Business

Pres. Biden to visit striking US auto workers Tuesday

WASHINGTON, Sept 22, 2023 (AFP) – President Joe Biden announced Friday he will travel to the US state of Michigan next week to show support for striking auto workers, a visit coming on the eve of a similar trip by his right-wing 2024 election challenger Donald Trump. “Tuesday, I’ll go to Michigan to join the picket line and stand in solidarity with the men and women of (United Auto Workers) as they fight for a […]

US auto workers union expands strike at General Motors, Stellantis

  NEW YORK, Sept 22, 2023 (AFP) – The US auto workers union expanded a potentially economically and politically damaging strike against two of Detroit’s “Big Three” Friday — and invited President Joe Biden to support workers on the picket line. UAW President Shawn Fain announced a strike of all 38 US parts and distribution centers at General Motors and Stellantis, where negotiations are stalled. Fain did not expand the stoppage at Ford, where there […]

Tokyo Game Show back with a bang

TOKYO, Sept 22, 2023 (AFP) – The Tokyo Game Show is back in full swing after the pandemic, one of the sector’s biggest trade fairs with 200,000 visitors expected over four days. AFP looks at the main trends at this year’s event, which throws its doors open to the public this weekend in a huge convention centre in Chiba, outside Tokyo. – Mobiles to PCs – Mobile games account for 60 percent of sales in […]

JPEX crypto exchange scam exposes regulatory gaps in Hong Kong crypto market

HONG KONG, Sept 22, 2023 (AFP) – Crypto investor Jenny first learned about digital assets at a Hong Kong store that promoted cryptocurrency exchange JPEX in March — but by September she was among more than 2,000 “inexperienced” victims police said the platform had defrauded. “Many of my classmates and friends went all in with our investments,” Jenny — not her real name — who lost “six figures” in Hong Kong dollars, told reporters. “We […]

China to control half the world’s hydrogen electrolyser capacity

PARIS, Sept 22, 2023 (AFP) – By the end of 2023, China will control half the world’s installed capacity of electrolysers for producing low-carbon hydrogen amid a slowdown in new projects due to inflation, according to an International Energy Agency report released Friday. “After a slow start, China has taken the lead on electrolyser deployment,” the IEA report on hydrogen said. China’s installed electrolyser capacity has jumped significantly in recent years, and is expected to […]

Bank of Japan maintains easy money policy

TOKYO, Sept 22, 2023 (AFP) – The Bank of Japan stuck to its ultra-loose monetary policy Friday, though officials face increasing pressure to turn more hawkish as the yen weakens and after fresh data showed inflation remained stubbornly high. While most other major central banks have pressed ahead with a campaign of interest rate hikes in a bid to tame prices, the BoJ has refused to shift from its long-term programme of sub-zero borrowing costs […]

Rupert Murdoch hands leadership of media empire to son Lachlan

NEW YORK, Sept 21, 2023 (AFP) – Rupert Murdoch will step down as chairman of his media empire, a conservative behemoth that helped shape politics around the world, and hand control to his son Lachlan, Fox Corp. and News Corp. announced Thursday. The Australian-born 92-year-old, who built a global entertainment and news juggernaut that shaped events from Brexit to the rise of Donald Trump, will shift into an emeritus status at both companies in mid-November, […]

Russia curbs fuel exports to avoid shortages

MOSCOW, Sept 21, 2023 (AFP) – Russia’s government announced Thursday it was temporarily limiting exports of petrol and diesel fuel to avoid shortages on the domestic market. The exchange price of domestic petrol soared to a record high this week, in part due to a weaker ruble, rising global oil prices and repair work at refineries curbing supplies. The announcement comes weeks after Moscow decided to extend a voluntary cut of oil exports until the […]

China appeals WTO ruling over its retaliatory tariffs on US imports

GENEVA, Sept 19, 2023 (AFP) – China has appealed a World Trade Organization ruling faulting it over tariffs it has imposed on billions worth of US imports in retaliation for Washington’s steel and aluminium duties. The chair of WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body informed diplomats Tuesday that China had notified its decision to appeal a ruling last month by a panel of experts finding its extra tariffs violated international trade rules, a Geneva-based trade official said. […]

California sues oil giants, alleging climate risks deception: NYT

LOS ANGELES, Sept 16, 2023 (AFP) – The US state of California sued five of the world’s largest oil companies on Friday, alleging the firms caused billions of dollars in damages and misled the public by minimizing the risks from fossil fuels, The New York Times reported. It follows numerous other cases brought by US cities, counties and states against fossil fuel interests over the impact of climate change as well as alleged disinformation campaigns […]

US auto workers’ union launches historic strike on Detroit’s ‘Big Three’

WAYNE, United States, Sept 15, 2023 (AFP) – The US auto workers’ union launched a targeted strike at three factories just after midnight on Friday, ordering simultaneous stoppages at Detroit’s “Big Three” for the first time. The dramatic walkout — marked outside a Detroit-area Ford plant with rowdy honking and cheers at the arrival of the United Auto Workers’ leader — came after a last-minute push by General Motors, Ford and Stellantis failed to produce […]

Former Starbucks CEO Schultz steps down from board

Starbucks said Wednesday its former chief executive Howard Schultz will step down from the coffee chain’s board of directors “as part of a planned transition.” Schultz, who ended his third stint as CEO in March, helped transform the brand from a small coffee shop into an international chain over the decades. “I look forward to supporting this next generation of leaders to steward Starbucks into the future as a customer, supporter and advocate in my […]