(Reuters) – China nudged banks this month to cut deposit interest rates further, seven people with knowledge of the matter said, in the latest effort to channel the country’s vast savings pool into spending and more productive investments. Members of China’s “interest rate self-regulatory mechanism,” mostly banks, met this month and were urged to reduce…
By Laura Sanicola (Reuters) – U.S. fuelmakers are expected to post higher first-quarter earnings in coming days on strong fuel exports and margins even as domestic diesel demand slumped during the period. Refiners have been riding a wave of favorable pricing and demand as pandemic-era closings boosted margins. Alternating periods of higher demand for products…
(Reuters) – Russian lender Sberbank said on Monday it had released technology called GigaChat as a rival to ChatGPT, initially in an invite-only testing mode, joining the artificial intelligence chatbot race. The release last year of ChatGPT, a chatbot from the Microsoft-backed startup OpenAI, has caused a sprint in the technology sector to put AI…
By Giuseppe Fonte ROME (Reuters) – Italy plans contested legislation that will make it easier for firms to hire workers on short-term contracts, as part of a set of measures aimed at boosting jobs and families’ purchasing power, including tax cuts for middle- and low- income workers. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has convened a cabinet…
By Hyunsu Yim SEOUL (Reuters) – Throngs of people have been milling seemingly aimlessly around the forecourt of a museum in central Seoul, brushing silently past each other with heads bent toward smartphones while fingers frantically tap screens – in the latest money-making trend. Walking 10,000 steps, completing tasks such as subscribing to social media,…
(Reuters) – A former prosecutor who led the Manhattan district attorney’s criminal probe into former U.S. President Donald Trump will go ahead with testimony in May before a congressional committee after an effort to block his appearance was dropped, the panel said on Friday. Former Manhattan prosecutor Mark Pomerantz will testify May 12, a spokesperson…
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate eased to 3.1% in the January to March period, improving for the eleventh consecutive quarter as economic activity continued to pick up, the government said on Monday. In the December to February period, the unemployment rate stood at 3.3%. “The labour market should improve further…
By Bart H. Meijer AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Philips shares jumped 13% on Monday as the Dutch health technology company reported much better than expected first-quarter results and said it had set aside 575 million euros ($631 million) related to lawsuits over its recall of respiratory devices. Amsterdam-based Philips has been grappling with the fallout of the…
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Citigroup’s Asia wealth revenue surged 20% in the first quarter of 2023, backed by investment gains, insurance revenue and a jump in new private banking clients, according to a company spokesperson. The wealth market in Asia has been undergoing a shakeup as some rich clients fled Credit Suisse amid a banker exodus…
By Kitiphong Thaichareon and Orathai Sriring BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s economy is still seen growing at 3.6% this year, driven by tourism and domestic consumption, the central bank chief said on Monday, in spite of turbulence in the first half of the year and global financial uncertainty. As the country’s economic recovery remains intact, there…
