, then bounced and rolled into the hole.
“I was just trying to hit it left of the hole and make a three,” Kirk said. “Didn’t quite come off where I was looking. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ Just trying to hit it in the middle of the green. I was just swinging really good and the ball sensed it, just found it’s way in the right direction.”
The hole-in-one, the fourth of Kirk’s PGA career, gave him a three-stroke lead but a closing bogey brought him back near the pack. Kirk, the 2014 playoff runner-up, captured the PGA season-opening tournament of champions in Hawaii after winning last year’s Honda Classic.
He sought “boring” but consistent play and began well with birdies on a putt from just over 11 feet at the par-four second and just beyond 18 feet at the par-five third.
Chris Kirk of the United States plays a shot. PHOTO: AFP
Kirk also birdied from just inside 20 feet at the sixth and dropped his approach inches from the hole at the ninth for a tap-in birdie. A 17-foot birdie putt at the 12th set the stage for the crucial ace.
“The goal is to trust yourself and make it as boring as possible,” Kirk said. “That was my plan and I was doing it for the first 13 holes. Very consistent, steady, hitting solid shots, making a few putts here and there – 14 was not boring golf.”
Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion, was robbed in London on a stopover on his way to the United States from the Paris Olympics, where he took the bronze medal.
While Matsuyama only lost his wallet, his caddie, Shota Hiyato, and coach, Mikhito Kuromiya, lost their passports and visas and returned to Japan in hopes of getting new paperwork and returning to Matsuyama before the playoffs end in two weeks at East Lake in Atlanta.
“It was an unfortunate situation,” Matsuyama said. “Luckily I only lost my wallet… we’re trying hard now to get their visas back in line.
“We’re pushing hard, looking toward East Lake. Shota will make it, I think, but my coach probably won’t.”
The robbery has not thrown off Matsuyama, who said, “I’ve forgotten it completely” and noted he talks by phone to his coach every night.
“We didn’t even know it happened,” he said. “We were just having a friendly dinner and Shota was the first one – hey, where’s my bag? Of course it was frustrating, but we really didn’t know it happened. It was just kind of all of a sudden. We had already paid the cheque.”
The Los Angeles Clippers' new home, the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California in the United States. PHOTO: AFP
NEW YORK (AFP) – The NBA will open its 2024-25 season with the reigning champion Boston Celtics hosting New York and the Los Angeles Lakers hosting Minnesota in a schedule unveiled on Thursday.
The 79th NBA regular season tips off with those contests on October 22 and concludes on April 13, 2025, when all 30 teams play.
All-time NBA scoring leader LeBron James will begin a record-tying 22nd league campaign when the Lakers play host to Minnesota, the Timberwolves coming off their second-best season and a first trip in 20 years to the Western Conference final.
The NBA playoffs will begin on April 19, after play-in games April 15-18, with the best-of-seven NBA Finals set to start on June 5.
Each team will play 82 regular-season games with some matchups to be determined as a result of the NBA Cup, the in-season tournament that begins November 12 and concludes in December in Las Vegas.
On October 23, the second day of the NBA campaign, nine-time NBA All-Star Paul George makes his debut with the Philadelphia 76ers against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers play their first game in their new home arena, the Intuit Dome, against Phoenix.
Reigning Western Conference champion Dallas, with new guard Klay Thompson, will play host on October 24 to San Antonio, with reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama of France and new Spurs guard Chris Paul starting his 20th NBA campaign.
That night also sees Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Denver Nuggets.
The Los Angeles Clippers’ new home, the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California in the United States. PHOTO: AFP
On October 25, Phoenix will visit the Lakers and Indiana will face New York.
The NBA will stage five games December 25, with San Antonio at New York, Minnesota at Dallas, the Lakers at Golden State, Philadelphia at Boston and Denver at Phoenix.
Martin Luther King Jr Day will feature Minnesota at Memphis, Boston at Golden State and Dallas at Charlotte.
An NBA rivals week will be staged January 21-25 with the final day seeing Boston at Dallas in a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals plus Denver at Minnesota and the Lakers at Golden State.
The NBA will have no games on November 5, the United States election day. All 30 teams will play on November 4.
The NBA will also stage games at Mexico City on November 2 between the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards and on January 23 and 25, 2025, at Paris between Indiana and San Antonio.
George, who played with the Clippers the past five seasons, will visit his former club with his new 76ers’ teammates on November 6.
Thompson will lead Dallas into San Francisco on November 12 to face his former club, the Golden State Warriors.
