Category: 3. Business

Shares of Guzman y Gomez Ltd. tumbled by the most since their Sydney listing last year after the Mexican-themed fast-food chain flagged a sales slowdown in its Australian restaurants.

The stock plunged as much as 24% in afternoon trading in Sydney, at one point touching its A$22 initial public offering price. The rout was triggered after the company reported that sales in its Australia venues rose 3.7% in the first seven weeks of the current fiscal year, falling short of analyst expectations. That compares to growth of 7.4% during the same period a year ago.

Chinese students are on the rise in Asian universities. The majority of Chinese students still choose the “big four” study destinations in the West, with US, UK, Canada, and Australia accounting for 62.6 per cent in 2024. However, their numbers have declined over the past five years in American, Australian, and Canadian universities (Figure 1).

Conversely, Asian study destinations are trending upwards for Chinese students. Their enrolment in Malaysia increased fivefold from 9,000 in 2019 to over 47,000 in 2024, and quadrupled in Thailand from just under 6,200 in 2016 to 28,000 in 2024. In Singapore, local media reported that Chinese students constituted about half of its 73,200 international students in 2024. In Japan, Chinese student numbers increased from 103,882 in 2022 to 123,485 in 2024. South Korea recorded a similar pattern: 60,087 in 2022 and 73,500 in 2024.

Figure 1: Number of inbound international students from China, top thirteen destination countries, 2018-2023*

* Data for Japan and Singapore are not available in this database. No data in some years (2019 and 2022 for USA; 2018 for Malaysia; 2018, 2019 and 2021 for Thailand). Nevertheless, the general trend during 2018-2023 is visible.

This shift in Chinese student mobility to Asia can be attributed to four factors: (1) the attractiveness of Asian study destinations to Chinese students; (2) the efforts by governments and universities in developing the higher education sector in these destinations, and in meeting Chinese students’ needs in particular; (3) the expansion and diversification of the Chinese student demographic; and (4) the facilitative effects of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The first and second factors combine to make Asian destination countries a convenient, cost effective, and more comfortable study abroad experience for Chinese students. The third and fourth factors derive from developments in China.

First, Asian countries are becoming attractive to Chinese students as they offer affordable tuition and living, geopolitical stability, safety, and geographical and cultural proximities. Tuition and living costs in Asian countries are a fraction of those in the traditional Anglophone study destination countries. Asian countries are also perceived to be safer, for instance, by being free of gun violence and less prone to Sinophobic sentiments. The presence of Chinese communities in Asian study destinations offers a familiar environment to Chinese students, who can enjoy shared languages and cultural practices while away from home.  

Second, governments in Asian destinations have made concerted efforts to attract international students. Some flagship universities in Asia are well-positioned in international university rankings, making these destination countries even more attractive to ranking-conscious Chinese students and parents. These destinations are thus perceived to offer higher cost-effectiveness on Chinese students’ study abroad investments, evoking the Chinese adage gaoxing jiabi (高性价比, meaning an affordable price for a high-quality product). To attract Chinese students and cater to their study interests and needs, some Asian universities, notably in Singapore and Thailand, have rolled out Mandarin, bilingual or trilingual medium courses. Institutions in Singapore, South Korea, and elsewhere offer live application support and tuition fee payments on Chinese digital platforms such as WeChat and WeChat Pay. Some help ease students’ transition into post-study employment.

Third, while studying abroad used to be primarily pursued by Chinese students from wealthier and middle-class urban families in major cities or those with high academic performance, the Chinese student demographic has expanded to include those from southern and border provinces (including rural areas) and those with average academic performance. The expansion and diversification of Chinese student demographics are also due to the intensifying competition for entry into domestic universities in China. Faced with low prospects of gaining entry into reputable domestic universities, some Chinese students are turning to Asian universities where admissions are perceived to be comparatively easier.

Chinese students are increasingly venturing abroad for postgraduate study, as degree holders seek to improve their employability amid rising graduate unemployment and increasingly competitive entry to domestic postgraduate programmes. These challenges are compounded by “credential inflation”, or employers’ predilection to recruit candidates with higher paper qualifications. For mature students, especially current lecturers and researchers in Chinese institutions, a PhD qualification is often a prerequisite for career mobility. Completing their PhD study in Asia is more practical and convenient as they can bypass the competitive postgraduate entrance exams in China, enjoy relative academic freedom, and secure a PhD qualification from a reputable yet affordable university in Asia.

Chinese students should not be solely treated as cash cows, as they can play important facilitative roles as cultural ambassadors and intermediaries between China and Asian study destinations.

