Economy / 4

Asian stocks start defensively, focus on coronavirus treatment, Jackson Hole

August 25, 2020

The theoretical network has been short the U.S dollar since mid-March. Shares of AstraZeneca rose on a Financial Times report that the US government was considering fast-tracking its experimental vaccine. A sharp dollar sell-off against the euro has paused, with the greenback getting a boost on Friday after data showed a recovery in US business conditions, while European data showed slowing improvement.

KFC to pause Finger Lickin' Good slogan worldwide •

August 25, 2020

However, they assure us that the menu isn't changing anything at the moment and the company notes that the slogan will be back at some point. Marketing has reached out to KFC Singapore for additional information. For South African customers, the slogan has been synonymous with the brand for 50 years, said Suhayl Limbada, marketing director at KFC South Africa.

Erdogan says Greece 'sowing chaos' in Mediterranean

August 25, 2020

Ankara claims the water, dotted with mostly Greek islands, is part of its continental shelf. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is due in Athens and Ankara on Tuesday to try and revive talks between senior Greek and Turkish officials, in an initiative that started in July but was broken off by Turkey weeks later.

Trump nominated for second term at 2020 Republican National Convention

August 25, 2020

Is any criticism of Donald Trump being allowed within the convention hall or within the party? By contrast, Democratic delegates voted last week via video link to avoid the spread of infection. Earlier, Trump's re-election campaign released a set of core priorities for a second term under the banner of "Fighting for You!" Only 336 of the over 2,000 total delegates were present in person in Charlotte, with the rest joining the convention via a videolink.

S&P 500 Index opens at fresh all-time highs above 3,420

August 24, 2020

At 12:34 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 255.47 points, or 0.91%, at 28,185.80, the S&P 500 .SPX was up 23.11 points, or 0.68%, at 3,420.27. On Sunday, there were less than 37,000 new confirmed cases, the data showed. "The most effective USA states have apparently managed to get this virus under control without having to resort to harsh lockdowns and more economic damage", said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank.

Belarus detains 2 from opposition Coordination Council

August 24, 2020

In a series of videos spun by Telegram channels on Sunday night, Lukashenko was first shown flying over Minsk, landing near the presidential palace, and then approaching to and addressing riot police officers with the words of praise for their support - met with massive applause.

Apple is first United States company worth over $2tn after stock rose 60%

August 24, 2020

Uber and Lyft have said they may suspend their ride-hailing operations in California as soon as Friday, escalating a high-stakes battle with their home state over how their drivers should be classified. Microsoft and Amazon for example are each now valued at about $1.6 trillion, whereas Alphabet is valued at just over $1 trillion. "While the soft macro and COVID backdrop are weighing on near-term consumer demand trends, Apple has a "once in a decade" opportunity over the next 12 to 18 ...

Masks to be mandatory at Superstore, No Frills locations across B.C.

August 24, 2020

Earlier this month, Canadian Walmart suppliers created masks obligatory for shoppers. Starting tomorrow, those at a BC Ferries terminal or aboard a BC Ferries ship, and those taking a BC Transit bus, will have to wear a mask as well. On Saturday, No Frills and the Real Canadian Superstore posted near-identical messages on social media saying that face coverings would be required in all of the grocers' locations, starting August 29.

Student Travel Company STA Stops Trading in the UK

August 24, 2020

The travel agent, which specialises in trips for students and young people, is in the hands of administrators. Airports around the world are the emptiest they've ever been as the coronavirus pandemic halts global travel. "We are sorry for the inconvenience and the limited information available to you at this". Andrew McConnell, spokesman for Atol, acknowledged it would be a cause for concern for anyone who had booked through the company or had their plans cancelled.

Twitter allows 'Tweeps' to work from home 'forever'

August 24, 2020

Facebook and Google confirmed to CNN Business last week that they would let many employees continue to work from home through the end of the year. Employees who prefer to work remotely can now do so indefinitely. However, Twitter seems in no hurry to reopen its offices. Moving forward, it wouldn't be surprising for many tech employees to choose the work-from-home life if given the opportunity.

Aldi Bagged Peaches Recalled in 20 States Over Possible Salmonella Contamination

August 23, 2020

This peach outbreak comes on the heels of an equally depressing recall of salmonella-tainted onions earlier this month. The company said it already removed items of concern that have not yet been purchased from its stores by Wednesday but encouraged any customer who purchased the peaches to throw them away or take them back to their local Aldi store for a refund.

Peaches recalled across Canada due to potential Salmonella contamination | Dished

August 23, 2020

The firm's news release states it is recalling "bulk/loose peaches distributed and sold from June 1 through August 3 and its bagged Wawona and Wawona Organic peaches distributed and sold from June 1 through August 19 because the products could possibly be contaminated with Salmonella".

