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Grand Theft Auto video game-maker Take-Two Interactive said Monday it would buy Zynga for $11.04 billion in a cash-and-stock deal that will add popular mobile titles such as FarmVille under its umbrella as demand surges for on-the-go gaming. The deal, the largest ever in the sector, will create a gaming powerhouse with a market cap of nearly $30 billion, spanning console, PC and mobile devices at a time that more people are gaming on their smartphones. Take-Two, also known for adventure game Red Dead Redemption, offered $3.50 in cash and $6.361 in shares for each Zynga share, a 64% premium to the last closing price. Including debt, the acquisition is worth $12.7 billion. "It's a bombshell deal. … Zynga was on the list of potential M&A transactions for a long time in the video game busin...

People wait outside a community center as long lines continue for individuals for COVID-19 testing during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, January 10, 2022. Mike Blake | Reuters The World Bank slashed its global growth forecast for 2022 and 2023, and cautioned that a rise in inflation, debt and income inequality could jeopardize the recovery in emerging and developing economies. Global growth is expected to slow to 4.1% in 2022 and 3.2% in 2023 as more nations start unwinding unprecedented levels of fiscal and monetary policy support to tackle the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the bank said in its "Global Economic Prospects" report on Tuesday. The projections follow a strong rebound in global growth as demand soared after Covid-related ...

SINGAPORE: Shares of Singapore’s property firms fell on Thursday (Dec 16) after the Government unexpectedly announced a slew of new measures to cool the private residential and HDB resale markets. City Developments plunged as much as 4.1 per cent in early morning trade. The counter later regained some ground to close 2.7 per cent, or S$0.19 lower, at S$6.88. Other developers also managed to trim their losses in afternoon trade. UOL finished 0.8 per cent, or S$0.06, lower at S$7.04, after declining as much as 3 per cent when the market opened. Oxley Holdings fell as low as S$0.179 at the open before recouping some losses to close down 2.1 per cent at S$0.183. GuocoLand dropped 0.7 per cent, or S$0.01, to S$1.51, while Frasers Property shed 0.9 per cent, or S$0.01, to close at S$1.14. Pr...

For several decades, “people-powered” grassroots movements across Southeast Asia have fought for democratic reforms, human rights, improved access to quality education and health care, and, ultimately, an end to extreme poverty. These movements have been motivated by a vision of inclusive prosperity and social justice that stands as an alternative to the neoliberal “road to serfdom” on which much of the region has been traveling by default. Unfortunately, the hard-fought gains of recent decades are now in jeopardy. Southeast Asia is backsliding on democracy, and the erosion of accountability will lead to familiar outcomes, including concentration of power, massive corruption and rent-seeking by business and political elites, media repression and limits on freedom of assembly. Add to that ...

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law a bill banning goods from China’s Xinjiang region unless companies can prove they aren’t made with forced labor, in a move that will add to tensions over Beijing’s treatment of the nation’s Uyghur minority. The bill passed with unanimous backing in both the House and Senate earlier this month, showcasing how Republicans and Democrats are largely aligned on China policy despite Washington’s deep partisan divisions on most major issues. The measure is motivated by concern about the oppression of Uyghur Muslims in a region that holds a major place in global supply chains. Xinjiang is a source for cotton used in clothing and is a key location for producing polysilicon used in solar panels, which in turn are seen as crucial in the global sh...

In his autobiography, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reflects on his time as foreign minister, notably recalling an encounter with China’s chief diplomat Wang Yi. The exact occasion wasn’t specified, but it was during a time when bilateral relations between the two countries were strained. Kishida, believing that better relations with China would lead to stability in the region, describes how he and Wang arranged a one-on-one meeting without interpreters by their sides. The Chinese diplomat, speaking in Japanese, remarked on how Kishida belonged to the Kochikai, the Liberal Democratic Party faction of which he was and still is leader. “Mr. Kishida, you’re a member of Kochikai, so you will treat Japan’s relationship with China as important,” Wang said. Kishida was aware that Wang did not s...

The elections also come amid a crackdown on dissent in the city. Most of Hong Kong's prominent pro-democracy activists and opposition politicians are either in jail or awaiting trial, after 47 people were charged with subversion under a national security law in January over their roles in an unofficial primary election. Authorities say that the primary – organised by the pro-democracy camp – was aimed at crippling the government and subverting state power. The electoral reforms and stringent vetting processes have also led to fewer pro-democracy candidates. For the first time since 1997, no members from Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy party, the Democratic Party, submitted applications to be nominated. Overall, the number of candidates for the elections has also fallen. This year, the...

WASHINGTON: US consumer prices jumped last year at the fastest pace in four decades, the government confirmed on Wednesday (Jan 13), underscoring the potent inflation wave that has sapped public support for President Joe Biden even as the economy recovers from the pandemic. The seven percent increase in the Labor Department's consumer price index (CPI) over the 12 months to December was the highest since June 1982, as prices rose for an array of goods especially housing, cars and food. Since taking office last January, Biden has presided over an economy that has expanded rapidly and seen millions of people who lost their jobs to the COVID-19 pandemic return to work. But a collision between rebounding demand, labour shortages and global supply chain snarls - especially computer chips for...

SINGAPORE: More than a year after a human skeleton was found under a bridge at Kallang Bahru, the identity of the deceased remains unknown, despite extensive investigations and cross-referencing with 18 unsolved missing persons cases. In a set of findings made available on Wednesday (Jan 12), State Coroner Adam Nakhoda declared an open verdict into the case. The identity of the deceased and the cause of death remain unknown. Evidence uncovered in the inquiry suggests that the deceased was an adult man in his 30s to 60s who died at least six months to a year before his bones were discovered on Nov 9, 2020. In early November 2020, workers were erecting scaffolding under the bridge at 1 Kallang Place as part of a contract awarded by the Land Transport Authority (LTA). At about noon on Nov...

Japan should offer tax breaks in the next fiscal year and spur ¥10 trillion ($88 billion) in investment over the next decade to revive domestic chipmaking, the top adviser on a government semiconductor panel has said. Roughly $7 billion in supplementary spending approved by the government this week should be just the start of its efforts to reverse decades of decline in the industry, said Tetsuro Higashi, the former chief of Tokyo Electron Ltd. and leading chip expert advising Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration. Tetsuro Higashi | BLOOMBERG “I expect this level of funding to continue at least for the next few years,” Higashi said in an interview Monday. “Without initial investment from the government, we won’t be able to reach a point where private companies will put in the mo...