Fourth, China’s BRI and good bilateral relations with Asian study destination countries have opened up various study, work, and business opportunities for Chinese students. BRI-related government scholarships have directly enabled Chinese students to pursue higher education in these countries. Cross-border economic activities and bilateral trade with China have indirectly led to demand for bilingual and multilingual human resources to service Chinese and host country enterprises. Chinese students studying in these countries enjoy potential advantages if they gain linguistic, socio-cultural and network capital, along with a deeper understanding of their host countries. The influx of Chinese students can bring positive benefits to Asian destination countries, including income revenue, spill-over effects to other sectors (e.g. real estate, tourism, healthcare), human capital development, and stronger bilateral ties with China. However, attention should also be given to managing public perceptions and discontent in the local population on matters such as immigration, ethnic relations, local employment, and housing demand. Asian universities must also maintain their quality and reputation to remain competitive in the international education market. Chinese students should not be solely treated as cash cows, as they can play important facilitative roles as cultural ambassadors and intermediaries between China and Asian study destinations.

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Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is Samsung Electronics’ global education program in the form of an open competition in which youth apply STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) knowledge to address community challenges while developing analytical skills. More than an ideas contest, the program provides participants with Samsung’s Design Thinking training — offering hands-on experience at every stage of innovation, from defining problems and generating ideas to developing prototypes and validating solutions. Through this process, youth gain essential practical and creative problem-solving skills.

 

Initially launched in the U.S. as an essay competition in 2010, Solve for Tomorrow now operates in 68 countries — serving as a platform for youth around the world to collaborate on solutions for a better future.

 

Beginning in 2025, Solve for Tomorrow introduced global themes to the competition — starting with Environmental Sustainability via Technology and Social Change Through Sports & Technology — further strengthening its role in addressing universal challenges through cross-border collaboration.

 

Samsung remains committed to increasing educational opportunities that build future-ready skills such as design thinking while addressing pressing community issues, including those related to the environment, sports and quality education. The company aims to expand support to turn students’ ideas into reality, empowering them to play an active role in shaping a brighter world.

 

Explore the 15-year journey of Samsung’s global CSR education program Solve for Tomorrow in the infographic below.

 

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand doesn’t need to be too stimulatory with policy because it views the recent lull in economic activity as temporary, according to Chief Economist Paul Conway.

“We are seeing the weakness in the second quarter as a short-run phenomena driven by policy uncertainty that held back investment and created a bit of uncertainty for households,” he said in an interview Friday in Wellington. “We do think that’s going to dissipate. I don’t think we need to be overtly stimulatory.”

Story Continues

HANOI: Coffee prices in Vietnam continued to inch up this week due to a scarcity of beans, while heavy rainfall in Indonesia likely hurt the growth of coffee cherries, traders said on Thursday.

Farmers in the Central Highlands, Vietnam’s largest coffee-growing region, sold beans at 121,000-123,000 dong ($4.59-$4.66) per kg, up from last week’s 107,000-110,000 dong, and the highest level since late-May.

“Domestic prices have increased significantly over the past week, although trade remains sluggish due to tight supply at the end of the harvest season,” said a trader based in the coffee belt. He added that the current weather is favourable for new trees.

By Charlie Garcia

The inevitable gold-price reckoning that could fund Trump’s bitcoin ambitions – and sting your bank account

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, at left, President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have something to reveal about gold, but they won’t – at least not yet.

A newly published Federal Reserve paper might as well be titled ‘Gold Revaluation for Dummies.’

Federal Reserve officials including Chair Jerome Powell are in Jackson Hole, Wyo., this week with a suspicious term paper: the central bank’s Aug. 1 study on how broke countries revalue gold (GC00) to pretend they’re not broke.

Two weeks after that study came out, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posted on X about “budget-neutral” ways to buy bitcoin (BTCUSD).

In Washington, D.C., “budget-neutral” means “we found money we swear we didn’t have.” Even a child could connect these dots. Start with the Fed’s study, titled “Official Reserve Revaluations: The International Experience.” Basically, it’s “Gold Revaluation for Dummies.” The paper looks at how Germany and a few other countries pulled this trick.

And buried in a footnote, a bill sponsored by Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Wyoming Republican, to use gold revaluation to bankroll a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve. Makes perfect sense: Use the proceeds from admitting one lie to fund the next revolution.

Taken together, when the Fed publishes papers citing congressional bills about policies the Treasury denies, we’re watching the Mar-a-Lago Accord take shape. It’s a U.S. dollar DXY devaluation without sending out the invites.

In practice, here’s the beautiful chaos: The Fed publishes what Treasury denies. Congress writes bills the White House won’t touch. Everyone’s preparing for something nobody admits exists. It’s like watching your spouse Google “divorce lawyers” while insisting your marriage is fine.

Here’s the math that gives Fed governors night sweats.

Time for the math that gives Fed governors night sweats. Gold on America’s books: $42.22 an ounce, the price in 1973, when you could buy a Ford Mustang for $3,000. Today, gold trades close to $3,400. America shows $11 billion on its balance sheet when it should be $874 billion – off by a factor of 80. Try that on your taxes, and you’ll get 20 years to life.

This $863 billion gap is bigger than Denmark’s gross domestic product. America could buy Denmark and Portugal – annex both Vikings and explorers – and still bankroll Finland’s sauna habit. But nobody says a word, because if they did, they’d have to admit the U.S. dollar has lost 98.7% of its value against gold.

