Author: DispatchTimes News Desk

The yen carry trade is coming under pressure as Japan’s currency climbs to a seven-month high and investors brace for the possibility of further interest-rate increases from the Bank of Japan. The strategy has been a major feature of global markets for years, allowing investors to borrow yen at relatively low cost and put the money into assets denominated in currencies offering higher returns. How the yen carry trade works In a typical transaction, an investor borrows yen and exchanges it for a higher-yielding currency such as the US dollar, Mexican peso or New Zealand dollar. The funds may then…

Selena Gomez has sold her former Encino mansion for $5.4 million, completing the deal several months after putting the Los Angeles property on the market. The singer and actress listed the six-bedroom estate in May for $6.49 million, meaning it changed hands for about $1.1 million below the original asking price. Gomez bought the home for $4.89 million in 2020, before her relationship with music producer Benny Blanco. ([realtor.com](https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/selena-gomez-encino-home-sale-benny-blanco-marriage/?utm_source=openai)) The 11,500 sq ft property was previously owned by rock star Tom Petty, who had it built in 1989. He sold the home in 2017, only months before his death aged…

Liverpool are monitoring Roma midfielder Manu Koné as a potential future transfer target, according to David Ornstein, after the France international came close to joining Chelsea during the summer. Koné was understood to be high on Chelsea’s list before the west London club switched their attention to Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara. That proposed move ultimately failed to materialise, while Liverpool have also been linked with Camara. Liverpool transfer interest in Manu Koné Ornstein told The Athletic that Liverpool’s interest in Koné was more established than the club’s reported pursuit of Camara, although neither player appears to be the subject of…

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed to a fraction of its normal level as US sanctions and a naval blockade increase pressure on Iran, while talks aimed at ending the war remain stalled. Only a small number of vessels have been recorded passing through the vital waterway, which links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. The stand-off has left commercial operators facing heightened security risks and uncertainty over whether ships can transit safely. Shipping data reviewed on April 27 showed at least seven vessels, mainly dry bulk carriers, had crossed the strait in the previous 24…

Blanche d’Alpuget, the acclaimed Australian writer and widow of former prime minister Bob Hawke, has died aged 82 after complications from influenza, her family has announced. Her death was confirmed on Wednesday, 9 September 2026, after she died the previous day. Her family said she had written and lived entirely on her own terms. “We will miss her force, her humour, her curiosity and her love beyond measure,” the family said. D’Alpuget also left a final message for her loved ones, which they shared after her death: “Our highest calling and greatest achievement is love, the rule of life. Love…

An Australian woman accused of slavery offences linked to Islamic State has been refused bail for a second time, after a court found she remained an unacceptable risk to the community because of concerns over her extremist beliefs. Zeinab Ahmad, 31, was arrested after returning to Melbourne in May from a Syrian detention camp with family members of former Islamic State fighters. She is charged with enslavement and using a slave in relation to a Yazidi teenager allegedly held by her family in Syria. The Victorian Court of Appeal upheld an earlier decision to keep her in custody. Justice James…

Stefany Shaheen has won the Democratic primary for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, overcoming Maura Sullivan and several other rivals to keep her family’s political presence at the centre of the state’s electoral map. Shaheen, the eldest daughter of Democratic senator Jeanne Shaheen, will now face Republican Anthony DiLorenzo in November for the seat being vacated by Congressman Chris Pappas, who is running for the Senate. The district is expected to be closely fought. Kamala Harris carried it by only two percentage points in the 2024 presidential election, making the contest one of the more competitive House races in New…

A $1,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest in the unsolved murder of 23-year-old John Austin Schuoler in Kirkland, Washington, nearly 20 years after he was killed. Schuoler was found dead in his apartment on 15 September 2006. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that he had died from blunt-force trauma, and no one has been charged in connection with the case. According to investigators, Schuoler spent the previous day off work meeting a friend for lunch, shopping in nearby Bellevue and returning home at about 7pm. Friends and his flatmate were at the apartment…

The Melbourne Cricket Ground has been transformed for the NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia, with the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers set to meet before a sell-out crowd on Friday, September 11. The AFL and cricket venue now carries the full American football layout, including yard lines, hash marks, numbers, goalposts, painted end zones and team logos. The match will kick off at 10.35am local time, with the NFL expecting about 100,000 spectators at the MCG. ([nfl.com](https://www.nfl.com/international/games/melbourne/?utm_source=openai)) The field has not been positioned perfectly centrally because both teams wanted to use the existing AFL coaches’ boxes at…

Brent crude moved towards $100 a barrel on Wednesday, 9 September, as renewed fighting in the Middle East heightened fears of further disruption to oil supplies. The rise unsettled Asian markets, although the yen strengthened against the dollar in defiance of the usual relationship between higher energy prices and Japan’s import-dependent economy. Brent futures rose by more than $1 in early trading to around $99 a barrel, having briefly reached $99.46 on Tuesday before settling at $97.92. Prices have climbed sharply since the start of August as hopes of a lasting resolution to the six-month-old conflict have faded. The latest…