Business

McKinsey to shed 2,000 jobs: report

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Global consulting giant McKinsey plans to let go 2,000 of its employees, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday. The round of layoffs would be one of the company’s biggest ever, according to Bloomberg, which said the firm had increased headcount from 28,000 to 45,000 over the past five years. Citing anonymous sources, Bloomberg said the number of employees affected could still change, and are expected to primarily target administrative staff who […]

US Supreme Court treads carefully on landmark tech law

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a landmark case that could transform the internet by scrapping decades-old legal protections for tech companies, but gave no indication that a clear majority would opt to rework the law. In a two-and-a-half-hour session, the nine justices targeted their questions on better understanding the so-called Section 230, a US law that was signed in 1996 at the dawn of the internet era and before the creation […]

Canada inflation continues to cool to 5.9%

Ottawa, Canada | AFP | Tuesday 2/21/2023  Canadians paid 5.9 percent more for goods and services in January than a year earlier, as costs continued sliding from last year’s high, the government statistical agency said Tuesday. Prices for cellular services and passenger vehicles led the deceleration, according to Statistics Canada, while mortgage costs and food prices continued to rise. The inflation rate beat analyst expectations, after ending 2022 at 6.3 percent. The surprise lower rate […]

Dubai airport sees surge in arrivals bolstered by Russian influx

Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | Tuesday 2/21/2023  Dubai’s airport welcomed 66 million passengers in 2022, more than double the previous year, it said Tuesday, a spike its chief executive attributed to “huge growth” in Russian travellers. The main business hub of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates is home to one of the world’s busiest airports. The airport “welcomed a total of 66,069,981 passengers during 2022”, representing year-on-year growth of 127 percent, according to […]

Chinese tech billionaire goes missing: company

Beijing, China | AFP | Friday 2/17/2023 The Chinese billionaire chairman of investment bank China Renaissance has gone missing, the firm said, as shares in the company plunged in Hong Kong on Friday. Bao Fan, who is also executive director of the bank, is a major figure in the Chinese tech industry and has played a key role in the emergence of various domestic internet startups. “The company has been unable to contact Mr Bao,” […]

Chinese tech billionaire goes missing: company

Beijing, China (AFP) — The Chinese billionaire chairman of investment bank China Renaissance has gone missing, the firm said, as shares in the company plunged in Hong Kong on Friday. Bao Fan, who is also executive director of the bank, is a major figure in the Chinese tech industry and has played a key role in the emergence of various domestic internet startups. “The company has been unable to contact Mr Bao,” China Renaissance said […]

German airport websites hit by cyberattacks

Berlin, Germany | AFP | Thursday 2/16/2023 Several German airports said on Thursday their websites were down due to suspected cyberattacks, the latest instance of online sabotage in the country. Airports in Duesseldorf, Nuremberg and Dortmund said they were affected, while at least two others were reported to have been hit. German news outlet Der Spiegel said a group of Russian hackers had claimed responsibility for the attack, although there was no comment from authorities […]

Commerzbank profits jump before return to German stock elite

Frankfurt, Germany | AFP | Thursday 2/16/2023 Germany’s second-largest lender Commerzbank said Thursday its net profit tripled in 2022 as the bank prepares for reentry into the Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s blue-chip DAX index. The group said it made a bottom-line profit of 1.44 billion euros ($1.54 billion) in 2022, up from 430 million euros the previous year. The result showed Commerzbank’s “turnaround is a success” after years of poor performance and restructuring efforts, CEO Manfred […]

Bankrupt Sri Lanka hikes power prices again for IMF deal

Colombo, Sri Lanka | AFP | Thursday 2/16/2023 Sri Lanka’s electricity board hiked consumer rates by up to 275 percent, officials said Thursday, the second steep increase in months as the bankrupt island nation works to secure an IMF bailout. An unprecedented financial crisis last year saw Sri Lanka’s 22 million people suffer through months of food and fuel shortages, along with lengthy power cuts. The government defaulted on its $46 billion foreign debt and […]

Renault boosts profitability but Russia exit pushes it into loss

Boulogne-Billancourt, France | AFP | Thursday 2/16/2023 French automaker Renault said Thursday it boosted manufacturing profitability in 2022 but the sale of its operations in Russia pushed the company into a net loss. Renault expanded its operating profit margin to 5.6 percent of sales in 2022 and aims to increase it to at least 6.0 percent this year. Meanwhile sales rose by 11.4 percent to 46.4 billion euros ($49.7 billion). “2022 has more than kept […]

Tech firm ASML probes info leak in China

  The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | Key Dutch semiconductor tech supplier ASML said Wednesday it was probing the embezzlement of confidential information about protected technology by a former employee in China. ASML, which is one of the world’s leading makers of machines that help make microchips, however added that the leak was “not material” to its business. “ASML recently discovered misappropriation of confidential information by a (now) former employee in China relating to its […]

Inflation nibbles at Nestle margins

Zurich, Switzerland (AFP) — Swiss food giant Nestle said on Thursday sales rose last year but inflation nibbled at its margins, while net profits plunged due to asset disposals in 2021. Sales rose by 8.4 percent to 94.4 billion Swiss francs (95.5 billion euros, $102.3 billion). However most of that was due to the company hiking prices. Nestle, which makes Nespresso capsules, Maggi soups and KitKat chocolate bars, estimated its real internal growth to be […]