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Ford Slashes Electric Mustang’s Price in Response to Tesla

Ford Motor Co. is slashing the price of its electric Mustang Mach-E by an average of $4,500 in response to Tesla Inc.’s own recent cuts, stepping up the price wars in a slowing EV market.

2023-01-30T13:53:36Z

Denver Bets on Rental Cars to Boost EV Adoption

A new partnership with Hertz will allow residents to try electric vehicles before they buy. It will also provide the city with data on where chargers are needed.

2023-01-30T15:53:52Z

Proposed utility merger in New Mexico prompts recusal

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — One of the governor’s picks for a powerful regulatory commission has recused himself from any decisions involving a proposed multibillion-dollar merger between a U.S. subsidiary of global energy giant Iberdrola and New Mexico’s largest electric utility. Commissioner Patrick O’Connell's recusal came just weeks after he was appointed to the Public Regulation Commission under a new structure in which the governor appoints...

2023-01-30T22:22:08Z

Automakers Renault, Nissan make cross-shareholdings equal

TOKYO (AP) — Nissan and Renault have changed their mutual cross-shareholdings equal at 15%, ironing out a source of conflict in the Japan-French auto alliance, both sides said Monday. Up to now, Renault Group has held a 43.4% stake in Nissan Motor Co., potentially giving it a larger say in how the company is run. It will transfer shares equivalent to a 28.4% stake to a French trust, so it will hold a 15% stake in Nissan, just as Nissan holds 15%...

2023-01-30T07:02:23Z

US Offices Reach 50% Occupancy for First Time Since Pandemic Hit

More than half of workers in major US cities went to the office last week, the first time that return-to-office rates crossed 50% of their pre-pandemic levels.

2023-01-30T18:24:28Z

Business Coaches: The Best Kept Secret To Achieve Greater Success

Transformation doesn't happen overnight.

2023-01-30T14:39:17Z

Marcos: Attracting investments necessary to increase economic activities

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Friday underscored the importance of attracting investments for the country’s economic growth. Marcos, after earlier expressing his elation over the Philippines’ 7.6% full-year economic growth in 2022, said that the government needed to maintain that rate. “That is why it has become so important for us to go out and to attract investment into the Philippines because that is the only way for economic...

2023-01-27T07:03:02Z

Marcos inks EO adopting Philippine Development Plan

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has signed an executive order approving and adopting the Philippine Development Plan for 2023 to 2028, Malacañang announced on Monday. Signed on January 27, Executive Order No. 14 states that the PDP aims to bring back the Philippines to a "high-growth trajectory and more importantly, enable economic and social transformation for a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient society." "To support the PDP, there...

2023-01-30T07:04:28Z

Boeing will open new assembly line to build 737 Max planes

Boeing will add a fourth assembly line to produce more 737 Max aircraft, as it tries to more quickly translate a backlog of orders into cash-generating deliveries of new planes. The new line will open in the second half of next year, according to a note Monday to employees from Stan Deal, the CEO of Boeing's commercial-planes business. The line will be in an existing facility in Everett, Washington, where space is available because Boeing is...

2023-01-30T19:22:00Z

Union Bank nets P12.7B in 2022

The Union Bank of the Philippines reported a slight increase in its full-year bottom line for 2022, as its revenues recorded a record high on the back of higher net interest and fee-based income during the period. In a regulatory filing, the Aboitiz-led lender said its net income stood at P12.7 billion in 2022, slightly higher than the P12.6 billion recorded in the previous year. This translated to a return on average equity of 9.7%. Net...

2023-01-30T05:04:41Z

Rolex Reseller Chrono24 Cuts Jobs as Pre-Owned Watch Prices Fall

Chrono24 GmbH, the biggest dedicated online marketplace for luxury watches, cut about 13% of its workforce after prices for the most sought-after Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet timepieces plunged.

2023-01-30T17:43:49Z

Samsung Profit Plunges as Memory Chip Crash Eats Into Earnings

Samsung Electronics Co.’s quarterly profit tumbled, hurt by a sharp drop in demand for semiconductors as consumers spent less on electronic gadgets.

2023-01-31T00:24:08Z

$11 Billion and a Typo: New LIRR Terminal Etches Error in Stone

The sparkling new Long Island Rail Road terminal in Manhattan’s Grand Central station has at least one flaw.

2023-01-30T18:38:57Z

World Bank: Myanmar economy to grow 3%, dragged by conflict

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s economy grew 3% last year and will likely achieve the same pace in 2023, but still lags far behind where it stood before the army seized power in early 2021, the World Bank said in a report released Monday. The global development agency estimates Myanmar’s level of economic activity is still more than 10% below where it stood before the pandemic and the military takeover. On a per capita basis it is even further behind,...

