Category: Бізнес
CryptoKitties Brings Blockchain to the Masses
19/12/2017
How do you explain the abstract concepts of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies? With adorable, digital kittens of course. CryptoKitties, an online game and marketplace featuring virtual kittens, has become an entry point for curious outsiders looking to dabble in cryptocurrencies – decentralized digital monies that rely on blockchain technology to enable peer-to-peer transactions. Company reps …
Stake in Vietnam’s Top Brewer for Sale, But Bids Few
17/12/2017
Vietnam is set to auction up to a $5 billion stake in top brewer Sabeco on Monday, with Thai Beverage the only potential bidder to have expressed interest in a majority stake. The keenly anticipated sale of the state-owned maker of Bia Saigon gained momentum in recent months after being hampered for years by political …
Trump Sells Republican Tax Bill to Job Seekers, Middle Class
16/12/2017
U.S. President Donald Trump continued to tout the Republican tax bill Saturday, saying “everybody’s going to benefit” if it is signed into law. “But I think the greatest benefit is going to be for jobs and for the middle class, middle income,” Trump said to reporters on the White House South Lawn before departing for …
Britain Seeks ‘Bespoke’ EU Trade Deal, Pact With China
16/12/2017
British Finance Minister Philip Hammond said Saturday it is likely Britain will want to negotiate a bespoke arrangement for a future trade deal with the European Union, rather than copying existing arrangements like the Canada-EU deal. The European Union agreed Friday to move Brexit talks onto trade and a transition pact, but some leaders cautioned …
Huge Tax Bill Heads for Passage as GOP Senators Fall in Line
16/12/2017
After weeks of quarrels and qualms and then 11th-hour horse-trading, Republicans revealed their huge national tax rewrite late Friday, along with announcements of support that all but guarantee approval next week. The legislation would slash tax rates for big business and lower levies on the richest Americans in a massive $1.5 trillion bill that the GOP …
Powerful CEOs Demand DACA Fix
15/12/2017
Two titans of U.S. business have come together to demand that Congress find an immediate solution for DACA recipients, whose legal immigration status will come to an end in March without intervention. Charles Koch, chairman and chief executive of Koch Industries, and Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, wrote in an opinion piece published Thursday …
Trump Touts Progress on Slashing Federal Regulations
15/12/2017
U.S. President Donald Trump has touted progress on slashing federal regulations, which he says cost America trillions with no benefit. Speaking Thursday from the White House, the president said his administration had exceeded its goal of removing two federal regulations for every new one, by removing 22 for every new one. Opponents have criticized some …
Detroit Builds a Symbol of Resurgence on Iconic Spot
15/12/2017
An 800-foot-tall (244-meter) centerpiece is coming to Detroit’s resurgent downtown as the city continues to build momentum about three years after exiting the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. The 58-story building dominating the local skyline will rise on the site of the iconic J.L. Hudson department store, whose 1983 closing epitomized Detroit’s economic downfall. …
Documents: Odebrecht Paid Firms Linked to Peru’s President
14/12/2017
Brazilian builder Odebrecht transferred $4.8 million to companies linked to Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski between 2004 and 2012, some of which was paid to a company Kuczynski controlled when he held senior government roles, according to a document the company sent to Congress. In a brief recorded message broadcast on local radio program RPP …
US, EU, Japan Slam Market Distortion in Swipe at China
13/12/2017
The United States, European Union and Japan vowed Tuesday to work together to fight market-distorting trade practices and policies that have fueled excess production capacity, naming several key features of China’s economic system. In a joint statement that did not single out China or any other country, the three economic powers said they would work …
Afreximbank Pledges Up to $1.5B to Post-Mugabe Zimbabwe
13/12/2017
The African Export and Import Bank has pledged up to $1.5 billion in new loans and financial guarantees to Zimbabwe in a major boost for new President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government, the bank’s president and chairman said Tuesday. Mnangagwa, who took over last month after veteran autocrat Robert Mugabe quit following a de facto military coup, …
Filipino Houses From Debris, Californian Fruit Pickers’ Homes Win Major Award
13/12/2017
A project in the Philippines that used debris to rebuild typhoon-ravaged houses and Californian homes providing year-round housing for migrant workers won one of the world’s most prestigious housing awards on Tuesday. The development charity CARE used innovative techniques, such as teaching building skills to residents and using wreckage from destroyed homes, to rehouse more …
Cryptocurrency Exchanges Coinbase, Bitfinex Down
12/12/2017
Digital currency exchange operators Coinbase and Bitfinex reported problems with service through their websites on Tuesday, frustrating traders seeking to cash in on the latest surge in the value of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Wallet-provider Coinbase’s website showed “service unavailable” early on Tuesday U.S. time, flashing a message that said it was down for maintenance. …