Enter President Donald Trump and Bessent. Trump wants a U.S. sovereign wealth fund funded and taxes untouched. Bessent floats “mobilizing the asset side of the balance sheet,” which functions like a Rorschach test. Gold bugs heard “we’ll reprice Fort Knox from $11 billion to $874 billion.” Bitcoin bros heard “digital reserves will be funded with found money.” Last March, Bessent was denying the premise. “We’re not revaluing gold,” he told Bloomberg. “That’s not what I had in mind.” In Washington, that’s not a denial, it’s a rain check.

Then, five months later, the Fed releases a guide to revaluing gold. Central banks don’t publish primers on options they’re not eyeing. It’s like the Pentagon issuing “How to Bomb Iran” as a coffee-table book.

Bessent’s Aug. 14 tweet revealed everything: Trump wants 1 million bitcoins, exactly what the Lummis bill proposes, to make America the world’s “crypto superpower.” The U.S. government already has 200,000 bitcoins from seized assets and needs 800,000 more. The cost: roughly $92 billion. Where does that come from? In the fiction between gold’s book value and reality, with enough left to seed the sovereign wealth fund Trump ordered last February.

What terrifies them isn’t the math. It’s admitting the original sin: Nixon lied. He killed Bretton Woods claiming the Fed’s steady hand would replace gold’s discipline.

The Watergate tapes show Nixon ordering that same Fed to “goose” the money supply. Since then, the dollar has lost 98% of its value under the central bank’s “steady hand.” Every Treasury secretary since has protected this lie like they would a state secret. Admitting it would be like the pope admitting there’s no God. Some lies are just too big to fail.

That lie now has run out of road. The U.S. debt bomb is detonating: National debt just hit $37 trillion, with another $5 trillion authorized. The dollar is down 11% so far this year – its worst showing since 1973. Funny thing about 1973: That’s when the U.S. revalued gold. Dollar crashes, gold gets repriced. It’s not a coincidence, it’s a pattern. The Fed knows it, which is why it just published that instruction manual.

China and Russia, which have been hoarding gold like doomsday preppers, win either way.

Here’s the beautiful part for our enemies: China and Russia, which have been hoarding gold like doomsday preppers, win either way. If the U.S. revalues gold, their reserves explode in value. America validates their anti-dollar strategy while making them rich. It’s like underwriting your rival’s victory.

Back in the U.S., this is where it gets ugly.

When governments admit to debasement, markets go insane. Rates jump. The 10-year Treasury yield BX:TMUBMUSD10Y could spike to 7% or higher.

Your adjustable-rate mortgage that seemed clever at 5%? Try 8%. That nice suburban house you can barely afford? Now you definitely can’t.

And the ripple hits cash: Your savings would buy 30% less overnight. Every 10 dollars becomes seven. That’s not a haircut. That’s a beheading.

Your 401(k) does that thing where you open the statement and immediately need three drinks. Gold holders get rich. Everyone else gets poorer. Meanwhile, bitcoin goes so high Elon Musk posts about it from Mars.

Legally: The Constitution says only Congress can revalue gold. The president can’t do it with a Truth Social post, though I’m sure he’d consider it. Lummis has a bill ready, but getting the votes to admit America’s been lying about money for 50 years? In normal times, impossible. In a crisis, they’ll pass it at 2 a.m. on page 1,847 of the “Emergency Save America Act” that nobody reads.

Politically: Expect nothing to change before the 2026 midterms. Admitting your money’s worthless doesn’t win elections. But in 2027, a debt-ceiling fight, a failed Treasury auction, any work day ending in “Y” could provide cover. Trump will have his new Fed chair by May 2026, someone who understands “emergency flexibility.” But math beats politics eventually. The U.S. has $37 trillion in debt and an accounting fiction worth $863 billion. It’s like owing the mob $37,000 while sitting on a Picasso you insist is worth $11.

What we’re watching at Jackson Hole isn’t coordination. It’s a financial standoff. The Fed prepares what Treasury denies. Congress writes what the White House ignores. Everyone knows the $42.22 price is a joke, but nobody wants to be the one who admits the emperor’s gold is naked. They’re all positioning for the crisis that makes confession inevitable.

Strip it down. The truth? We’re not hiding $863 billion. We’re hiding that fiat money is a 50-year Ponzi scheme – and new marks are getting scarce. The $42.22 gold price is the last fig leaf covering the fact that we’ve been playing monetary make-believe since Pink Floyd dropped “The Dark Side of the Moon.”

Which brings us back to Bessent. He says we’re not revaluing gold. And if you can’t trust a man defending a lie that’s off by a factor of 80, who can you trust?

Charlie Garcia is founder and a managing partner of R360, a peer-to-peer organization for individuals and families with a net worth of $100 million or more. Email him at charlie@R360Global.com.

More: How Trump is attacking officials to get the economy he wants

Plus: Powell’s Jackson Hole speech could be make-or-break moment for the summer stock-market rally

-Charlie Garcia

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