When she got married 4 years ago, the now 30-year-old Hanoian in Cau Giay District was in an “unstable” financial situation, and both she and her husband had just changed jobs.She says they weren’t prepared for children and had already decided to wait a few years before getting pregnant because they were still young and had yet to establish a strong foundation upon which to raise a family.But both sides of the family opposed the decision and soon the young couple found themselves pressured on all sides. Hoa, now the mother of a beautiful 3-year-old daughter, still gets upset and…
Author: Mike Harrison
Traders now bet the Federal Reserve is practically done hiking interest rates. Optimism that followed China’s economic reopening and tumbling energy prices early this year has dimmed.”The bigger, medium-term involvement, of what’s happened in the last month is that global growth will be far weaker in six months than we thought even just a few weeks ago,” said Mike Riddell, senior fixed income portfolio manager at Allianz Global investors.Here’s what some closely watched market indicators say about recession risks:Crunch time?Central bankers are closely monitoring the potential for banking stress, on top of lending conditions that were already tightening, to trigger…
By Reuters  March 29, 2023 | 03:32pm GMT+7 Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits a site of residential buildings recently damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine March 27, 2023. Photo by Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has extended an invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday. “We are ready to see him here,” Zelenskiy told the news agency in an interview.Xi has not talked to Zelenskiy since Russia’s attacks in Ukraine in February last year but China published a 12-point plan…
Its trailer, appearing on Tuesday evening, showed snippets of its plot. After breaking up with her boyfriend, Amanda (played by Rachael Leigh Cook), a travel executive, visits Vietnam to explore its landscapes and traditions. Rachael Leigh Cook (left) and Scott Ly in Hoi An. Photo courtesy of Netflix During the trip, she meets tour guide Sinh (Scott Ly) and changes her itinerary on her suggestion. The two visit several places together, and right at the moment they realize their feelings for each other her ex-boyfriend shows up. Now she has to choose between the two men.The trailer takes viewers to…
The first step towards getting out the door and into her work world is smiling in the mirror and whispering words of encouragement to herself.Hang said her self-encouragement session usually entails a few minutes of reminding herself about the benefits brought by her job, including an income that helps cover life expenses, health insurance, and year-end bonuses.Then, and only after a few deep breaths, can the 31-year-old Hanoi office employee muster the wherewithal to go to her telecommunications company job in the capital.Hang suffers from insomnia every night. Her high-pressure job consumes most of the time that could otherwise be…
Four weeks after a Philippine tanker loaded with 800,000 liters (210,000 gallons) of thick oil sank off the central island of Mindoro, the vessel is still leaking.More than half the oil has been discharged and dispersed over hundreds of kilometers of waters famed for having some of the most diverse marine life in the world.Experts estimate the two main slicks northwest and southeast of the tanker could span 162 square kilometers (62 square miles).It took two days for the spill to reach Buhay na Tubig, a remote village in Pola, one of the island’s worst-affected municipalities.Some villagers got sick after…
The swiftly negotiated agreement prohibits the two countries from enacting bilateral export restrictions on the minerals most critical for EV batteries, according to senior Biden administration officials. The minerals include lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and manganese.The deal also aims to reduce US-Japanese dependence on China for such materials by requiring collaboration to combat “non-market policies and practices” of other countries in the sector and on conducting investment reviews of foreign investments in their critical minerals supply chains.Minerals-focused trade deals are one way that the Biden administration hopes to open up access for trusted allies to the $7,500 per vehicle EV…
Enrollments for undergraduate and post-graduate courses have surged over the past five years thanks to new funds for top universities as well as a boom in smaller private schools focused on shorter-term instruction. Some graduates with degrees in other subjects are being lured into the growth industry at a time when entry-level salaries have doubled. “The prospect of the chip industry is promising, while the employment for software engineers from ordinary schools is not as good as before,” said Clara Zhao, who studied materials science at university before securing a job in the chips sector. China faces a shortage of…
By Phan Anh  March 29, 2023 | 01:14am GMT+7 Macaroon cakes. Illustration photo by Pixabay The largest French gastronomic festival in Vietnam, “Balade en France”, will take place in Hanoi from April 14-16, the French Embassy in Vietnam announced Tuesday. The festival, succeeding its previous two editions in 2018 and 2020, will take place at the Ly Thai To Square and the pedestrian zone around the Hoan Kiem Lake, according to a press release from the Embassy.The event, part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-France diplomatic relations, will include the participation of restaurant owners, importers and other…
By AFP  March 28, 2023 | 08:59pm GMT+7 A broken road following a strong earthquake is pictured in Soma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan in this photo taken by Kyodo on March 17, 2022. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via Reuters A magnitude 6.1 quake struck off Aomori in northern Japan on Tuesday, the national weather agency said, but no tsunami warning was issued. The quake hit at 6:18 pm (0918 GMT) at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles), according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.Major Japanese media outlets carried no immediate reports of damage or injuries.The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the…