Vietnamese Truckers Stage Rare Public Protest Against Toll Road
12/12/2017
It has not received a lot of attention outside of Vietnam, but almost every day for weeks, the topic on the front pages of newspapers has been truckers and other drivers who refused to pay a traffic toll in Vietnam and who, in doing so, became a nationwide symbol of much broader frustration with authorities. …
Traders Brace for Launch of Bitcoin Futures Market
10/12/2017
The newest way to bet on bitcoin, the cyptocurrency that has taken Wall Street by storm with its stratospheric price rise and wild daily gyrations, will arrive Sunday when bitcoin futures start trading. The launch has given an extra kick to the cyptocurrency’s scorching run this year. It has nearly doubled in price since the …
Argentina Blocks Two Activists From Entry on Eve of WTO Meeting
10/12/2017
Argentina blocked two European activists from entering the country on the eve of the World Trade Organization’s ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires, the two told a local radio program Saturday. Sally Burch, a British activist and journalist for the Latin American Information Agency, said Argentina had already revoked credentials given to her by the WTO …
US Economy Adding Jobs, But Employers Say Skills Gap is Rising
09/12/2017
The U.S. economy posted another impressive month, adding 228,000 jobs in November. The unemployment rate, now at a 17-year low, remains unchanged at 4.1 percent. But even as more Americans returned to the workforce, job recruiters say the job market is changing and both employers and employees need to be prepared. Mil Arcega reports. …
Wind, Fire, Ash Destroy Much of California Avocado Crop
09/12/2017
The wildfire that roared through the orchards of California’s Ventura County destroyed much of the region’s avocado crop not just with flames, but also with fierce Santa Ana winds and a thick blanket of ash. With the so-called Thomas Fire just 10 percent contained by Friday afternoon, after blackening more than 132,000 acres across Ventura …
‘Worker Bee’ Round of NAFTA Talks to Focus on Easier Chapters
09/12/2017
NAFTA trade negotiators convene in Washington next week for a limited round of talks unlikely to move the needle on major sticking points, but aimed at demonstrating some progress toward closing easier chapters. Last month’s round of negotiations to update the North American Free Trade Agreement in Mexico City failed to resolve major differences, as Canada …
Bangladesh Asks NY Fed to Help it Recover Stolen Millions
08/12/2017
Bangladesh’s central bank has asked the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to join a lawsuit it plans to file against a Philippines bank for its role in one of the world’s biggest cyber-heists, several sources said. The Fed has yet to respond formally, but there is no indication it would join the suit. Unidentified …
Ford to Test New Self-driving Vehicle Technology in 2018
07/12/2017
Ford Motor Co will begin testing its latest self-driving vehicle technology next year in at least one city but has not changed its plan to begin commercial production until 2021, the company said. The automaker said on Thursday that it would test self-driving prototypes in various pilot programs with partners such as Lyft, the ride …
Albania Woos Luxury Hotel Brands with Tax Breaks
07/12/2017
Albania is planning to try to lure five-star hotel brands with tax breaks, including scrapping profit and property taxes, to increase its appeal for the higher-end of the tourist trade. With travel and tourism accounting for 8.4 percent of gross domestic product in 2016, rising demand to visit the country between Montenegro and Greece washed …
World Bank to Extend Up to $200M for Western Balkans Projects
07/12/2017
The World Bank is ready to extend up to $200 million for projects that will boost transport and trade links between Western Balkans countries, its chief executive officer Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday. “We are ready to fund a trade and transport project to help the countries of the region remove the obstacles that exist …
7 Years in Prison for Former Top Volkswagen Manager
07/12/2017
A federal judge in Michigan has sentenced a former high-level Volkswagen manager to seven years in prison for his part in the scheme to cheat emissions tests and defraud consumers. Oliver Schmidt has also been fined $400,000. He pleaded guilty in August to charges that included defrauding the United States and violating the Clean Air …
China’s Ofo Joins Crowded Paris Bike-share Market
07/12/2017
China’s Ofo launched its dockless bicycles in Paris on Wednesday, becoming the fourth bike-sharing plan operator in a city set to banish all combustion-engine cars by 2030. Ofo France general manager Laurent Kennel told Reuters the firm, one of two bike-sharing giants in China, had put just over 100 of its bright yellow bicycles on …
Climate ‘Refugees,’ Sidelined From Global Deal, Ask: ‘Where Is the Justice?’
07/12/2017
Vulnerable communities uprooted by climate change are being left out of a voluntary pact to deal with migration, campaigners said, after the United States pulled out of the global deal. Although people within low-lying states are being forced to relocate because of worsening storms and rising seas, they will not be recognized in U.N. migration …