CHENNAI — A group of Indian port workers’ unions has called for a strike from Aug. 28 to demand immediate settlement of pay revisions and pension benefits, according to a note signed by its members. A strike by India’s port workers could exacerbate the existing congestion issues at Asian and European …
your ad hereFed’s pandemic-era vow to prioritize employment may soon be tested
Washington — Four years after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made fighting unemployment a bigger priority during the COVID-19 pandemic, he faces a pivotal test of that commitment amid rising joblessness, mounting evidence inflation is under control, and a benchmark interest rate that is still the highest in a quarter of …
your ad hereWall Street week ahead — ‘Soft landing’ hopes are back to lift US stocks after recession scare
NEW YORK — Hopes for an economic soft landing are once again powering U.S. stocks higher, as encouraging data relieve recession worries following a brutal sell-off earlier this month. The S&P 500 .SPX has rebounded more than 6% since Aug. 5, when a steep drop pushed the benchmark U.S. index to …
your ad hereEswatini turns to nuclear technology to transform agriculture, health care, energy
Manzini, Eswatini — Eswatini has launched an initiative to achieve sustainable development by harnessing the power of nuclear technology in such sectors as agriculture, health and energy planning. The plan was developed with the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The aim of the Country Program Framework, or CPF, launched …
your ad hereHarris to roll out populist proposals in first economic speech
WASHINGTON — Kamala Harris is set to unveil plans for a federal ban on food and grocery “price gouging” and assistance of up to $25,000 in down payment support for first-time homeowners – populist proposals the vice president has embraced since becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. Harris is scheduled to …
your ad hereRestaurant with robot servers causes excitement in Nairobi
In Nairobi, a new restaurant is generating business and buzz – not just because of the food, but because of the staff. Robots serving dishes is the main attraction of diners who flock to the Robot Cafe. Juma Majanga reports. Camera: Jimmy Makhulo. …
your ad hereAfrica seeks digital solutions for better revenue collection
Google says Iranian group trying to hack US presidential campaigns
NEW YORK — Google said Wednesday that an Iranian group linked to the country’s Revolutionary Guard had tried to infiltrate the personal email accounts of roughly a dozen people linked to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump since May. The tech company’s threat intelligence arm said the group was …
your ad hereUS consumer inflation hits its lowest annual rate since 2021
Growing number of Chinese now call Japan home
Washington — Sun Lijun, a 42-year-old semiconductor engineer, says worries about the quality of air and living, childhood education and the overall economic trajectory in China are some of the reasons he and his wife first started talking about moving to Japan almost a decade ago. In 2021, they did just …
your ad hereAlleged leader of cybercriminals extradited to US
International Youth Day puts South Asia’s skills gap in sharp focus
Washington — South Asia’s youth bulge is a ticking time bomb. A demographic dividend looms, but millions of young people lack the job skills to cash in, choking the region’s economic potential. Almost half of South Asia’s population of 1.9 billion is under 24, the highest number of any region in …
your ad hereOcean could lie beneath Mars’ surface, study says
New Zealand to loosen gene editing regulation, make commercialization easier
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The New Zealand government said Tuesday that it would introduce new legislation to make it easier for companies and researchers to develop and commercialize products using gene technologies such as gene editing. Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins said in a statement that rules and time-consuming …
your ad hereUS officials to travel to China for economic meetings
Americans’ refusal to keep paying higher prices may be dealing a final blow to US inflation spike
Washington — The great inflation spike of the past three years is nearly spent — and economists credit American consumers for helping slay it. Some of America’s largest companies, from Amazon to Disney to Yum Brands, say their customers are increasingly seeking cheaper alternative products and services, searching for bargains or …
your ad hereChina test-flies biggest cargo drone as low-altitude economy takes off
beijing — Engineers sent China’s biggest-yet cargo drone on a test run over the weekend while a helicopter taxi took to the skies on a soon-to-open 100-km route to Shanghai, laying new milestones for the country’s expanding low-altitude economy. Packing a payload capacity of 2 metric tons, the twin-engine aircraft took off on Sunday …
your ad hereGlobal youth unemployment falls to 15-year low, but post-COVID recovery uneven
Geneva — Global youth unemployment rates fell to 13% in 2023, a 15-year low. But a new study by the International Labor Organization warns the post-COVID economic recovery is uneven, with some regions seeing an increase in the number of out-of-work young people. The ILO has issued its Global Employment Trends …
your ad hereWall St Week Ahead — Rollercoaster week in US stocks leaves investors braced for bumps ahead
New York — A week of wild market swings has investors looking ahead to inflation data, corporate earnings and presidential polls for signals that could soothe a recent outbreak of turbulence in U.S. stocks. Following months of placid trading, U.S. stock volatility has surged this month as a run of alarming …
your ad hereChinese tax collectors descend on companies as budget crunches loom
BEIJING — Chinese authorities are chasing unpaid taxes from companies and individuals dating back decades, as the government moves to plug massive budget shortfalls and address a mounting debt crisis. More than a dozen listed Chinese companies say they were slapped with millions of dollars in back taxes in a renewed …
your ad hereChina’s drivers fret as robotaxis pick up pace – and passengers
WUHAN, China — Liu Yi is among China’s 7 million ride-hailing drivers. A 36-year-old Wuhan resident, he started driving part-time this year when construction work slowed in the face of a nationwide glut of unsold apartments. Now he predicts another crisis as he stands next to his car watching neighbors order …
your ad hereUN approves its first treaty targeting cybercrime
United Nations — U.N. member states on Thursday approved a treaty targeting cybercrime, the body’s first such text, despite fierce opposition from human rights activists who have warned of potential surveillance dangers. After three years of negotiations and a final two-week session in New York, members approved the United Nations Convention …
your ad hereMicrosoft: Iran accelerating cyber activity in apparent bid to influence US election
NEW YORK — Iran is ramping up online activity that appears intended to influence the upcoming U.S. election, in one case targeting a presidential campaign with an email phishing attack, Microsoft said Friday. Iranian actors also have spent recent months creating fake news sites and impersonating activists, laying the groundwork to …
your ad hereUS stock markets rally; S&P 500 sees best day since 2022
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks rallied Thursday in Wall Street’s latest sharp swerve after a better-than-expected report on unemployment eased worries about a slowing economy. The S&P 500 jumped 2.3% for its best day since 2022 and shaved off all but 0.5% of its loss from what was a brutal start …
your ad hereWall Street bounces back from its biggest wipeout in almost 2 years
New York — Stocks closed higher on Wall Street as calm returned to the market a day after its biggest pullback in almost two years. The S&P 500 rose 1% Tuesday, breaking a brutal three-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite added 1%. Strong …
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