SINGAPORE — Pope Francis on Thursday urged political leaders in Singapore, a leading global financial hub, to seek fair wages for the country’s million-plus lower-paid foreign workers.

In likely the last major speech of an ambitious 12-day tour across Southeast Asia and Oceania, the 87-year-old pontiff singled out concern for Singapore’s rapidly ageing population and its migrant workforce, primarily centered in the construction and domestic services industries.

“I hope that special attention will be paid to the poor and the elderly… as well as to protecting the dignity of migrant workers,” said the pope, in an address to about 1,000 politicians and civil and religious leaders at the National University of Singapore.

“These workers contribute a great deal to society and should be guaranteed a fair wage,” he said.

There were 1.1 million foreigners on work permits in Singapore who earned less than S$3,000 ($2,300) per month as of December 2023, including 286,300 domestic workers and 441,100 workers in the construction, shipyard and process sectors, government data shows.

Many of the migrant workers come from nearby countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia, China, Bangladesh and India.

The pope’s speech came after private meetings with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the country’s parliament building, where the pope was greeted with a formal honor guard and the playing of the Vatican anthem. He was also presented with a white orchid plant, a new hybrid that was named in his honour.

Singapore is also confronting a rapidly ageing population. Its fertility rate dropped below 1 in 2023, and the country will be considered what the United Nations calls a “super-aged” society in 2026, when the proportion of the population aged 65 and above is projected to reach 21%.

Concern for migrants has been a common theme for Francis. Earlier on his 12-day tour, he asked leaders in Papua New Guinea to work for fair wages as that country becomes a major target of international companies for its gas, gold and other reserves.

On Thursday, the pope also praised Singapore’s efforts to confront climate change, calling them a model for other countries.

Singapore’s government says rising sea levels due to global warming could have major implications for its low-lying coastline and it is planning to spend S$100 billion ($77 billion) over the course of the century on the issue.

“Your commitment to sustainable development and the preservation of creation is an example to follow, and your search for innovative solutions to address environmental challenges can encourage other countries to do the same,” said the pope.

The pope, who has prioritized trips to places never visited by a pope, or where Catholics are a small minority, is only the second pope to visit Singapore, following a brief 5-hour layover by the late John Paul II in 1986.

Singapore, with a population of 5.92 million, is plurality Buddhist, with about 31% of people identifying with that faith. The Vatican counts about 210,000 Catholics in the country. There are also strong Muslim, Hindu and Taoist communities.

The pope praised the country as “a mosaic of ethnicities, cultures and religions living together in harmony,” and said the political officials were “preventing extremism and intolerance from gaining strength or endangering social harmony.” — Reuters

NEW YORK — Investors scrambled to shift their positioning on Wednesday following a closely watched debate between Republican Donald Trump and Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris, as betting markets swung in Harris’ favor after the event.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, the company that owns Truth Social, fell 13% on Wednesday afternoon, while other so-called Trump trades such as bitcoin and crypto stocks retreated. Solar stocks, seen as benefiting from a Harris win, rallied and healthcare shares fell.

In a combative debate late Tuesday, Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris clashed over everything from the economy to immigration, as each sought a campaign-altering moment in what has been a closely fought race.

Their exchanges left investors with few new details on issues that could sway markets, including tariffs, taxes and regulation. But online prediction markets showed bets on a stronger likelihood of a Harris win in November: Ms. Harris’ odds in PredictIt’s 2024 presidential general election market improved to 55 cents from 53 cents before the debate, while Mr. Trump’s odds slipped to 47 cents from 52 cents.

There is a “general view that Harris won the debate,” said Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets in Singapore. “It’s obviously not a slam dunk for Harris, but the chances of a Trump victory have slipped a bit.”

While the presidential race is very much on investors’ minds, political concerns have lately coalesced with more immediate market catalysts, including worries over a potentially softening U.S. economy and uncertainty over how deeply the Fed will need to cut interest rates. The S&P 500 notched its worst weekly percentage loss since March 2023 last week after a second-straight underwhelming jobs report, though the index is still up around 15% this year.

