Posts by Liam Redmond
BOJ is set to raise benchmark rates to highest level since 1995
The yen’s weakness has played a vital role in reviving inflation by prompting businesses to pass their higher input costs on to consumers [TOKYO] Governor Kazuo Ueda is widely expected to raise the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) key rate to the highest level in three decades on Friday (Dec 12). The path ahead becomes murkier…
Read More‘Anti-capitalist’ New Year’s Eve LA terror plot suspects lived in upscale California suburbs
Wealth for me — but not for thee! Despite their extremist anti-capitalist ideology, the suspects who were arrested for allegedly plotting a bombing campaign in and around Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve appear to hail from upscale areas. One of the suspects, Tina Lai, 41, lives in a 4-bedroom home in the affluent Los…
Read MorePayPal applies to become a bank as US loosens regulatory reins
The application comes on the heels of a number of cryptocurrency firms gaining preliminary regulatory approval to become banks last week [NEW YORK] PayPal Holdings applied to become a bank in the US, looking to take advantage of the Trump administration’s openness to financial-technology companies entering the banking system. The payments-focused firm submitted applications to…
Read MoreAs AI writes code, Singapore firms hunt for ‘commercially ready’ tech talent
The talent shortage is especially pronounced in specialised and regulated sectors such as finance and cybersecurity [SINGAPORE] Technical proficiency in programming and Web development – once the passport to a lucrative career in Singapore’s technology sector – may no longer be enough. As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) makes it easier to generate code and automate…
Read MoreGM strikes deal to put Apple Music in all of its new vehicles
[DETROIT] General Motors (GM) has cut a deal with Apple to bring the Apple Music app into Chevrolet and Cadillac models starting on Monday (Dec 15), when the automaker will send it to vehicle owners with an over-the-air update. Bringing in Apple Music delivers one of the tech company’s most popular apps that GM customers…
Read MoreJetBlue flight averts mid-air collision with US Air Force jet
[WASHINGTON] A JetBlue passenger jet bound for New York took evasive action on Friday to avoid a mid-air collision with a US Air Force tanker plane near Venezuela, a pilot said in an air traffic control recording. JetBlue Flight 1112 had departed the Caribbean nation of Curacao and was flying about 64 km off the…
Read MoreWorker at trendy San Francisco eatery body slams irate customer in wild video
Season’s beatings from San Francisco! Wild video shows a San Francisco restaurant worker body-slamming an angry, boozed-up patron — after she harassed staffers and attacked another customer at the trendy eatery. The footage, shared on social media over the weekend, shows a young woman at Hayes Valley hotspot, Hazie’s, confronting the manager after she was…
Read MorePrediction markets will see five-fold growth by 2030: analysts
Sports gambling companies have recently made moves to offer event contracts so they can compete [NEW YORK] Prediction markets companies are likely to see their revenues grow by a factor of five to more than US$10 billion by 2030, according to analysts at Citizens Financial Group. Companies such as Kalshi and Polymarket have recently seen…
Read MorePrediction markets will see five-fold growth by 2030, analysts say
Sports gambling companies have recently made moves to offer event contracts so they can compete [NEW YORK] Prediction markets companies are likely to see their revenues grow by a factor of five to more than US$10 billion by 2030, according to analysts at Citizens Financial Group. Companies such as Kalshi and Polymarket have recently seen…
Read MoreNasdaq seeks to extend trading hours, as Wall Street gears up for 24/7 move
Trading hours of stocks and exchange-traded products to be expanded from 16 hours to 23 hours, five days a week [NEW YORK] Nasdaq, one of the world’s largest exchanges that is home to tech companies Nvidia, Apple and Amazon, is planning to submit paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday to roll out round-the-clock…
Read MoreUPS buys hundreds of robots to unload trucks in automation push
[SEATTLE] United Parcel Service (UPS) will invest US$120 million in 400 robots used to unload trucks, according to sources familiar with the matter, revealing new details on the logistics giant’s US$9 billion automation plan that aims to boost profits by decreasing labour costs. Unloading trucks and shipping containers at warehouse docks is mostly done by…
Read MoreEurope: Stocks recover, banks lead; ECB decision, US data in focus
EUROPEAN shares ended higher on Monday in broad-based gains led by banks, kicking off a week packed with central bank decisions and delayed US economic data on a positive note, as investors returned to risk assets after last week’s subdued finish. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.74 per cent higher at 582.54, close to a record high.…
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