2023-01-30T08:57:39Z

Pandemic Had a Lasting Impact on Children’s Learning, Study Finds

Children’s learning progress slowed during the pandemic even after strict curbs were lifted, with deficits persisting into the middle of last year, according to a study that raises questions about Covid’s lasting impact on an entire generation.

2023-01-30T16:28:37Z

J&J Can’t Use Bankruptcy to End Cancer Suits Over Baby Powder, Court Says

Johnson & Johnson can’t use bankruptcy to resolve more than 40,000 US cancer lawsuits over its now-withdrawn baby powder, a federal appeals court ruled.

2023-01-30T17:38:45Z

BIR no longer requires monthly filing of VAT returns

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is no longer requiring taxpayers to file monthly their value-added tax (VAT) returns. In a statement on Thursday, the BIR said the new policy took effect January 1, 2023. The taxman said VAT-registered taxpayers are no longer required to file the Monthly Value-Added Tax Declaration or BIR Form No. 2550M. The directive was contained in BIR Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 5-2023 issued on January 13,...

2023-01-26T10:02:13Z

ADB OKs $500-M loan to boost Philippines' labor market recovery

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday said it approved a $500-million policy-based loan to assist the Philippines in addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market. Lodged under the Post-COVID-19 Business and Employment Recovery Program, the loan aims to provide the government assistance in liberalizing the business and investment environment to boost employment. It also aims to support initiatives that expand labor...

2023-01-26T09:02:12Z

After Tesla price cut, Ford follows suit with Mustang Mach-E

DETROIT (AP) — Ford is cutting prices on its Mustang Mach-E electric SUV by as much as $6,000 just weeks after market leader Tesla took similar steps. The Detroit automaker is increasing production of the Mach-E this year and said it is taking advantage of streamlined costs to reduce prices across the board, it said Monday. The cut comes just over two weeks after Tesla Inc. dropped prices 6% to nearly 20% in the United States on most of its...

2023-01-30T15:03:33Z

Taxes slow India's solar power rollout but boost manufacture

BENGALURU, India (AP) — In May last year Fortum India, a subsidiary of a Finnish solar developer, won the bid for a solar power project in the state of Gujarat. The project was due to be completed three months ago and would have generated enough electricity for 200,000 homes. But like many other solar power projects in the country, it's been delayed as Fortum India struggles to source and pay for necessary components. “For the last six months,...

2023-01-30T06:03:21Z

Renault to reduce stake in Nissan, rebalancing alliance

French automaker Renault will slash its stake in Japanese partner Nissan as part of a deal rebalancing the rocky alliance between the two companies, the firms said Monday. Nissan will also invest in Ampere, "aiming to become a strategic partner", the firms said, without specifying how large the Japanese automaker's stake would be.

2023-01-30T07:01:32Z

Foreign businesses urge creation of Philippine Transportation Safety Board

Following the recent outage that caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights to and from Manila, the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) — an umbrella group of foreign businesses in the Philippines — on Monday called for the creation of a transportation safety board. In a statement, the JFC said it joined other groups, such as the Safe Travel Alliance (STA) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in calling on lawmakers to pass the...

2023-01-30T12:04:37Z

Credit card interest rate adjustment to boost PH banks’ profitability — Fitch Ratings

Global credit watcher Fitch Ratings said Thursday that the Philippine central bank’s decision to adjust the interest rate cap on credit card transactions will boost local banks’ profitability. In its commentary, Fitch Ratings said the decision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to raise the interest rate ceiling on credit cardholders' unpaid balances to 3% from 2% per month "will buoy banks' net interest margins." "We estimate that the...

2023-01-26T10:02:14Z

BNY Mellon Wants to Ride ARKK-Style ETF Boom Despite Turmoil

The high-profile pain suffered by Cathie Wood’s flagship strategy over the past two years isn’t stopping rivals from stealing a page from her playbook.

2023-01-30T21:33:57Z

Philippine markets mixed as players digest local, overseas data

Philippine financial markets closed mixed on Thursday, as market players took into consideration a number of factors such as local economic data and overseas corporate earnings. The local stock barometer PSEi shed 38.55 points or 0.55% to 7,042.70, while the broader All Shares index lost 9.87 points or 0.27% to 3,692.89. More than 1.336 million shares, valued at P5.111 billion, changed hands. Advancers trumped decliners, 107 to 99, and 49 issues...

2023-01-26T11:02:16Z

Toyota top-selling automaker for third year running

Japan's Toyota was the world's top-selling automaker in 2022, retaining its lead over German rival Volkswagen for the third year, company data showed Monday. Mio Kato, an analyst at Lightstream Research who publishes on Smartkarma, told AFP that Toyota was likely to keep its top-selling crown in the near term.

