By Elizabeth Pineau, Gilles Guillaume and Michel Rose PARIS – For French President Emmanuel Macron, it was a light-bulb moment. In an ornate ballroom at the Palace of Versailles last July, the head of Taiwan’s ProLogium took out a pair of scissors and cut one of its solid-state batteries the size of a credit card…
By Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden on Saturday signed a bill that suspends the U.S. government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, averting what would have been a first-ever default with just two days to spare. The House of Representatives and the Senate passed the legislation this week after Biden and House of Representatives Speaker…
By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A federal judge has ruled that Tennessee’s law restricting drag performances in public or where children were present was unconstitutional, striking a blow to efforts in U.S. states to regulate LGBTQ conduct. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee in February had signed the bill passed by the state’s assembly that aimed…
By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) – Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday signed a bill that bans transgender healthcare including puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors, making Texas the largest of the 20 states to have outlawed gender-affirming care. Republican lawmakers across the country have promoted similar bills, saying they mistrust the consensus among major…
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s services activity picked up in May, a private-sector survey showed on Monday, as a rise in new orders shored up a consumption-led economic recovery in the second quarter. The Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 57.1 in May from 56.4 in April. The 50-point mark separates expansion from…
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei share average closed at its highest in 33 years on Monday as gains on Wall Street lifted risk appetite, while investors kept betting on domestic equities on expectations the Bank of Japan would retain its ultra-loose policy. The Nikkei index jumped 2.2% to end at 32,217.43, its highest close since…
By Joe Cash BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s imports are expected to have contracted in May, despite a low base last year as a lockdown in Shanghai brought the country’s biggest port to a standstill, while exports likely fell for the first time in three months, a Reuters poll showed. Inbound shipments to the world’s second-largest…
(Reuters) – Diageo Plc, the world’s biggest spirits company, on Monday said CEO-designate Debra Crew will assume the top role on an interim basis immediately as Ivan Menezes undergoes medical treatment. Long-time boss Menezes, who was set to retire at the end of this month, is in hospital receiving treatment for conditions including a stomach…
SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Chinese quant hedge fund managers are rushing to explore ChatGPT-style tools, embracing the emerging AI technology that has sparked a global frenzy since the release of the widely popular Microsoft-backed OpenAI chatbot. Quants’ focus on advanced artificial intelligence to aid decision-making comes amid a tough investment environment, as China’s post-COVID recovery wanes…
(This June 4 story has been refiled to fix Move Forward leader’s name to ‘Pita’ on second reference in paragraph 5) By Jiraporn Kuhakan BANGKOK (Reuters) – The frontrunner to be Thailand’s next prime minister joined a Pride parade in Bangkok on Sunday, promising to pass a law that would allow same-sex marriage and gender…
