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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia announced Saturday it had boosted stipends and benefits for citizens to cushion the impact of economic reforms including the kingdom’s first ever taxes after an oil price slump. Most working Saudi Arabians are employed by the state and, like nationals in other energy-flush Gulf monarchies, have long benefited from a generous welfare system. After the 2014 oil market crash, Saudi Arabia, as well as the neighbouring United Arab […]
by Leila MACOR Agence France-Presse MIAMI, United States (AFP) — A little known pharmaceutical company in Florida has found itself in the eye of a storm following disclosures it raised the price of an old drug used to fight brain tumors by 1,400 percent, from $50 a pill to more than $700. NextSource Biotechnology in 2013 bought the license for the drug Lomustine from Bristol-Myers Squibb, which sold a 100-milligram pill of the substance for […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index closed at a 26-year high for the second consecutive day on Friday as Wall Street continued a record-setting advance. The bellwether index, which hit its best level since January 1992 on the first trading day of 2018 Thursday, added another 0.89 percent, or 208.20 points, to close at 23,714.53. The broader Topix index was up 0.89 percent, or 16.52 points, at 1,880.34. World stock markets went on […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — US company Boardriders, which owns the Quicksilver brand, has signed an agreement to acquire Australian rival Billabong, merging two major names in sportswear, the firms announced. “The combination of Boardriders and Billabong will create the world’s leading action sports company,” Boardriders said in a statement. The two companies, which are well-established in the worlds of skiing, surfing and skateboarding, will together have 630 retail stores in 28 countries and […]
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany (AFP) — The world’s largest carmaker Volkswagen said Thursday it would work with Silicon Valley firm Aurora to create self-driving cars, hoping to deploy fleets of autonomous taxis to city streets by 2021. “With Aurora, VW gains access to an experienced and globally leading development team in software and hardware for driverless vehicles,” the Wolfsburg-based group said in a statement. Founded by former autonomous driving chiefs from Google, Tesla and Uber, […]
QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) — Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque clarified that other foreign companies can apply for the spot of third telecommunications player in the Philippines if talks with China do not succeed. “But as I said, if for any reason, China Telecoms or any company nominated by the Chinese government finds the 60-40 requirement in the Constitution to be unacceptable, then of course, that will give us now the option to offer it […]
by Roland Jackson and John Biers Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Wall Street stocks streaked to fresh records Wednesday, with petroleum-linked shares rallying as oil prices closed at their highest level since December 2014. All three major US indices jumped to new records. In Europe, bourses also rose but gains were tempered as new investment regulations rolled out across the region. US sentiment got a lift from a strong report by […]
by John Biers Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Automakers were on track Wednesday to report the first annual decline in US sales since the financial crisis, a dip offset by continued strength in the sales of trucks and other large vehicles. The three leaders in the US market — General Motors, Ford and Toyota — all reported modest declines Wednesday in annual sales compared with 2016, a record-setting year for the auto […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Tesla Motors on Wednesday again pushed back the time-frame for ramping up production of the closely-watched Model 3 vehicle, its sedan aimed at the middle market. The electric carmaker said it now expects to hit a Model 3 production level of 5,000 per week by the end of the second quarter instead of at the end of the first quarter. The first-quarter target was itself a prolongation of an […]
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Google moved 15.9 billion euros ($19.2 billion) to a Bermuda shell company in 2016, saving it billions of dollars in taxes that year, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, quoting regulatory filings in the Netherlands. Google uses two structures, known as a “Double Irish” and a “Dutch Sandwich”, to shield the majority of its international profits from taxation, Bloomberg reported. “The setup involves shifting revenue from one Irish subsidiary to a Dutch […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian equities continued their positive start to the year on Wednesday following more record closes on Wall Street, but the dollar faced further selling pressure. Analysts warned that global markets could face an uncertain year as Donald Trump’s tax cuts have already been priced into valuations, while central banks are on course to start winding back on years of cheap money. Investors have kicked off 2018 off in buoyant […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A music publisher is seeking at least $1.6 billion from Spotify for alleged copyright violations, the latest lawsuit to hit the fast-growing streaming company. Wixen Music Publishing, Inc. — which holds rights to songs of major artists including Neil Young, The Doors, Tom Petty and Santana — charged in a lawsuit that Spotify failed to seek licenses for significant parts of its 30 million-song catalog. “While Spotify has become […]
