The Alibaba Group company logo is displayed on a screen at the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on February 14, 2024 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images Alibaba on Tuesday said it was scrapping a planned initial public offering for its smart logistics unit Cainiao, adding to recent woes … Read more
Heli-skiing on virgin snow in Antarctica for a cool $2.2 million. A polar bear safari in an “off-limits” area of Norway’s Svalbard for $300,000. How about tracking snow leopards in the Himalayas with renowned explorers for $100,000? Big-ticket travel experiences like those are indicative of the “quiet luxury” trend which began in the world of … Read more
Terry Vine | Getty Images Falling fertility rates are set to spark a transformational demographic shift over the next 25 years, with major implications for the global economy, according to a new study. By 2050, three-quarters of countries are forecast to fall below the population replacement birth rate of 2.1 babies per female, research published … Read more
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell holds a press conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy in Washington, U.S., March 20, 2024. Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters Central banks around the world reached a pivotal point this week, with Switzerland becoming the first major economy to cut interest … Read more
Deep-pocketed, sovereign wealth funds are among the investors clamoring to get a stake in Anthropic, the red-hot artificial intelligence startup that’s taking on OpenAI. One country that’s being left out: Saudi Arabia. As bankers line up a group of potential new Anthropic backers, the company has ruled out taking money from the Saudis, according to … Read more
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan plans to seek a long-term loan from the International Monetary Fund to help stabilize the country’s ailing economy after the end of the IMF’s current $3 billion bailout package, the country’s newly appointed finance minister said Friday. Muhammad Aurangzeb, who plans to meet with IMF officials in Washington in April, did not … Read more
U.S. commuters. Caroline Purser | The Image Bank | Getty Images The recent influx of immigration into the U.S. is helping to bolster the economy despite a raft of global challenges, according to Joyce Chang, chair of global research at JPMorgan. The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its U.S. GDP growth projection to 2.1% … Read more
BANGKOK — Vietnam’s president resigned in the latest episode of the ruling Communist Party’s “blazing furnace” anti-corruption campaign, and Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan was named acting president. The appointment is Xuan’s second stint as acting president after she stepped in when Vo Van Thuong’s predecessor resigned in early 2023. The turmoil among top … Read more
A picture taken on August 14, 2018 shows the logo of Turkey’s Central Bank at the entrance of its headquarters in Ankara, Turkey. ADEM ALTAN | AFP | Getty Images Turkey’s central bank on Thursday raised its key interest rate, the one-week repo rate, from 45% to 50%, citing the continuing need to counter climbing … Read more
The Swiss national flag hangs from the Federal Palace, Switzerland’s parliament building, in Bern, Switzerland, on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. The Swiss National Bank cut its inflation forecast and showed no inclination of moving off its crisis-era settings, citing the francs strength and mounting global risks. Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty … Read more