Singaporeans bemoan U.S. Senator’s ‘ignorant’ grilling of TikTok CEO

SINGAPORE — After a U.S. senator grilled Singaporean TikTok CEO about his nationality and affiliation with the Chinese Communist Party, Singaporeans are complaining about ignorant — or even racist — views of their country. TikTok CEO Shou Chew, along with executives from technology firms such as Meta, X and Snap, testified before U.S. lawmakers on … Read more

IBM says generative AI can help automate business actions

SOPA Images/Contributor/Getty Images A big focus of enterprise work these days is to automate human tasks for greater efficiency. Computer giant IBM asks in its most recent research whether generative artificial intelligence (AI), such as large language models (LLMs), can be a stepping stone to automation. Called “SNAP”, IBM’s proposed software framework trains an LLM … Read more

Ex-Trump White House Adviser Makes Surprise Confession On Fox Business

One of Donald Trump’s leading economic advisers now admits he was wrong about the predictions he made for the economy under President Joe Biden. “Mea culpa,” Fox Business host Larry Kudlow said on the air Thursday. “I was wrong about the slowdown and the recession, so was the entire forecasting fraternity.” Fox News host Sandra … Read more

Japan’s Aozora Bank hits near 3-year lows as bad U.S. property loans prompt loss forecast

The Aozora Bank Ltd. headquarters in Tokyo Japan, on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. Japan’s Aozora Bank became the second lender in a span of hours to surprise investors with losses tied to US commercial property, sending shares down by the limit and heightening concern over global banks’ exposure to souring real estate bets. Akio Kon … Read more

Morocco arrests 30 people suspected of trafficking newborns, report says

FES, Morocco — Moroccan authorities arrested 30 people this week in the city of Fes on multiple charges as part of a wide-ranging case involving blackmail, threats and trafficking of newborn babies. The North African country’s state-run news agency, MAP, reported on Wednesday that the suspects — including law enforcement agents, doctors, nurses and other … Read more

US company says hostage-taking by gunmen at its factory in Turkey in Gaza protest has been resolved

ISTANBUL — Two gunmen took seven hostages at a factory owned by U.S. company Procter & Gamble in northwest Turkey on Thursday, according to media reports, apparently in protest of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Turkish media published an image of one of the purported suspects inside the factory, a man wearing what appeared to … Read more

Apple (AAPL) earnings report Q1 2024

Apple CEO Tim Cook looks on following a conversation on mental health, during a spousal program on the last day of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Week at Apple Park in San Francisco, California, on November 17, 2023. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images Apple reported fiscal first-quarter earnings on Thursday that beat … Read more

Thank God FTX Won’t Be Coming Back

Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP (Getty Images) It’s official: There will be no further attempts to salvage FTX. The once popular but now defunct crypto exchange that “misplaced” billions of dollars in user assets before collapsing in a heap of scandal is officially headed to the corporate graveyard. The Biggest Crypto Heists of 2022…So … Read more

Why European Union officials are taking angry farmers so seriously before Thursday’s summit

HALLE, Belgium — The writing of angry farmers was on the Paris-to-Brussels highway in giant yellow letters visible from up high: “Ursula, We are here!” It was chalked onto the road with an equal measure of defiance and desperation, warning European Commission Ursula von der Leyen not to ignore farmers’ concerns for better prices and … Read more

Paytm to terminate business with Paytm Payments Bank after central bank’s clampdown

Paytm said Thursday that it will cease work with its associate Paytm Payments Bank and accelerate plans to partner with other banks, after India’s central bank barred Paytm Payments Bank from conducting nearly all of its business activities due to supervisory concerns. The Noida-based financial services firm said it expects its loan distribution, insurance distribution … Read more