LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s public sector net debt surpassed 100% of gross domestic product in May as borrowing came in higher than expected, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. Public sector net debt, excluding that of state-controlled banks, hit 2.567 trillion pounds ($3.28 trillion), equivalent to 100.1% of gross domestic product. That represented…
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese regulators in financial hub Shanghai summoned three firms including Starbucks and Shake Shack earlier this week for collecting excessive personal information, the city’s cyberspace regulator said on Wednesday. The regulators urged these firms to comprehensively rectify, protect personal information and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, Shanghai’s cyberspace regulator…
LONDON (Reuters) – Automakers are rushing to lock in graphite supply from outside dominant producer China as mined graphite demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries outpaces other uses. Below are details of some Western companies producing, or planning to produce graphite, and their deals with auto makers and battery producers. NEXTSOURCE MATERIALS INC Launched its…
By Eric Onstad LONDON (Reuters) – Automakers, including Tesla and Mercedes, are rushing to lock in graphite supply from outside dominant producer China, as demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries outpaces other uses for the mineral for the first time due to soaring EV sales. Auto firms have been slow to plan for graphite shortages,…
By Lewis Jackson SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia’s most populous state will be ready for 100% renewable energy within a decade under a A$16.5 billion ($11.20 billion) infrastructure investment plan announced by a major grid operator on Wednesday. Transgrid, privatised in 2015, will invest in batteries and other energy storage, as well as 2,500 kilometers (1,553.4 miles)…
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom Westbrook British inflation figures this morning could take traders’ minds off England’s cricket defeat, should they show the slowdown that economists are hoping for. Reuters’ poll shows expectations that headline month-on-month CPI eases to 0.5% in May from 1.2% a month earlier,…
By Kanjyik Ghosh and Lavanya Sushil Ahire (Reuters) -Disney’s chief diversity officer and senior vice president, Latondra Newton, is leaving her role after more than six years, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Newton plans to join the corporate board of another company and focus on the creative company she owns,…
SEOUL (Reuters) -YouTube will launch its first official shopping channel for live commerce in South Korea on June 30, Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday. South Korea already has a booming live-streaming commerce business led by tech giant Naver, making it a prime test market for the global heavyweight as the Alphabet-owned company focuses on…
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A technology research and development team at China’s Ant Group is developing its own large-language model (LLM), internally called Zhenyi, a spokesperson said on Wednesday, confirming reports in Chinese media. There was no further information on the public unveiling of the model, however. Chinese organisations have launched 79 large-language models (LLMs) dometically…
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – The world’s biggest iron ore miner Rio Tinto said on Wednesday that it had reopened a rail line at its Western Australian operations after a train carrying iron ore near the port of Dampier derailed at the weekend. The line will remain subject to speed restrictions while a clean up of the…
