US News  

Exxon Mobil's management will face a big challenge over its climate change policies at an annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday as activists contest the election of one-third of the company's board. Analysts who follow the company said they could not recall an election in which board candidates nominated by Exxon had lost. A defeat for even one of its nominees would be a rebuke to Darren W Woods, Exxon's chairman and chief executive.  

China's Xiaomi said on Wednesday a US court has removed the company's designation as a Communist Chinese Military Company (CCMC) and lifted all restrictions on US persons buying or holding its stock. "The US District Court for the District of Columbia issued a final order vacating the US Department of Defense's designation of the company as a CCMC," the smartphone maker said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse. It said the order was made on Tuesday.  

Gold prices held firm near a 4-1/2-month high on Wednesday as a drop in US Treasury yields and a weaker dollar supported the safe-haven metal. Spot gold was steady at US$1,899.11 per ounce by 12.41am GMT, after hitting its highest since Jan 8 at US$1,899.11 on Tuesday. US gold futures edged 0.1 percent higher to US$1,899.60 per ounce.  

Oil prices settled higher on Wednesday as a drop in US crude stockpiles reinforced expectations of improving demand ahead of the peak summer driving season, offsetting worries that a possible return of Iranian supply would cause a glut. Brent settled up 16 cents, or 0.3 percent, to US$68.87 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled up 14 cents, or 0.2 percent, at US$66.21 a barrel.  

Wall Street bank chiefs will tout the role their institutions have played in getting the pandemic-hit US economy back on track when they appear before Congress this week, but are likely to face tough questions on hot-button social and economic issues.

Goldman Sachs Group received approval from Chinese regulators to set up a wealth management joint venture in the world's second-largest economy to go after an asset pool it estimated will surpass US$70 trillion by the end of this decade. Goldman Sachs Asset Management will hold 51 percent in the venture, while the wealth arm of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's largest bank by assets, will own the remainder, the firms said on Tuesday.

Amazon Inc said on Wednesday it is buying MGM, the fabled US movie studio home to the James Bond franchise, for US$8.45 billion, giving it a huge library of films and TV shows and ramping up competition with streaming rivals led by Netflix and Disney+.

Source: SGX Masnet, The Business Times, Bloomberg, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, CNBC, PSR