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TOKYO, Dec 13, 2023 (AFP) – Confidence among Japan’s largest manufacturers has risen for a third straight quarter, a key survey showed Wednesday. The Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey showed business confidence rising to a reading of plus 12, up from plus nine three months earlier. The poll reports the difference between the percentage of firms that are upbeat and those not, with a positive figure meaning more businesses feel optimistic. The headline figure — […]
By Fran BLANDY BUENOS AIRES, Dec 13, 2023 (AFP) – Argentina devalued its currency by more than 50 percent Tuesday in a set of “shock” measures aimed at reviving a crumbling economy and tackling triple-digit inflation. The government of President Javier Milei, a libertarian who swept from obscurity to the top office vowing to chainsaw spending, also announced cuts to generous state subsidies and a halt to all new public construction projects. In a pre-recorded […]
JAKARTA, Dec 11, 2023 (AFP) – Chinese-owned short video app TikTok on Monday announced a $1.5 billion investment in GoTo group in a deal that would allow it to restart its online shop in Indonesia, the companies said in a statement. Under the deal, TikTok Shop will be merged into GoTo’s Tokopedia, and TikTok will have a controlling stake in that entity. “TikTok has committed to invest over US$1.5 billion in the enlarged entity over […]
WASHINGTON, Dec 11, 2023 (AFP) – A group of investors have offered to buy US department store giant Macy’s for $5.8 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Arkhouse Management, a firm specializing in real estate investments, and asset manager Brigade Capital Management submitted a proposal to acquire the company’s remaining stock for $21 per share, the financial daily reported, citing “people familiar with the matter.” Macy’s shares were trading for $17.39 per share as […]
NEW YORK, Dec 7, 2023 (AFP) – US oil prices finished below $70 a barrel for the first time since July on Wednesday on a mixed day for global equities, as traders pondered hopes for interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve. West Texas Intermediate oil for delivery in January fell 4.1 percent to finish at $69.38 a barrel. The drop came as markets eyed signs of weakening demand […]
By Peter CATTERALL BEIJING, Dec 7, 2023 (AFP) – EU President Ursula von der Leyen told Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday that the bloc and its biggest trading partner must address their differences, as they began the first in-person EU-China summit in over four years. China and the EU have ramped up diplomatic engagement this year in an attempt to steer post-pandemic recovery and repair damaged ties, with a number of its commissioners visiting […]
BEIJING, Dec 6, 2023 (AFP) – China began commercial operations of the world’s first next-generation, gas-cooled nuclear reactor power plant, state media reported Wednesday. The Shidao Bay plant in eastern Shandong province is powered by two high-temperature reactors cooled by gas rather than pressurised water, according to state news agency Xinhua, making it more efficient and cost-effective. Conventional reactors produce electricity from nuclear energy. However, these advanced models — known as small modular reactors, or […]
NEW YORK, Dec 7, 2023 (AFP) – McDonald’s announced an aggressive expansion roadmap Wednesday to reach 50,000 restaurants worldwide by 2027, as the chain unveiled plans to roll out CosMc’s, a new network of small-format shops focused on cold beverages. The fast-food behemoth, which had 40,275 restaurants at the end of 2022, will seek to effectively grow its network of namesake sites by about one quarter in what it called the speediest expansion in the […]
WELLINGTON, Dec 7, 2023 (AFP) – Japanese car giant Nissan warned customers Thursday that its operations in Australia and New Zealand had been hit by a “cyber incident”. Nissan said it had notified the national cyber security centres in both countries, while the company’s global response team assessed the scale of the attack. It was unclear whether any personal information had been accessed, the company said in a statement. “While the extent of the incident […]
SEOUL, Dec 6, 2023 (AFP) – US-based live gaming streaming platform Twitch said Wednesday that it would stop its service in South Korea in February because of “seriously” high network costs. In a statement signed by CEO Dan Clancy, the Amazon-owned company said it had reached a stage where continued operation in the country had become “impossible”. It blamed Seoul’s network usage fees for the decision, saying costs were “10 times higher compared to the […]
SEOUL, Dec 6, 2023 (AFP) – All members of the megastar girl group BLACKPINK renewed their contracts with YG Entertainment on Wednesday, the company said, ending speculation around their future and driving up shares in the leading K-pop label by over 20 percent. Rumours surrounding BLACKPINK — one of K-pop’s most successful girl groups — and their potential future plans have abounded since the quartet’s original contracts expired in August, with local reports even claiming […]
By Andrew MARSZAL LOS ANGELES, Dec 6, 2023 (AFP) – Hollywood actors overwhelmingly ratified a new, hard-fought deal with studios on Tuesday that paves the way for a rebound of an entertainment industry that had seen film and television production come to a halt during a months-long strike. The Screen Actors Guild, known as SAG-AFTRA, said 78 percent of members who voted approved the multiyear contract. “This is a golden age for SAG-AFTRA, and our […]
