As China’s erratic economic recovery hampered a wider rebound in demand, Asia’s factory activity contracted in December, indicating a wobbly start for the region’s manufacturing heavyweights in 2024. A variety of purchasing managers’ indices (PMIs) released by S&P Global on Tuesday revealed that, in most Asian economies, manufacturing activity was still down at the end…
Massive inflows into US equities funds occurred in the week leading up to December 27, supported by anticipation of an early rate drop by the Federal Reserve following data indicating further cooling of inflation in November. Investors bought U.S. stock funds for a net total of $14.57 billion during the week, which was the largest…
A fresh lawsuit against accounting firm EY seeks damages of 1.5 billion euros ($1.66 billion) for the company’s involvement in Wirecard’s book audits prior to the German payments company’s collapse in 2020. According to a court spokesperson on Friday, Wirecard’s insolvency manager, Michael Jaffe, filed the lawsuit at a Stuttgart court. It is one of…
Certain corporations are currently discovering the boundaries of their pricing power following years of unrestrained consumer spending on anything from fantasy trips to house renovations. The transportation behemoth FedEx claimed last week that consumers are choosing less expensive, faster shipping alternatives. In the autumn, airlines, like Southwest, offer lower off-peak tickets. As more consumers scrutinise…
Financial markets indicate that interest rates will remain high for years to come, so borrowers hoping for relief from higher rates may be disappointed. Money market pricing, regardless of how much they decline in 2024, underscores the belief that, as long as inflationary pressures and government expenditure remain elevated, the decade of nearly zero interest…
China’s rapidly increasing coffee consumption has sparked fierce competition between domestic and international coffee chains, which in recent months have launched thousands of branded locations, surpassing the total number of coffee shops in the US. Analysts predict that as coffee shops spread beyond Beijing and Shanghai to dozens of mid-sized cities where young professionals have…
The ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence product Ernie bot, developed by Chinese internet company Baidu, has more than 100 million users, according to the company. In U.S. trade, Baidu shares closed 3% higher, maintaining a modest increase in the stock for 2023. The Ernie bot user numbers were not disclosed by the corporation as to whether they…
Since a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday halted a government commission’s import ban on the watches imposed in a patent dispute over its medical monitoring technology, Apple can now resume sales of its flagship smartwatches. The tech behemoth had filed an emergency plea with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, requesting that…
Pay TV had yet another difficult year as more consumers choose to cut their cable. However, it wasn’t exactly kind to streaming services either, as they had to contend with dropping ad revenue, declining member numbers, and unwavering losses while Netflix remained the industry leader. However, the era of cable bundles is ending and being…
As a result of the sportswear giant cutting NIke its annual sales prediction and sending shares plunging 11%, according to analysts, Nike is beginning to lose market share to upstart shoe labels like On and Hoka and will need to invest in more fashionable models. The creator of the Air Jordan 1 sneaker mostly attributed the negative outlook…
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