2023-01-30T05:46:33Z

Ritchie’s $6 Billion IAA Deal Gets Support From Major Shareholder

A large investor in Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. is backing the Canadian auction company’s proposed takeover of IAA Inc., giving a boost to a deal that’s been opposed by other shareholders.

2023-01-30T18:53:43Z

Gasoline, diesel, kerosene prices up by over P1/liter in third straight week of hikes

Motorists will have to pay more for petroleum products starting Tuesday, as oil firms on Monday announced another round of hikes to mark the third straight week of increases. In separate advisories, Chevron Philippines Inc. (Caltex), Flying V, Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and Seaoil Philippines Corp. said they will hike prices per liter of gasoline by P1.30, diesel by P1.00, and kerosene by P1.35. Cleanfuel, PetroGazz, and PTT...

2023-01-30T04:04:23Z

Treasury to increase borrowing amid debt ceiling standoff

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department said Monday it plans to increase its borrowing during the first three months of 2023, even as the federal government is bumping up against a $31.4 trillion limit on its legal borrowing authority. The U.S. plans to borrow $932 billion during the January-to-March quarter. That's $353 billion more than projected last October, due to a lower beginning-of-quarter cash balance and projections of...

2023-01-30T21:47:54Z

GCash partners with Grab for 'transfer fee-free' payment scheme

Globe-backed mobile wallet GCash has partnered with rides and delivery platform Grab to unburden their users with transfer fees. In a statement on Thursday, GCash said that under the partnership, Grab users can soon choose GCash as a payment method for GrabCar, GrabFood, GrabMart, GrabExpress, and other Grab services transactions. GCash said it will be officially available as a mode of payment on the Grab platform by February. The partnership...

2023-01-26T09:02:14Z

Biden Team Weighs Fully Cutting Off Huawei From US Suppliers

The Biden administration is considering cutting off Huawei Technologies Co. from all of its American suppliers, including Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc., as the US government intensifies a crackdown on the Chinese technology sector.

2023-01-31T00:09:07Z

Will Europe's ban on Russian diesel hike global fuel prices?

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe is taking another big step toward cutting its energy ties with Russia, banning imports of diesel fuel and other products made from crude oil in Russian refineries. The European Union ban takes effect Feb. 5 following its embargo on coal and most oil from Russia. The 27-nation bloc is trying to sever its last uses of Russian energy and stop feeding the Kremlin's war chest as the anniversary of the invasion of...

2023-01-30T08:04:08Z

Philippine SIM card registration at 15% –DICT

Over 15% of all the SIM cards across the Philippines have been registered with their respective public telecommunication entities (PTEs) as of Saturday, January 28, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) reported. Citing data from the telecommunications firms, the DICT said a total of 26,637,515 SIM cards were registered as of 11:59 p.m. on January 28, translating to 15.76% of the 168.977 million nationwide. Broken...

2023-01-29T12:04:02Z

Nobel Economist Krugman Says Markets Too Confident Inflation Is Over

Nobel laureate Paul Krugman said he’s concerned investors have put inflation risk in the rear-view mirror too soon, and that easing financial conditions could spark it again.

2023-01-30T18:48:48Z

Black Swan Fund Manager Sees ‘Tinderbox-Timebomb’ in Financial Markets

Universa Investments, the hedge fund advised by “The Black Swan” author Nassim Taleb, told clients that ballooning debts across the global economy are poised to wreak havoc on markets rivaling the Great Depression.

2023-01-30T22:23:57Z

BuzzFeed Smashes Records for Trading Volume on OpenAI Frenzy

Companies tied to artificial intelligence services recorded some of their highest trading volumes on record this month, amid a frenzy of interest in the ChatGPT tool, which generates conversation-style interactions.

2023-01-30T17:28:50Z

FEJODAP seeks deadline extension for PUV modernization cooperatives, corporations

A group of jeepney operators and drivers are calling for an extension on the March 2023 deadline for public transport franchise holders to consolidate into a single entity - cooperative or corporation - under the PUV Modernization Plan. In an interview on Dobol B TV on Saturday, Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP) President Boy Rebaño said the group is asking to “extend for the meantime itong...

2023-01-28T10:03:31Z

Fed, set to impose smaller hike, may hint of fewer increases

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is poised this week to raise its benchmark interest rate for an eighth time since March. But the Fed will likely announce a smaller hike for a second straight time, and it could change some key wording in its post-meeting statement about future rate increases. A change in its statement, if there is one, could be seen as signaling an eventual pause in the Fed's aggressive drive to raise borrowing costs. Chair...