Still, some investors believe even a small shift in perceptions of the candidates could prove significant in a contest that could come down to tens of thousands of votes in a handful of states. The candidates are effectively tied in the seven battleground states likely to decide the election, according to polling averages compiled by the New York Times.

“The US Presidential debate achieved its goal by providing a decisive edge to one of the candidates in what has been an exceptionally close race,” said Charu Chanana, Head of FX Strategy and Global Market Strategist at Saxo. “Crypto and energy stocks might face headwinds as market sentiment adjusts to the shifting political dynamics.”

Mr. Trump has positioned himself as a pro-cryptocurrency candidate.

While it was hard to separate election-fueled moves from macroeconomic-driven action in the dollar, rates and stocks following Wednesday’s highly-awaited report on US consumer prices, investors pointed to several corners of the market where the debate appeared to have made an impact.

Investors hammered the shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, which have been popular among retail traders and sensitive to the former president’s chances of a win in the 2024 election. The stock fell by as much as 18% to a new post-IPO low of $15.30. Bitcoin was about flat on the day after slipping nearly 4%, while shares of some cryptocurrency-focused companies including crypto miner Riot Platforms also fell.

Stock of operators of correctional facilities, including GEO Group and CoreCivic, viewed as likely to benefit from tougher immigration policies, also slipped.

At the same time, US-listed shares of solar companies, seen as benefiting from a Harris win, rose. The Invesco Solar ETF, down about 25% for the year, jumped 5% on Wednesday.

Health insurer stocks including Humana and CVS Health were also down on Wednesday. Some analysts believe Ms. Harris’ push to lower drug prices may weigh on the sector.

TAXES AND TARIFFS
Mr. Trump has promised lower corporate taxes and a tougher stance on trade and tariffs. He has also said a strong dollar hurts the US, though some analysts believe his policies could spur inflation and eventually buoy the currency.

Ms. Harris last month outlined plans to raise the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, a proposal that some on Wall Street believe could hurt corporate profits.

Steve Chiavarone, senior portfolio manager at Federated Hermes, said a Harris presidency, seen as less likely to widen budget deficits through higher spending, could help support Treasury prices while also boosting large-cap growth and tech stocks.

US-focused policies such as tax cuts and tariffs in a Trump presidency could buoy small cap stocks and cyclical companies while hurting bonds, he said.

On Tuesday night, Ms. Harris attacked Mr. Trump’s intention to impose high tariffs on foreign goods — a proposal she has likened to a sales tax on the middle class — while touting her plan to offer tax benefits to families and small businesses.

The Chinese yuan, which had come under pressure in the US-China trade war during Trump’s term, edged up against the dollar on Wednesday.

Mr. Trump criticized Ms. Harris for the persistent inflation during the Biden administration’s term.

However, economic policies could be up in the air for a while longer.

“There wasn’t much substantive discussion of policy,” said Sonu Varghese, global macro strategist at Carson Group. “Neither candidate advocated for vastly different economic policies than currently in place. Ultimately, a lot of economic policies that we see implemented next year will depend on the makeup of the Senate and the House.”  — Reuters

LIMA — Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, who steered economic growth during the 1990s but was later jailed for human rights abuses stemming from a bloody war against Maoist rebels, died on Wednesday. He was aged 86.

Close colleagues visited him earlier in the day, reporting that he was in a critical condition.

“After a long battle with cancer, our father… has just departed to meet the Lord,” his daughter Keiko Fujimori wrote in a message on X, also signed by the former leader’s other children.

Mr. Fujimori, the son of Japanese immigrants, was the little-known chancellor of a farming university when elected to office in 1990. He quickly established himself as a cunning politician whose hands-on style produced results even as he angered critics for concentrating power.

He slayed hyperinflation that had thrown millions of Peruvians out of work, privatized dozens of state-run companies and slashed trade tariffs, setting the foundations for Peru to become, for a while, one of Latin America’s most stable economies.

Under his watch, the feared leader of the Maoist Shining Path, Abimael Guzman, was captured -— dealing a crucial blow to a movement that in the 1980s seemed close to toppling the Peruvian state. Mr. Guzman died in prison in September 2021.