Lexus ES Gains All-Wheel Drive And New Black Line Special Edition

August 23, 2020

The system is standard on a new ES 250 AWD model that serves as the entry point to the 2021 ES range, alongside the existing ES 350. Looking for a luxury sedan with more grip? In the ES 300h, the new battery pack is paired with a carryover hybrid system, with a 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine as the gasoline component.

Electric Rolls-Royce: classic Roller style, Lunaz EV innards

August 23, 2020

We are proud to make a classic Rolls-Royce relevant to a new generation'. © Provided by This Is Money Electric Roller: British firm Lunaz will convert 30 vintage Rolls-Royce cars into 21st century electric vehicles, beating the iconic auto builder to the punch © Provided by This Is Money Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has plans for its entire fleet of future models to be fully electric by 2040.

Estee Lauder forecasts profit below expectations, to cut up to 2000 jobs

August 23, 2020

EL reported net earnings of $0.68 billion, compared with net earnings of $1.79 billion a year ago. Estee Lauder declined to provide guidance for the full 2021 fiscal year, citing uncertainty about the economic effects of the pandemic .

Amazon consumer business chief Jeff Wilke set to retire next year

August 23, 2020

Bezos, who became the world's richest person as Amazon's stock soared, said in another note to staff that Wilke's "legacy and impact will live on long after he departs". And there's this important point: in tough moments and good ones, he's been just plain fun to work with. Clark, who also joined the company in 1999, has sped up delivery times by expanding Amazon's fleet of vans and jets, allowing it to relying less on UPS and the postal service.

CERB program extended another four weeks as feds announce changes to EI

August 23, 2020

Unlike under the emergency program, those who get it will have to show they are searching for work. "We're doing our very best to support all Canadian workers and leave no one behind", Qualtrough said. EI premiums for employers and workers will be frozen for the next two years. After that most Canadians who receive CERB will automatically transition to EI.

Coronavirus sends United Kingdom debt over £2 trillion for the first time

August 22, 2020

But in July a year ago, the budget was in surplus by about $2.1 billion, boosted by receipts of income tax which typically fall in the month. Spending on measures such as the furlough scheme means the debt figure now equals the value of everything the United Kingdom produces in a year, the BBC reported.

NY mother kicked off flight after toddler refused mask

August 22, 2020

Chaya Bruck, of Midwood, informed WNBC that when she boarded the flight together with her kids on Wednesday, her youngest youngster, Dina, refused to wear the mask, main to an argument with a flight attendant concerning the lady's age. They wanted me off the plane. Bruck's family and all the other passengers were forced to exit the plane due to the mask disagreement. "Masks with vents or exhalation valves are not permitted", according to the Jet Blue policy.

Lebanon Just Reserved Its Share Of Coronavirus Vaccine From Russia

August 22, 2020

The vaccine, however, has not been tested in Phase 3 or larger clinical trials. "We believe they are capable of production of the Gamaleya Institute vaccine", Dmitriev said in a media briefing for reporters from around the world. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced that his country has developed the world's first vaccine against COVID-19, which works "quite effectively" and forms a "stable immunity" against the disease.

TikTok to challenge U.S

August 22, 2020

ByteDance owned Tiktok , a social media application with a large youth user base has been under scrutiny for its data and privacy violations for a while. "We are more than confident in our future". The sources requested anonymity ahead of the lawsuit's filing. Some TikTok performers who make money on the platform, however, aren't just waiting around to see how the politics play out.

CERB extended, ‘simplified’ EI system on the way

August 22, 2020

She said students who have experienced job loss or reduced earnings because of COVID-19 can access CERB for the next month and pointed out the government was creating tens of thousands of jobs for young people, referring to changes to its summer jobs program announced in April.

Existing Home Sales Are on Fire, Up a Record 24.7% in July

August 22, 2020

The 24.7% increase was the largest monthly gain since the NAR first began tracking sales in 1968. "The housing market is past the recovery phase and is now in a booming stage", Lawrence Yun , NAR's chief economist, said on a call with reporters.

EU’s Barnier Warns Brexit Deal Is ‘Unlikely’ as Progress Stalls

August 22, 2020

The EU has accused the United Kingdom of "wasting valuable time" in Brexit negotiations, adding how it "seems unlikely" a deal will be reached before the deadline. A senior negotiating official for the United Kingdom said: "The process block now is the EU's insistence that we must accept their position on state aid and fisheries before we can talk about anything else".

Scotiabank to pay $127.4 million to settle U.S. spoofing claims

August 22, 2020

Bank of Nova Scotia BNS.TO has agreed to pay more than $127 million to resolve a series of USA regulatory charges, including over an alleged price manipulation scheme involving unlawful trading of precious metals futures contracts, the bank said on Wednesday.

