Moving on, here are the news that shocked the world…

Federal Reserve $SPX ( ▲ 0.49% ) : The interest rate cut is here and it’s 25 bps. Trump got what he wanted but at what cost? A weak job market. Now, the Fed wants to cut another time [Read More]

Lyft $LYFT ( ▲ 2.82% )  : Lyft is joining the self-driving bandwagon. It announced a deal with Waymo to bring robotaxis to Nashville. [Read More]

Tesla $TSLA ( ▲ 2.21% )  : A much-needed jolt. Elon Musk has revealed that it has bought US$1 billion in Tesla’s shares and investors are viewing it as a sign of confidence [Read More]

CoreWeave $CRWV ( ▲ 2.86% )  : CoreWeave disclosed a US$6.3 billion contract from Nvidia and the whole world bought into the stock. After all, Nvidia has to buy unsold capacity until 2032 [Read More]

FedEx $FDX ( ▲ 2.32% )  : FedEx delivers! Q1 2026 results exceeded expectations as average daily volume grew by 6%. The company is forecasting 4% to 6% revenue growth in 2026 [Read More]

Here are the news covering the Asia market…

China’s Starbucks: The battle for China’s Starbucks. Starbucks will be choosing from Boyu Capital, Carlyle Group Inc., HongShan Capital Group and Primavera Capital as its next strategic partner [Read More]

AvePoint: AvePoint, listed on the Nasdaq, is doing a secondary listing on the SGX to raise SG$259 million at SG$19.50 per share. [Read More]

SGX: Share buybacks on the SGX has surged by 80% to SG$1.7 billion as of September 2025 lead by the big 3 banks of DBS, UOB and OCBC [Read More]

Sunway: Sunway will be buying up MCL Land for SG$739 million from HongKong Land (HKL) as HKL looks to focus on its investment properties and forego property development [Read More]

Centurion Accommodation REIT: The REIT will be listed on 25 September and will look to raise about SG$771 million [Read More]

See below for our handpicked analyst reports:

It’s beginning to feel like … Rate Cuts.

Sorry, folks, not yet Christmas.

The Federal Reserve has finally done it. It cut interest rates for the first time in 9 months by 25 bps to a range of 4.00% to 4.25%.

Things aren’t looking good

• Latest data revisions showed that the job market was in bad shape.

• Tariffs will raise prices for most U.S. consumers

But hold on a minute.

How does interest rate cuts help a weak economy?

Let’s get back to a bit of basics.

Interest rates set by the Federal Reserve influences everything - loans, fixed deposits, bonds, etc. If interest rates are reduced by 0.25%, then

• The fixed deposit rates you get at the bank will be lower by 0.25% also

• You pay less for your loan interest rates

• Companies can borrow at 0.25% cheaper

Essentially, a central bank cuts interest rates to influence consumers to spend more, and companies to invest more

• You would want to take out your money to spend if FD rates are lower

• Companies would want to borrow more and invest if loan interest rates are lower

And as the U.S. job market is weak, the Federal Reserve wants people to spend more so that companies can invest more also.

Got some pumpkin spice latte?

I am looking at Starbucks again this week, because of its China developments. I have previously written about its turnaround plan here.

Starbucks is looking for a strategic partner in China. And it’s no secret that it has struggled mightily there.

Chinese fruit tea players such as Chagee, Mixue, and ChaPanda has increasingly taken market share from Starbucks.

• Furthermore, Luckin and Cotti have gained an edge over Starbucks in the coffee space.

Starbucks revenue contribution from China is only at 8% currently. A sore point for the company considering that its core strategy was to penetrate the huge Chinese market.

However, as it nears a potential deal to get a strategic partner in, it’s worth taking a quick look at who they are and whether they could help Starbucks

1. Boyu Capital: A private capital firm in China, headed by the grandson of Jiang Zemin (ex-president of China), Alvin Jiang. Notable investments in China include Alibaba, J&T Express, WeBank, CATL, Zeekr, Ant Financial.

2. Carlyle Group: Manages close to US$460 billion in assets. Notable investments are Twosome Place, Kakao, Luolai Tech and McDonald’s China (exited).

3. Hongshan Capital: Formerly Sequoia Capital China, it invests mainly in technology, consumer and healthcare companies. Notable investment include HeyTea, Genki Forest, and Pop Mart.

4. Primavera Capital: Mainly invests in APAC region. Notable investments are Yum China (KFC and Pizza Hut in China), Alibaba, and Xpeng.

Looking at this, there are two private capital firms that stick out.

• Carlyle Group: Due to its past investment in McDonald’s China.

• Primavera Capital: Stake in Yum China is valuable.

Both private capital firm has experience in the F&B industry and knows how to operate and scale up in China. These experiences could be valuable for Starbucks as its strategic partners.

Hope the above is fruitful for you all..

Cheers,
James Yeo