Wembanyama, last year’s top pick in the NBA Draft, and this year’s first selection, fellow Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher of the Atlanta Hawks are set to play against each other on December 19 in San Antonio and February 5 at Atlanta.
The Celtics will play host to Dallas in an NBA Finals rematch game on February 6.
On February 20, the San Antonio Spurs will play a home game at nearby Austin in Moody Center on the University of Texas campus against the Phoenix Suns.
The 2025 NBA All-Star Game will be played on February 16 at Chase Center in San Francisco.
People at a Walmart Superstore in New Jersey, United States. PHOTO: AP
WASHINGTON (AP) – Americans stepped up their spending at retailers last month by the most in a year and a half, easing concerns that the economy might be weakening under the pressure of higher prices and elevated interest rates.
The United States (US) Commerce Department reported on Thursday that retail sales jumped one per cent from June to July, the biggest such increase since January 2023, after having declined slightly the previous month. Auto dealers, electronics and appliance stores and grocery stores all reported strong sales gains.
The July retail sales data provided reassurance that the US economy, while slowing under the pressure of high interest rates, remains resilient. It showed that America’s consumers, the primary driver of economic growth, are still willing to spend.
The prospect of a still-growing economy is likely to be promoted by Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, which is preparing to roll out policies to ban “price gouging” on groceries. On Wednesday, her opponent, former president Donald Trump slammed the economic record of the Biden-Harris administration, though he wildly inflated cost increases on food and monthly mortgage payments.
Other economic data released on Thursday was also mostly positive, including a report on first-time applications for unemployment benefits. The figures show that businesses are mainly holding onto their workers and not increasing layoffs.
With Americans spending more, economists at Morgan Stanley have boosted their forecast for growth in the July-September quarter to a 2.3-per-cent annual rate, from an earlier estimate of 2.1 per cent.
The economy expanded at a healthy 2.8 per cent rate in the April-June quarter.
People at a Walmart Superstore in New Jersey, United States. PHOTO: AP
All told, the latest data is consistent with an economy that is headed toward a “soft landing”, in which the Federal Reserve (Fed) raises interest rates enough to cool inflation but not so much as to cause a recession.
“The ongoing resilience of consumer spending should ease recession fears and reduce the odds markets have placed on a larger (half-point) cut” at the Fed’s meeting in mid-September, said economist Michael Pearce at Oxford Economics. Instead, economists increasingly expect the Fed to begin cutting interest rates next month with a modest quarter-point reduction in its key rate, which affects many consumer and business loans.
Adjusted for inflation, sales rose about 0.8 per cent last month. And excluding gas station sales, which don’t reflect Americans’ appetite to spend, retail purchases also rose one per cent.
Consumers have been pummelled since the pandemic by high prices and elevated interest rates. Yet at the same time, average wages have also been rising, providing many households with the means to keep spending.
Inflation-adjusted wages have increased slightly from a year ago. Upper-income households have also seen their wealth increase, with stock prices and home values having jumped in the past three years. Increases in wealth can encourage more spending.
Auto sales jumped 3.6 per cent last month, the largest increase since January 2023. It marked a rebound from the previous month, when a cyberattack involving many dealerships slowed sales.
Sales at electronics and appliances stores surged 1.6 per cent. And they rose 0.9 per cent at hardware stores and garden centres. Restaurant sales were up 0.3 per cent, a sign that Americans are still willing to spend on discretionary items, such as eating out.
Financial markets had plunged earlier this month on fears surrounding the economy after the government reported that hiring was much weaker than expected in July and the unemployment rate rose for a fourth straight month.
Yet since then, economic reports have shown that layoffs are still low and that activity and hiring in services industries remains solid. Americans are also still splurging on services, such as travel, entertainment, and health care, which are not included in Thursday’s retail sales report.
Still, some economists worry that much of Americans’ spending now is being fuelled by the increased use of credit cards. And the proportion of Americans who are falling behind on their credit card payments, while still relatively low, has been rising.
But cooling inflation may give households a needed boost. Consumer prices rose just 2.9 per cent in July from a year earlier, the government said on Wednesday. That was the smallest year-over-year inflation figure since March 2021. And core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, slipped for the fourth straight month.
While Americans are still willing to spend, they are increasingly searching out bargains. On Thursday, Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, reported strong sales in the three months that ended July 31.
More Americans appear to be shopping at lower-prices outlets like Walmart. The company also boosted its sales outlook for this year and said that it hasn’t seen any signs of weakness from the consumer.