Apple market cap $2 trillion milestone passed - General Business

August 21, 2020

Just last month, Apple's valuation surpassed that of state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco making the tech giant the most valuable publicly traded company in the world. In the US , Amazon comes in at No.2 with a company value of $1.7 trillion, while Microsoft is just behind at $1.6 trillion. Apple shares have soared 50+ per cent this year but it hasn't all been good for the business in 2020.

United States jobless claims rise back above one million

August 21, 2020

The continuing claims metric cooled to 14.8m from 15.5m, beneath the 15m expected , the Labour Department said. "The modest jump is a stark reminder that claims will likely encounter some turbulence as they fall rather than gliding in for a soft landing".

Premarket stocks: Airbnb IPO present a market test for flashy startups

August 21, 2020

However, the company gave no details about the shares the company is planning to sell, what price it will offer, or when the company will go through with the offering. The company also "took on expensive capital from external sources" earlier this year. Airbnb's decision to go public came as USA capital markets stage a stunning recovery, with the likes of online used vehicle seller Vroom and business intelligence platform ZoomInfo Technologies seeing their shares surge after going public.

Brexit: Latest round of UK-EU talks come to an end

August 21, 2020

His UK counterpart David Frost countered that Brussels' insistence that London meet European Union demands on state aid and fisheries policy before work on other areas made it "unnecessarily hard to make progress". The EU, however, wants the British to abide by a host of Brussels rules, including restrictions on state aid and continued long-term access to Britain's lucrative fishing waters.

Australian state border closures hits Qantas recovery

August 21, 2020

Around 4,000 of its 6,000 planned job cuts are expected to be finalised by the end of next month, added the carrier. ALAN JOYCE: We need to get people back in jobs, otherwise, we're going to have a cliff that's going to be bigger than the financial impact that COVID-19 has already cost.

Rupee Returns To 75 Mark Against Dollar After Over 2 Weeks

August 21, 2020

IStockAt the interbank forex market, the local unit settled for the day at 75.02 against the United States dollar, down 20 paise over its previous close of 74.82. Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Thursday as traders digested the Federal Open Market Committee ( FOMC ) meeting minutes released after the market's close on Wednesday.

Airbnb bans house parties worldwide, citing virus mandates

August 21, 2020

Airbnb said they are looking at a potential exception process for specialty and traditional hospitality venues such as boutique hotels who use the platform. Previous year it announced an effort to verify all of its properties, for example. Los Angeles County has a ban on gatherings of people from different households, for example.

Response to Google open letter

August 21, 2020

Google today claimed Australian users and content creators will suffer under the incoming News Media Bargaining Code , calling on them to "get involved" in opposing it, and vowing to "do everything we possibly can to get this proposal changed".

North Korean leader's sister is 'de facto second-in-command', South Korean lawmaker says

August 21, 2020

Kim Yo-Jong won fame ahead of her brother's 2019 summit with US President Donald Trump in Vietnam , when her efforts to ensure everything went well included holding an ashtray for the North Korean leader at a train station on his journey. Believed to be in her early 30s, Kim Yo-Jong is the leader's only close relative with a public role in politics, recently spearheading a new, tougher campaign to put pressure on South Korea.

Another 1.1 million US workers file new unemployment claims

August 20, 2020

Continued unemployment claims represent anyone who's filed for benefits a few times. The number of American workers filing claims for jobless benefits remains stubbornly high, 21 weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic began a wave of layoffs. In the last week of March, that was smashed by almost tenfold as 6.9 million Americans filed for unemployment insurance in a single week. "Initial claims rebounded above the 1 million threshold, taking a step backward on the path to recovery", Glassdoor's ...

Lyft will stop running in California at midnight

August 20, 2020

The two app-based ride-sharing companies have said they would leave the state because of Assembly Bill 5, legislation that passed a year ago that requires companies to treat independent contractors the same as regular employees. "Being forced into a situation where shutting down service is the only viable option hurts everyone at a moment when we need to pull together to help more Californians make ends meet", said San Diego Mayor Faulconer, a Republican, and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, a ...

Wall Street opens lower after jobless claims top 1 million

August 20, 2020

Federal Reserve minutes laid out challenges for the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. Brent crude LCOc1 was down 32 cents, or 0.7%, at $45.05 a barrel while US oil CLc1 was down 38 cents, or 0.9%, at $42.55 a barrel. The Fed left interest rates unchanged last month at between 0% and 0.25%, saying the economy was still "well below" pre-pandemic levels. The Fed's minutes showed again that policy makers are finding it hard to forecast the path of the economy, which will depend greatly on ...

Oil slides from five-month high on cloudy demand outlook

August 20, 2020

Oil has inched higher recently after a rally stalled in June, but is struggling to push past $43 a barrel as surging infections raise doubts about a sustained recovery in consumption. "The market is struggling to make new highs as demand concerns remain tethered to the hip of the coronavirus worries as OPEC returns more barrels to market this month".

