Category: Business & Markets

UK Inflation Rate Unchanged at 8.7 Percent in May

June 22, 2023
Business & Marketseconomyinflationinterest rateJeremy HuntUKWorld
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The UK’s Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rate stayed at 8.7 percent in May, the same level as in April. Experts had forecast a fall to 8.4 percent, but inflation has proved more stubborn than expected. The inflation figure, which the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said is still at “a historically high level,” is…

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Even Two More Rate Hikes Might Not Be the End

June 22, 2023
Business & MarketsBusiness ColumnistsChina NewsFederal ReserveHong KonginflationOpinionViewpoints
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From the latest dot plot released by the Federal Reserve, the mode value of funds rate implies two more hikes of a quarter percent by yearend. However, careful examination shows there are more dots below the mode than above. Taking into account the dovish tone by chairman Powell, the market does not believe this and…

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Left vs. Left: Labor PM Says Greens Stonewalling Housing Fund for Political Gain

June 22, 2023
Adam Bandtanthony albaneseAustraliaBusiness & Marketseconomic policiesGlobal Real EstateHAFFHousing Affordability Future Fundreal estateWorld
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has lambasted the Australian Greens for taking a hardline stance on the Housing Affordability Future Fund (HAFF), which could result in a potential double dissolution showdown. “For the Greens political party, this isn’t about the Australian people. This is about them. They want the issue, not the outcome. They deal in…

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House Digs Deeper Into Chinese-Owned Battery Company’s Rescinded Grant From Biden DOE

June 22, 2023
bidenBipartisan infrastructure lawBusiness & MarketsChinaChina Business & EconomyChina NewsCompaniescongressDepartment of EnergyeconomyenergyEnvironmentExecutive BranchFinance & Business TiesGlobal ExpansionMarketsMicrovastPolicies & ImpactsPoliticsScienceSpecial TopicsstocksTechUSUS NewsUS-China relations
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House Republicans have voiced worries about the Biden administration’s energy-related spending, questioning a Department of Energy (DOE) official about how a Chinese-owned battery manufacturer was on pace to get hundreds of millions in taxpayer money before the Biden administration yanked the money away last month. That company, Microvast, somehow qualified for a $200 million grant…

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Ford Set to Axe Hundreds of Aussie Jobs in Bid to ‘Improve Efficiency’

June 22, 2023
AustraliaBusiness & MarketsCompaniesFordWorld
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Vehicle manufacturing giant Ford has announced plans to cut 400 jobs from its Australian workforce as the company seeks to “improve efficiency.” This follows a global culling of approximately 3,000 jobs as the company moves towards electrification and comes as Ford announced in March plans to cut 250 jobs from its Geelong and Broadmeadows plants….

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Australia’s Banks Caught up in Russian Cyber Attack

June 21, 2023
AustraliaBusiness & MarketsCompaniescyberattackTechTech NewsWorld
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The recent Russian cyberattack on law firm EWL Ebsworth has claimed another set of victims—this time, Australia’s four major banks. This comes as over 40 Australian government agencies are feared to have been impacted by the database hacking of HWL Ebsworth by the Russian cybercriminal group AlphV. While the four banks—ANZ, the Commonwealth Bank of…

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Thousands of Residents in Oklahoma and Louisiana Remain Without Power Following Weekend Storms

June 21, 2023
Business & MarketsenergyHeat waveLouisianaOklahomapower gridRegional & State NewsState NewsTexasUSUS News
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TULSA, Okla.—Thousands of residents in Oklahoma and Louisiana remained without electricity Wednesday as work crews continued to repair power lines damaged by weekend storms. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, less than 92,000 customers remained without power after three tornadoes northeast of the city caused extensive damage Sunday, including downed trees and hundreds of snapped utility poles. The…

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EPA Official Finally Testifies to House on Controversial Emissions Rules After Refusal in May

June 21, 2023
Business & MarketscongressCori Busheconomic policiesElectric VehiclesEnvironmentEPAExecutive BranchhouseJoseph GoffmanPolicies & ImpactsPoliticsSciencetailpipe emissionsUSUS News
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The House is no longer “Waiting for Goffman,” a top Environmental Protection Agency official who appeared before Congress on June 21 after declining to show up to a similar May 17 hearing. In both cases, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability wanted the Office of Air and Radiation’s Joseph Goffman to discuss his agency’s…

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Australia Slips in Global Competitiveness Rankings as Economy Stumbles

June 21, 2023
AustraliaBusiness & MarketseconomyInternational Institute for Management DevelopmentMarketsWorldWorld Competitiveness
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Australia has been ranked 19th out of 64 countries in a recent global ranking of national competitiveness. The International Institute for Management Development (IMD)’s World Competitiveness Yearbook 2023 has found that Australia’s low productivity, lack of entrepreneurial capacity, and cyber-attacks have taken their toll on its ranking. The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, first published in…

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Musk’s Twitter Threatened With $700,000 Daily Fine Unless It Tackles ‘Hate Speech’

June 21, 2023
AustraliaBusiness & MarketsCompaniesElon MuskeSafety Commissionerhate speechhate speech on twitterInternationalMedia & Big TechSocial MediaTechTech NewsTwitterUSUS NewsWorld
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Australia’s eSafety commissioner has issued Elon Musk’s Twitter with a legal notice to explain what it is doing to tackle hate speech on its platform. The commissioner says it has received “more complaints about online hate on Twitter in the past 12 months” than any other platform and alleges an “increasing number” of reports of…

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