China Home Prices Rise First Time in 18 Months After Stimulus
China’s home prices rose in February for the first time in 18 months, a sign that government efforts to revive the battered market are starting to pay off. New home prices in 70 cities, excluding state-subsidized housing, gained 0.3% after being unchanged in January, the National Bureau of Statistics reported Thursday. Prices snapped an 18-month […]
Journalists Work Under Cloud of Fear Amid Modi’s Media Crackdown: Kashmiri Paper’s Head
NEW YORK, Mar 11: The owner of a sealed newspaper in Indian-occupied Kashmir says Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “repressive media policies are destroying Kashmiri journalism, intimidating media outlets into serving as government mouthpieces and creating an information vacuum in our region of about 13 million people,” as India descends into authoritarianism. In an opinion piece […]
Best Picture Spotlight: Which Film will win Big at 2023’s Oscars?
Ten nominees are vying for one of filmmaking’s top honors — but what are their strengths and weaknesses? Find out. Stars from across the filmmaking world are gathering this weekend in the United States for the 95th annual Academy Awards ceremony, one of the most prestigious events in the cinema world. But the high point […]
Hyundai Reviews Russia Plant After Sales Reports in Kazakhstan
South Korean automaker says it is considering ‘various options’ for the Saint Petersburg factory. Hyundai Motor says it is considering “various options” for its suspended factory in Russia, following a report that the South Korean automaker is discussing the plant’s sale to a Kazakhstan company. Hyundai, South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate, said on Friday it had […]
Google’s Plan to Catch ChatGPT is to Stuff AI into Everything
A new internal directive requires “generative artificial intelligence” to be incorporated into all of its biggest products within months. Artificial intelligence was supposed to be Google’s thing. The company has cultivated a reputation for making long-term bets on all kinds of far-off technologies, and much of the research underpinning the current wave of AI-powered chatbots took […]
Haris Credits Babar for His Success as Pakistan Mainstay
KARACHI: Running and bowling at a raw pace was never a problem for Haris Rauf. After all, he had done it all his life with the ribbon ball and replicated the skill in the trials of the HBL Pakistan Super League franchise Lahore Qalandars. But after proving his worth as a product of Qalandars at […]
iPhone Maker Plans $700 Million India Plant in Shift from China
Apple Inc. partner Foxconn Technology Group plans to invest about $700 million on a new plant in India to ramp up local production, people familiar with the matter said, underscoring an accelerating shift of manufacturing away from China as Washington-Beijing tensions grow. The Taiwanese company, also known for its flagship unit Hon Hai Precision Industry […]
Tata Group’s Talks Over $1 Billion Bisleri Stake Stall
Tata Group’s talks for a majority stake in Bisleri International Pvt, one of India’s largest bottled water makers, have stalled overvaluation, according to people familiar with the matter. The Indian conglomerate had been in advanced discussions to take control of Bisleri and the parties were working on finalizing the structure of a transaction, the people […]
A $19 Billion Derivative Bond Trade in India Will Unwind with Modi’s New Tax
A derivative trade that boosted demand for India’s sovereign bonds by billions is at risk from a proposed tax, piling pressure on a market straining under record government borrowings. Analysts say a New Delhi plan to tax high-value insurance policies will reduce demand, leading the industry to cut back on bond investments. For the past […]
South Africa Added to FATF ‘Grey List’ Despite Designation of Crypto as a Financial Product
In a move seen as a major setback for South Africa, the international financial watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force, announced on Feb. 24 that it had added the country to its “grey list.” Getting grey-listed by the financial watchdog potentially makes it difficult for South Africa to obtain loans from foreign banks. A Setback […]