Electric vehicle startup Canoo to go public via SPAC

August 20, 2020

The basis of Canoo's strategy is a very flat skateboard platform developed in-house, which will not only be used in the company's own models but also sold to third parties. Skateboards are growing in popularity, used by Volkswagen, General Motors and other automakers due to their efficiency and flexibility. Daniel Hennessy, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Hennessy Capital Acquisition (HCAC) said, "HCAC has an abiding commitment to sustainable technologies and infrastructure, and we are ...

Airbnb files confidentially for IPO with travel rebounding

August 20, 2020

The timing of the IPO also hasn't been set. Airbnb announced its long-awaited plans a year ago to become a publicly listed company in 2020. The business's plans to go public come at a time when its core home-rental service has actually been struck hard by the pandemic, which has forced millions of individuals to postpone their travel plans.

Global stocks drop after Fed dents investor sentiment

August 20, 2020

In Europe, the broad FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 0.52% at 1,424.85. Stocks fell in Japan, China and Australia, with Hong Kong and South Korean shares underperforming. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.31 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 0.44 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.57 per cent. The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 0.68%.Germany's 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.47%.Britain's 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 0.236%.

Coronavirus-hit Qantas posts $2bn annual loss

August 20, 2020

Get the "Back Story" weekly. Qantas has reported an annual loss of nearly A$2bn (£1bn; $1.4bn) as it deals with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Joyce said Qantas was in a better financial position than many airlines to survive the pandemic. Covid was reshaping the competitive landscape and that presented a mix of challenges and opportunities.

Dems willing to cut relief bill so 2nd Unemployment assistance can happen

August 20, 2020

Derek Kilmer, chair of the moderate New Democrat Coalition, the bill would tie $600 of extra weekly unemployment benefits to economic triggers, to avoid the benefits lapsing due to partisan bickering. The White House on Wednesday pushed for Congress to take up a narrow coronavirus economic relief bill that Democrats have long rejected, while a leading Senate Democrat said real action may come soon after the September 7 U.S.

Self-employed could face six week support gap in emergency bailout scheme

August 20, 2020

A second grant via the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme was also announced, and the claims window for this payment opened yesterday. SELF-employed workers can apply for a second emergency coronavirus grant worth up to £6,570 from tomorrow.

United Kingdom inflation jumps unexpectedly in July to 1%

August 19, 2020

The annual pace of inflation stayed largely grounded for July at 0.1 per cent, held down by the first drop in air travel prices in nearly five years, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. More galling for rail commuters is that the Bank of England expects inflation to turn negative next month as the impact of the recent cut in Value-Added Tax on eating out kicks in and rises in petrol prices past year drop out.

Uber and Lyft Threaten to Suspend CA Operations Over New Labor Rule

August 19, 2020

The lawsuit said that in classifying drivers as independent contractors, the companies were depriving their drivers of employee benefits like overtime pay, paid sick leave, and disability and unemployment insurance. If both companies were to follow the franchise model, they would invite businesses to establish ride-hailing fleets using their platforms. That model could protect the companies from AB5's requirements by reinforcing their claims that their core business is technology, not ...

Cyprus: EU 'appeasement' of Turkey in exploration row will go nowhere

August 19, 2020

Tensions were stoked last week when Ankara dispatched a research ship, Oruc Reis , accompanied by Turkish naval vessels off the Greek island of Kastellorizo. "We will never bow to banditry on our continental shelf ". In an urgent meeting convened by Borrell on Friday, the foreign ministers of European Union member states considered the recent naval mobilizations by Turkey would "lead to greater antagonism and distrust" and supported Borrell to re-establish dialogue and facilitate ...

Apple becomes first U.S. company to be worth $2 trillion

August 19, 2020

The planned investment for the manufacturing of the devices is over Rs 2,900 crore as the Taiwanese company is expected to hire up to hire 10,000 employees. The images give us a clear look at the refreshed design for this year's iPhones. At a time when technology's top executives are being dragged in front of US lawmakers to defend their companies' spiraling size and influence, the sight of Apple doubling in a year is unlikely to burnish its image with critics.

No new trade talks scheduled between China and the US

August 19, 2020

President Donald Trump said he called off last weekend's trade talks with China , raising questions about the future of a trade deal that is now the most stable point in an increasingly tense relationship. "What China did to the world was unthinkable", Trump said, referring to the coronavirus. While Beijing has made some progress on the IP front, its purchases of US goods has fallen below promised targets, Bloomberg reported.

Pakistan to conduct trials of Chinese coronavirus vaccine

August 19, 2020

India is eyeing the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate as the likely first shot against Covid-19 to be available for Indians by end of 2020, while locally developed candidates are also being watched closely as it is felt that they may also enter the market with a gap of few weeks if cleared in trials, officials said.

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