Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
WASHINGTON, Dec 14, 2023 (AFP) – US regulators have identified the use of artificial intelligence as a vulnerability in the financial system for the first time, according to a report released on Thursday. There is a need to monitor “rapid developments in AI, including generative AI, to ensure that oversight structures keep up with or stay ahead of emerging risks to the financial system,” said the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) in its annual report. […]
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 […]
PARIS, Nov 30, 2023 (AFP) – Zurich and Singapore are the most expensive cities in the world ahead of New York amid the ever-rising cost of living, according to rankings published Thursday by The Economist magazine. The British weekly estimated that prices have increased an average of 7.4 percent over the past year in 173 major cities, a slight slowdown compared to a record 8.1 percent inflation in 2022. “The cost of living crisis is […]
PARIS, Nov 29, 2023 (AFP) – The world economy is likely headed for a soft landing next year, the OECD said Wednesday as it pared back its growth forecast, but warned the Israel-Hamas conflict could throw a spanner in the works. In its latest economic outlook, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development trimmed its forecast for global growth this year to 2.9 percent, down from the 3.0 percent it forecast in September. The grouping […]
VIENNA, Nov 22, 2023 (AFP) – The ministerial meeting of the OPEC+ alliance originally scheduled for Sunday in Vienna has been rescheduled to Thursday, the Vienna-based Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced in a statement on Wednesday. The 13 OPEC members led by Saudi Arabia and their ten partners led by Russia were due to decide on their output policy amid slumping crude prices. The OPEC+ announcement caused global crude prices to shed […]
By Frankie TAGGART WASHINGTON, Nov 14, 2023 (AFP) – US lawmakers on Tuesday approved a stop-gap bill to keep the government open as its funding runs out, greatly reducing the threat of a painful shutdown that would leave government workers without pay over Thanksgiving and Congress unable to address urgent crises in Ukraine and Israel. With the US Capitol paralyzed by infighting for much of its latest session, neither the Democratic-led Senate nor the Republican […]
By Tomohiro OSAKI TOKYO, Nov 15, 2023 (AFP) – Japan’s economy contracted by a worse-than-expected 0.5 percent in the third quarter, government data showed Wednesday, in a further blow to struggling Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The shrinking of the world’s number three economy, following two consecutive quarters of growth, was worse than the market consensus of a 0.1 percent contraction. Private demand, including private residential and corporate investment, was down 0.6 percent. Exports grew just […]
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 14, 2023 (AFP) – President Joe Biden’s administration signaled Monday it would postpone a draft of an Asia trade pact that had been set to be unveiled at a summit in San Francisco, after facing domestic criticism. Biden, welcoming 20 other members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to San Francisco where he will meet on the sidelines with Chinese President Xi Jinping, had been expected to announce substantial progress on […]
BEIJING, Nov 11, 2023 (AFP) – China’s annual “Singles Day” sales bonanza wraps up at midnight on Saturday, but consumers this year appear largely unswayed by its flashy deals and discounts as the world’s second-largest economy slows. Conceived by tech giant Alibaba, “Singles Day” — which this year spanned well over a week — was launched in 2009 and has since ballooned into a yearly blockbuster retail period. Sales for last year’s Singles Day reached […]
TOKYO, Nov 10, 2023 (AFP) – Japan’s government said on Friday that it plans to spend 2 trillion yen ($13 billion) to boost domestic production of strategically important semiconductors and generative AI technology. The planned outlays will include 700 billion yen ($4.6 billion) to support the construction of a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plant in Kumamoto, the firm’s second plant in the southern Japanese region, trade ministry official Motoki Kurita told AFP. TSMC controls […]
By Roland JACKSON LONDON, Nov 10, 2023 (AFP) – Britain’s economy stagnated in the third quarter, official data showed Friday, weighed down by elevated inflation and interest-rate hikes. Gross domestic product showed no growth in the July-September period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement. That beat market expectations for a contraction of 0.2 percent, but followed 0.2-percent expansion in the second quarter. The data comes one week after the Bank of […]