2023-01-30T16:03:49Z

Hong Kong Seeks to Revive Crypto Sector Wrecked by FTX Debacle

Hong Kong is sticking with a plan to become Asia’s digital-asset capital despite the industry’s tarnished reputation, a stance drawing tentative interest from bruised crypto firms looking for paths to recovery.

2023-01-31T00:29:14Z

Chinese firm pledges infra investments, says Palace

Malacañang on Monday said a Chinese construction company has committed to providing more investments to the Philippines. The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said officials of the China Communications Construction Co. Ltd (CCCC) paid a courtesy call on President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. The firm proposed the construction of the 270-kilometer Laoag City-Rosario City Highway Project and the introduction of China’s Juncao technology...

2023-01-30T12:04:37Z

Water rates to be hiked for 5 years starting this January

Water rates would be hiked starting this January 2023 and would continue for the next five years to pay for the expense of improving water concessionaires' services. According to Maki Pulido’s “24 Oras” report on Friday, Manila Water customers will have an additional P8.04/m3 charge starting in January, which would be increased until it reaches P20.37 in 2027. Thus, those who consume 20 cubic meters would pay P425. Maynilad customers, on the...

2023-01-27T15:03:03Z

Markets lose ground as traders await rate decisions

Stocks mostly fell Monday as traders struggled to maintain momentum from last week's rally, though Shanghai advanced as mainland Chinese markets reopened after a week-long Lunar New Year break. Chinese markets are "catching up with the performance of Hong Kong and US markets during the Chinese New Year", said Willer Chen, at Forsyth Barr Asia.

2023-01-30T03:11:02Z

Whirlpool Sees Improving Profitability as Material Costs Ease

Whirlpool Corp. said it expects easing raw material costs to provide relief to profitability in 2023, even as economic activity loses steam. The shares rose in late trading.

2023-01-30T21:33:57Z

Adani accuses short-seller Hindenburg of attacking India

NEW DELHI, India (AP) — India’s Adani Group, run by Asia’s richest man, has hit back at a report from U.S.-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, calling it “malicious”, “baseless” and full of “selective misinformation.” Shares in the conglomerate have suffered massive losses since Hindenburg issued its report alleging fraud and other malfeasance. On Monday, shares in some Adani companies recovered some lost ground. The flagship company, Adani...

2023-01-30T07:32:18Z

Groups urge PPA to stop enforcement of container monitoring order

Several business groups on Friday urged the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to stop enforcing an order which aims to implement an additional container monitoring system. The PPA’s Administrative Order No. 04-2021 aims to prescribe the policy for the registration and monitoring of containers entering and leaving PPA ports, including the scheduling, loading, unloading, release, and movement of all containers. But according to groups such as the...

2023-01-27T14:02:52Z

PAGCOR chief: Immediate closure of POGOs would affect many sectors

For Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco, abrupt closure of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs) would affect many sectors. "Sa akin po naman eh hindi po basta bigla-bigla nating puwedeng isara dahil sa aking paniwala marami pong maapektuhan," Tengco said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB. "Alam naman po ninyo yung pinagdadaanan natin ngayon hindi lang sa Pilipinas, kundi sa buong...

2023-01-26T07:02:13Z

ADB OKs $500-M loan to aid PH agri sector, improve food security

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $500-million policy-based loan to assist the Philippine government in expanding economic opportunities in the agriculture sector and ensuring food security for the population. "Extreme climate events and economic shocks are exacerbating the struggles of the agriculture sector to raise their productivity,” ADB Principal Natural Resources and Agriculture Economist for Southeast Asia Takeshi Ueda said...

2023-01-27T04:02:38Z

Wall Street falls ahead of mammoth week with Fed, earnings

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are falling on Wall Street Monday ahead of a week full of potentially market-moving events, from decisions on interest rates around the world to earnings reports from the biggest U.S. companies. The S&P 500 was 1% lower in afternoon trading, giving back some of its gains from last week when it reached its highest level since early December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 127 points, or 0.4%, at 33,855, as of...

2023-01-30T15:02:23Z

'Avatar 2' tops box office for 7th weekend

“Avatar: The Way of Water” claimed the No. 1 spot on the domestic box office charts for the seventh weekend in a row with an additional $15.7 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. It was a quiet weekend overall, notable mostly for the Hindi language blockbuster “Pathaan” that broke into the top five and the post-Oscar nominations rereleases of films like “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and “The Fabelmans.” “Avatar 2’s”...

2023-01-29T17:02:11Z

Adani Backed by UAE Royals Buying $400 Million in Share Sale

Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Co. will invest about $400 million in Adani Enterprises Ltd.’s follow-on share sale, voicing confidence in Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s business empire after almost $70 billion was wiped off its market value.

2023-01-30T11:48:24Z