Category: Бізнес
Australia, Canada Trade Blows over Wine
21/01/2018
Australia has filed a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization that accuses Canada of placing “discriminatory” rules on the sales of imported wine. Canada is Australia’s fourth-biggest wine market. Officials in Canberra say rules in Canada unfairly discriminate against overseas wine. An official protest has been lodged with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against …
Iran May Try to Loosen Revolutionary Guard’s Grip on Economy
21/01/2018
Iran’s supreme leader has ordered the Revolutionary Guard to loosen its hold on the economy, the country’s defense minister says, raising the possibility that the paramilitary organization might privatize some of its vast holdings. The comments this weekend by Defense Minister Gen. Amir Hatami appear to be a trial balloon to test the reaction of …
Saudis Urge Oil Production Cooperation Beyond 2018
21/01/2018
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister urged global oil producing nations on Sunday to extend their cooperation beyond 2018, but said this might mean a new form of deal rather than continuing the same supply cuts that have boosted prices in recent months. It was the first time that Saudi Arabia had publicly raised the possibility of …
British Group Works to Preserve Afghanistan’s Arts & Crafts Heritage
21/01/2018
Afghanistan’s arts and architecture were once the pride of Asia. However, more than four decades of war have left many of the country’s traditional crafts on the verge of extinction. Now a Britain-based organization, Turquoise Mountain, is working to preserve Afghan heritage in the capital’s still surviving commercial district, Murad Khani. VOA Deewa service’s Munaza …
Robots in Aisle 5: Supermarket Tech for the Way We Shop
20/01/2018
Robots, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies were all on display at the National Retail Federation (NRF) 2018 trade show. The event showcased the ways retailers are keeping pace with shoppers’ round-the-clock spending. Tina Trinh reports. …
Tax Cut, US Economy, Fair Trade on Trump’s Davos Agenda
20/01/2018
U.S. President Donald Trump will be entering something of a lion’s den when he visits the elitist enclave of Davos next week, rubbing shoulders with the same “globalists” that he campaigned against in winning the 2016 election. Aides said some of Trump’s advisers had argued against him attending the World Economic Forum in order to …
Bankers Association Warns of Uncertainty Tied to Government Shutdown
20/01/2018
The largest banking trade group in the United States says shutting down the government could hurt investor and consumer confidence, but would hit the overall economy indirectly. Speaking as the American Bankers Association unveiled its annual economic forecast in Washington, Ellen Zentner, chair of the ABA’s advisory committee, said “no one likes the uncertainty of …
Anti-smoking Plan May Kill Cigarettes — and Save Big Tobacco
19/01/2018
Imagine if cigarettes were no longer addictive and smoking itself became almost obsolete; only a tiny segment of Americans still lit up. That’s the goal of an unprecedented anti-smoking plan being carefully fashioned by U.S. health officials. But the proposal from the Food and Drug Administration could have another unexpected effect: opening the door for …
Time After Time: Luxury Watchmaker to Sell Pre-owned Pieces
19/01/2018
Swiss luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet said it would launch a second-hand business this year, becoming the first big brand to announce plans to tap into a fast-growing market for pre-owned premium watches. The company told Reuters it would launch the business at its outlets in Switzerland this year. If this proved successful, it would roll out the operation …
Down to Business: Drought-hit Kenyan Women Trade Their Way Out of Poverty
18/01/2018
Widow Ahatho Turuga lost 20 of her goats to drought early last year, but the shopkeeper is planning to reinvest in her herd once she has saved enough money. “I think I will start with four goats and see how it goes,” she said, rearranging soap on the upper shelf of her shop in Loglogo, …
Turkey Business Lobby Calls for End to Emergency Rule
18/01/2018
Turkey’s main business lobby on Thursday called on the government to end the state of emergency as parliament extended it for a sixth time since it was imposed after an attempted coup in 2016. Emergency rule allows President Tayyip Erdogan and the government to bypass parliament in passing new laws and allows them to suspend …
Nigeria Moves Closer to Turning Long-awaited Oil Bill Into Law
18/01/2018
Nigeria moved closer to turning the first part of a long-awaited oil industry bill into law after the lower house passed the same version of the legislation approved by the Senate last year, a lawmaker in the House of Representatives said on Thursday. It is the first time both houses have approved the same version …
China’s Economy Posts First Annual Increase Since 2010
18/01/2018
China’s economy surged in 2017, posting a 6.9 percent increase from the year before — its first annual increase in seven years. The figures announced Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics outstripped the 6.7 percent increase recorded in 2016, which marked the weakest annual expansion in 26 years. The final number was also well above …
