Business

Wall Street wary of progressive Democrats on the House finance committee

  Washington, United States | AFP | Sunday 1/20/2019 by Elodie CUZIN avec Luc OLINGA à New York Wall Street is bunkering down for a wave of intense scrutiny as a group of progressive Democrats, including social media star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have joined a powerful House of Representatives committee overseeing banking activities. “It’s a huge victory,” said Ocasio-Cortez, at 29 the youngest member of Congress and a self-described socialist — a word that shocks conservatives, who brandish it as a […]

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Has Davos made the world better?

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Sunday 1/20/2019 by Ben Simon Klaus Schwab, who founded the World Economic Forum (WEF), has said his childhood during World War II inspired him to build an organisation that would make the world a better place. His foundation, which hosts many of the world’s most powerful, famous and wealthy people at its annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, has clearly made an impact. But questions have grown about whether the organisation is […]

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Tesla announces 7 percent cut to workforce

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Elon Musk’s electric car manufacturer Tesla announced Friday it is cutting its workforce by about seven percent as it works to meet its timetable for producing the Model 3. Musk said in a blog post that Tesla is making the staff cut as it aims to reach more customers who can afford its vehicles. He said that currently Tesla’s most affordable offering is the mid-range (264 mile) Model 3 at […]

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China growth hit slowest pace in decades in 2018: AFP survey

by Lillian DING / Lianchao LAN Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in almost three decades in 2018, analysts in an AFP poll said, as the government struggles to contain ballooning debt and a bruising trade war with the United States. And in a sign of the battle Beijing faces in getting things back on track, the survey of 13 economists also forecast expansion in the […]

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Netflix shares slip as spending weighs on profits

by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Netflix shares swung lower Thursday as spending on original shows at the leading streaming television service weighed on quarterly revenue and competition heated up. Shares sank nearly four percent to $339.70 in after-market trades that followed release of earnings figures that showed the Silicon Valley company logged profit of $134 million on revenue of $4.2 billion in the final three months of last […]

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Asian markets boosted by fresh China-US trade hopes

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets rallied Friday as another broadly positive week drew to a close, with investors cheered by a report that the US was considering lifting tariffs on China as officials look to hammer out a trade deal. Optimism that the world’s top two economies are on course to reach a deal ending their long-running trade row has helped boost equities across the world this year. And while news that the […]

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Tesla recalls more than 14,000 cars in China over airbags

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Electric-vehicle maker Tesla will recall 14,123 cars in China over airbags that contained a part made by now-defunct Japanese manufacturer Takata, the Chinese market regulator announced on Friday. The US giant has already announced the recall of some Model S vehicles as part of a global industry-wide rooting out of parts made by Takata, which went bust in 2017 after its airbags were blamed for a number of deaths. The affected vehicles […]

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US officials consider lifting China tariffs: report

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US officials have considered lifting tariffs on Chinese imports to calm volatile stock markets and encourage Beijing to make concessions in current trade talks, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. American and Chinese trade officials have until March 1 to resolve their trade war, to prevent a sharp increase in punitive US duties on $200 billion in Chinese goods. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin raised the idea of revoking tariffs on […]

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India gives Volkswagen 24 hours to pay Dieselgate fine

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India’s environmental court Thursday threatened Volkswagen executives with arrest and gave the German automaker a day to pay $14 million for violating pollution norms by fudging emission tests. The “Dieselgate” scandal, which saw VW cheat emissions tests on millions of diesel vehicles, has already cost the firm over $30 billion in fines, recalls and compensation worldwide. India’s National Green Tribunal ruled in November VW must deposit a fine of 1.7 […]

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Microsoft pledges $500 mn to ease local housing crunch

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Microsoft on Wednesday pledged $500 million for loans and grants aimed at ramping up construction of affordable housing in the Puget Sound area of Washington state where the US technology giant has its home. “In recent years, our region hasn’t built enough housing for the people who live here,” Microsoft executives Amy Hood and Brad Smith said in a blog post. “We are committing $500 million as a company to […]

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Asian markets mixed as Huawei report offsets US earnings

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets were mixed Thursday as renewed concerns about China-US tensions overshadowed a positive lead from Wall Street following a better-than-expected round of corporate earnings. The pound extended gains against the dollar after Prime Minister Theresa May survived a no-confidence vote as she prepares to draw up new proposals to leave the European Union that is palatable to a majority of MPs. After a tumultuous December, global equities have enjoyed […]

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Tokyo stocks open higher on Wall St gain, lower yen

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday with investor sentiment buoyed by gains on Wall Street and a lower yen. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.52 percent or 105.36 points to 20,548.11 in early trade while the broader Topix index was up 0.56 percent or 8.54 points at 1,546.31. “Risk appetite picked up on rises in US shares, correcting excessive pessimism at the year-end,” said Mutsumi Kagawa, chief global strategist at […]

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