But many Peruvians saw Mr. Fujimori as an autocrat after he used military tanks to shut down Congress in 1992, redrafting the constitution to his liking to push free-market reforms and tough anti-terrorism laws.

A slew of corruption scandals during his 10-year administration also turned public opinion against him.

Shortly after he won a third election in 2000 — amending the constitution to run – videos emerged of his top adviser and spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos doling out cash to bribe politicians. Fujimori fled to exile in Japan.

He resigned via fax from Tokyo and then unsuccessfully campaigned for a Japanese senatorial seat.

Mr. Montesinos was later captured in Venezuela and jailed, convicted by the hundreds of videos he recorded of himself handing out cash bribes to politicians and business and media executives.

The cases against Mr. Fujimori piled up — including accusations that he had ordered the use of death squads in his battle against Shining Path militants.

Mr. Fujimori was safe in Japan — he was a dual citizen and Japan does not extradite its citizens. So many were shocked when in 2005 he decided to head back to Peru, apparently in hopes of forgiveness and a return to politics.

Instead, he was detained during a layover in Chile, extradited to Peru in 2007, and in 2009 he was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

‘FUJI-SHOCK’
Once jailed, Mr. Fujimori’s public appearances were limited to hospital visits where he often appeared disheveled and unwell.

While detractors dismissed his health complaints as a ploy to get out of prison, then-president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski briefly pardoned Mr. Fujimori in 2017.

Months later Mr. Kuczynski was impeached and the pardon overturned by Peru’s top constitutional court, sending Mr. Fujimori back to the special prison that held him and no other inmates.

The court restored the pardon in December 2023, releasing the ailing Mr. Fujimori, who had suffered from stomach ulcers, hypertension and tongue cancer. In May 2024, Mr. Fujimori announced he had been diagnosed with a malignant tumor.

Mr. Fujimori’s legacy has been most passionately defended by his daughter Keiko, who has been close to clinching the presidency herself three times on a platform that has included pardoning her father and defending his constitution.

Outside Mr. Fujimori’s residence on Wednesday evening supporters gathered to mourn and pray.

“Today, I weep for a leader,” Fujimori backer Cesar Valverde said. “He should have been president again; we were working for Alberto Fujimori to be president again, but God has taken him.”

Keiko had said in July that her father planned to run for the presidency again in the 2026 election.

The late Mr. Fujimori was born in Lima on Peruvian Independence Day, July 28, 1938.

A mathematician and agricultural engineer, Mr. Fujimori was a political nobody when he decided to run for the presidency, driving a tractor to his campaign rallies. He surprised the world by defeating renowned writer Mario Vargas Llosa in the 1990 election, with heavy support from the left.

He touted himself as an alternative to the country’s white elite and gained crucial support from Peru’s large Indigenous and mixed-race populations.

As Peru battled what was among the world’s worst hyperinflation, Mr. Fujimori promised not to carry out drastic measures to tame it.

But on his second week in office he suddenly lifted the subsidies that kept food essentials affordable, in what became known as the “Fuji-shock.”

“May God help us,” Mr. Fujimori’s finance minister said on TV after announcing the measure. Inflation worsened in the short-term but the bet paid off, eventually stabilizing the economy after more than a decade of crisis.

Even as support for him started to wane, Mr. Fujimori pulled off audacious stunts in his second term.

In 1997, he devised a plan to dig tunnels under the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Lima to end a four-month hostage crisis after another insurgency, the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, took 500 people captive for 126 days.

In a surprise attack, Mr. Fujimori sent in more than 100 commandos in a raid that killed all 14 insurgents.

Only two commandos and one of the remaining 72 hostages died. Television footage showed Mr. Fujimori calmly stepping over the corpses of the insurgents after the raid.

Mr. Fujimori was married twice. A public falling-out with his first wife Susana Higuchi while he was president led him to name daughter Keiko as the first lady. The couple had three other children, including Kenji Fujimori, also a politician. — Reuters