Iraq, BP Sign Initial Deal to Develop Kirkuk Oil Fields
18/01/2018
Iraq and British energy giant BP have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop lucrative oil fields in the country’s north. The Oil Ministry’s statement quotes BP’s president for the Middle East region, Michael Townshend, as saying that his company will conduct surveys and studies to increase production to 750,000 barrels a day. It …
Emirates Throws Airbus A380 a Lifeline With $16 Billion Deal
18/01/2018
The Middle East’s largest airline, Emirates, announced Thursday it struck a deal with Airbus to purchase 20 A380 aircraft with the option to buy 16 more in a deal worth $16 billion, throwing a lifeline to the European-made double-decker jumbo jets. The Dubai-based Emirates already has 101 A380s in its fleet and 41 more …
Lifelike Robots Made in Hong Kong Are Meant to Win Over Humans
17/01/2018
David Hanson envisions a future in which robots powered by artificial intelligence evolve to become “super-intelligent genius machines” that might help solve some of mankind’s most challenging problems. If only it were as simple as that. The Texas-born former sculptor at Walt Disney Imagineering and his Hong Kong-based startup Hanson Robotics are combining AI with …
Chinese Demand Drives Construction Boom in Cambodia
17/01/2018
The value of construction projects in Cambodia rose more than 22 percent to $6.4 billion in 2017 from the previous year, according to official figures released Tuesday that showed the impact of a boom driven by Chinese investors. The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction said it approved a total of 3,052 projects, …
Brazil’s Caixa Suspends VPs After Presidential Order
17/01/2018
Brazilian state lender Caixa Economic Federal suspended four of its vice presidents on Tuesday after President Michel Temer called on them to step down and defend themselves from accusations of wrongdoing. Caixa said it would follow the presidential order, without commenting on specific allegations after a string of corruption investigations involving loans and investments by …
Global Carmakers to Invest at Least $90B in Electric Vehicles
16/01/2018
Ford’s plan to double its electrified vehicle spending is part of an investment tsunami in batteries and electric cars by global automakers that now totals $90 billion and is still growing, a Reuters analysis shows. That money is pouring in to a tiny sector that amounts to less than 1 percent of the 90 million …
Rural Women in India, Elderly in Japan Open Homes to Airbnb Guests
16/01/2018
Mobile apps that help women in the Indian countryside and tiny villages in Japan to open their homes to visitors from across the world are generating incomes, revitalizing remote communities and helping to curb migration to cities. A women’s organization in the western Indian state of Gujarat has tied up with Airbnb, the short-term home …
Intel Underfoot: Floor Sensors Rise as Retail Data Source
16/01/2018
The next phase in data collection is right under your feet. Online clicks give retailers valuable insight into consumer behavior, but what can they learn from footsteps? It’s a question Milwaukee-based startup Scanalytics is helping businesses explore with floor sensors that track people’s movements. The sensors can also be used in office buildings to reduce …
Energy Agency Sees Oil Price Decline, But Analyst Predicts a Boom
14/01/2018
Crude oil prices reached a 30-month high this week. But the government agency that analyzes and disseminates energy information says the rally may have run its course. The Energy Information Administration predicts U.S. crude prices will stabilize to about 55 dollars a barrel for West Texas Crude and 60 dollars a barrel for Brent Crude, …
Wahlberg Donates $1.5 Million After Pay Gap Outcry
14/01/2018
Following an outcry over a significant disparity in pay between co-stars, Mark Wahlberg agreed Saturday to donate the $1.5 million he earned for reshoots for All the Money in the World to the sexual misconduct defense initiative Time’s Up. Wahlberg said he’ll donate the money in the name of his co-star, Michelle Williams, who reportedly …
Protests in Tunisia Spur Government to Pledge Aid to Poor
14/01/2018
Tunisia plans to increase aid for poor families by $70.3 million, after nearly a week of protests over austerity measures, an official said Saturday. “This will concern about 250,000 families,” Mohamed Trabelsi, minister of social affairs, said. “It will help the poor and middle class.” President Beji Caid Essebsi was also scheduled to visit the …
Report: Traffic Fatalities Hold Back Developing Economies
13/01/2018
Deadly traffic accidents are more than just individual tragedies. They’re a drag on economic growth in developing countries, according to a new World Bank report. The study is among the first to show that investing in road safety in low- and middle-income countries would raise national incomes. Ninety percent of the world’s annual 1.25 million …
Awash in Corn, Soybeans, US Farmers Focus on Trade Deals
13/01/2018
For Illinois farmer Garry Niemeyer, it’s a slow time of year, spent indoors fixing equipment, not outdoors tending his fields, which now lie empty. All of his corn and soybeans were harvested in what has turned out to be a good year. “This is the largest amount of corn we’ve had ever,” he said. And …