World

NEW YORK :Oil prices rose over 1 per cent on Monday after China's reopened borders boosted the outlook for fuel demand and overshadowed global recession concerns. The rally was part of a wider boost for risk sentiment supported by both the reopening of the world's biggest crude importer and hopes for less-aggressive increases to U.S. interest rates, with equities rising and the dollar weakening. Brent crude was up $1.08, or 1.4 per cent, at $79.65 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 86 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $74.63. "The gradual reopening of the Chinese economy will provide an additional and immeasurable layer of price support," said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM. The rally followed a drop last week of more than 8 per cent for both oil benchmarks, their biggest weekly...

KUALA LUMPUR :Malaysia, the world's second-largest palm oil producer, on Thursday said it might stop palm exports to the European Union after the bloc imposed additional import restrictions on the edible oil due to concerns over deforestation. WHAT IS THE DISAGREEMENT ABOUT? Malaysia and Indonesia have for years been at loggerheads with the European Union over curbs on imports of palm oil, which the two countries say are trade barriers and protectionist measures for the bloc's domestic oilseed industries. The EU deforestation regulation is in addition to an EU renewable-energy directive, announced in 2018, that requires the phasing out of palm-based transportation fuels by 2030. The bloc has also set a separate safety limit on food contaminant 3-MCPD esters for palm oil compared to sof...

BEIJING — China's consumption recovery from zero-Covid is getting off to a solid start – after a depressing fourth quarter. When Michelin-starred restaurant Rêver reopened Thursday from a Lunar New Year break, it was fully booked, said Edward Suen, chief operating officer of the Guangzhou venue. Reservations for the next three days were near capacity, he said. He's hopeful business improves this year – and allows Rêver to recoup the roughly 35% in revenue it lost last year. Guangzhou city was one of the hardest hit by China's Covid controls in late 2022, before Beijing abruptly ended most measures in early December and a wave of infections hit the country. "Last Christmas, it was the first time in three years we didn't run a full house, because quite a lot of people made reservations but t...

JAKARTA: Two workers including a Chinese national were killed at a nickel smelting plant in Indonesia at the weekend after a riot broke out during a protest over labour conditions, officials said Monday (Jan 16). The clashes began Saturday evening at the facility on Indonesia's Sulawesi island operated by PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI), a local unit of China's Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry. The island is a hub for the mineral-rich country's production of the metal, which is used for electric vehicle batteries and stainless steel. A 30-year-old Chinese worker and an Indonesian worker were killed, Central Sulawesi police spokesman Didik Supranoto told AFP, without giving a cause of death. Beijing is working with the Indonesian government to ensure the incident will be "properly hand...

BENGALURU : The Indian government will borrow a record 16 trillion rupees ($198 billion) in the fiscal year to March 2024, according to a Reuters poll of economists, who said infrastructure spending and fiscal discipline ought to be its highest budget priorities. The federal government's gross indebtedness has more than doubled in the past four years as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has spent heavily to cushion the economy from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide relief to the poor. The Feb. 1 budget will be the last full-fledged one before national elections in 2024 and before elections in several large populous states that will be key tests for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But a fall in tax revenue and expected slowing economic growth next fisca...

Welcome back to Money Made Easy, where we focus on simple ways to manage your finances and save money. In the latest installment of the series, CNBC Select Contributor and financial advisor Kristin Merrick walks us through her best tips for rethinking how you manage your money in 2023. Check out the full interview featured on TODAY in the video below and read on to see some of Merrick's best strategies. Subscribe to the Select Newsletter! Our best selections in your inbox. Shopping recommendations that help upgrade your life, delivered weekly. Sign-up here. Review account statements from last year A personal finance reboot requires you to revisit the past year's spending habits. Most credit cards will offer year-end summaries that compile all your past purchases by month and category. M...

DAVOS, Switzerland: Microsoft Corp on Wednesday (Jan 18) said it would eliminate 10,000 jobs and take a US$1.2 billion charge to earnings, as its cloud-computing customers reassess their spending and the company braces for potential recession. The layoffs add to the tens of thousands announced in recent months across the technology sector, which has downshifted following a strong growth period during the pandemic. The news comes even as the software maker is set to ramp up spending in generative artificial intelligence that the industry sees as the new bright spot. In a note to employees, CEO Satya Nadella attempted to address the divergent outlook for different parts of the business. Customers wanted to "optimize their digital spend to do more with less" and "exercise caution as some ...

WASHINGTON: The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Monday (Jan 9) it is proposing a requirement that passenger and cargo aircraft in the United States have 5G C-Band-tolerant radio altimeters or install approved filters by early 2024. Concerns that 5G service could interfere with airplane altimeters, which give data on a plane's height above the ground and are crucial for bad-weather landing, led to disruptions at some U.S. airports earlier this year. The proposed airworthiness directive, which would take effect in February 2024, is similar to one that took effect in December 2021, prohibiting passenger and cargo flight operations in the vicinity of 5G C-Band wireless transmitters unless the FAA specifically approved them. The FAA is also proposing a requirement that airli...

With experts still debating whether or not 2023 will bring a recession, you might be wary of starting a new venture anytime soon. That's understandable. When the economy is in turmoil, new businesses can face greater hurdles than usual. A downturn could convince investors to hold back their funding. Potential customers could think twice about spending on new products. But, if history is any indicator, your business idea could still thrive even a recession occurs. Multiple high-profile startups that did just that after launching during the Great Recession, which ran from late-2007 to the summer of 2009. It's proof that even tough times aren't enough to prevent every great idea from growing into a flourishing business — especially if your idea can save other people money during tough times. ...

SINGAPORE: A 47-year-old man broke into a woman's home and raped her after meeting her for the first time at a karaoke lounge. After raping her, Yap Pow Foo offered the woman up to S$50,000 and said he would marry her. Yap contested the charges at trial but the High Court found him guilty of both of them. In a judgment dated Monday (Jan 16), Justice Tan Siong Thye laid out the reasons for his decision. On Jan 29, 2017, the 39-year-old victim was at a KTV lounge in Bugis with some friends to celebrate Chinese New Year. Yap joined them towards the end of the night and drove the victim and other members of the group home at around 12.45am on Jan 30, 2017. The victim was heavily intoxicated and was the first to be dropped off, but after ferrying the rest of the people home, Yap returned t...