World

Profits sank for 28 of 41 industrial sectors in January and February, the latest government data shows, with computer, telecoms and electronic equipment manufacturing hit by a huge 77% fall Chinese industrial firms’ profits shrank by nearly 23% in the first two months of 2023, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Monday. China’s industrial companies have been hit by weak global demand and high costs as the country struggles to fully shake the long-term economic impacts from its tough Covid policy over recent years. The 22.9% contraction followed a 4.0% fall in industrial profits for the whole of 2022, NBS data showed on Monday, pointing to a downbeat start to the year for factories at large. NBS statistician Sun Xiao attributed the decline...

The global economy is facing an era of worsening demographics, ongoing inflation pressure and financial instability, according to a gloomy new report from The World Bank. Why it matters: If the economy is like a car, its potential growth rate is how quickly it can go without risking a ticket — or excess inflation. The World Bank says this "speed limit" has fallen dramatically, warning that forces juicing global economic growth are now in retreat. A nation's potential growth rate sets boundaries that can affect a slew of policies, including government spending and benchmark interest rates. What they're saying: "The result could be a lost decade in the making—not just for some countries or regions as has occurred in the past—but for the whole world," bank offi...

Global identity verification provider Veriff has partnered with RegTech firm Salv to strengthen the fight against financial crime.   Veriff claims having Salv’s modular crime-fighting platform available for its customers gives them a comprehensive compliance toolset and access to the world’s first real-time financial crime-fighting network, Salv Bridge. Similarly, Salv’s clients have seamless access to Veriff’s growing suite of identity verification solutions. By facilitating continuous adaptation to emerging threats and fostering critical information sharing, Salv’s collaborative crime-fighting platform is an effective solution against international financial crime networks. Veriff claims the platform has a proven track record in tackling money laundering, sa...

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank is a sign of deep-seated weaknesses in the US banking system. We have seen a significant concentration of banking assets in recent years, with the top four banks now holding almost half of all banking assets. This concentration has been facilitated by a relaxation of antitrust regulations, which has allowed mergers and acquisitions to proceed unchecked. But this concentration has come at a cost. It has reduced competition, leading to higher prices and lower quality of service for consumers. It has also increased systemic risk, as a failure of one of these large banks could trigger a cascade of failures throughout the system. This is precisely what we are seeing with the failure of SVB. The failure of a single mid-size bank has the potential to trig...

The concept of antifragility, which was introduced by Nassim Taleb, argues that some systems benefit from stress while others lose value or utility when stressed. Fragility is not weakness but conservatism, rendering the system efficient if nothing changes and dreadfully inefficient if the world changes. The dominant ones are often irrevocably fragile because their domination provides them with a rent, and they seek to protect it. Fragility is not good or bad, as it depends on the circumstances. Life has found its model of diversifying survival paths and risks to ensure its own long-term resilience. The article discusses the case of the insurance industry, which is a dominant sector but fragile by construction. The insurer collects premiums and hopes that no disruption or acci...

The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, has warned that the financial stability of the global economy is at risk due to turbulence in the banking sector. Georgieva cites rising interest rates as a major factor putting pressure on debt, causing "stresses" among lenders and leading to risks to financial stability. Other factors include the war in Ukraine and scarring from the COVID-19 pandemic. Georgieva predicts that the world economy will only expand by 3% this year. Recent bank collapses, such as those of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse, have further increased risks to financial stability, according to Georgieva. The European Central Bank is also concerned about the impact of banking turmoil on business and growth. Meanwhile, Brexit i...

This weekly round-up brings you the latest developments in the global energy sector.Top energy news: EU unveils plans to boost its energy transition; East Asia to continue leading on wind power; Volkswagen to invest $191 billion in electric vehicles.For more on the World Economic Forum’s work in the energy space, visit the Shaping the Future of Energy, Materials and Infrastructure Platform. EU looks to boost energy transitionThe European Commission has unveiled one of the centrepieces of its energy transition strategy in an attempt to ensure the EU can compete with the US and China in making clean tech products and accessing raw materials. Its Net-Zero Industry Act and Critical Raw Materials Act are part of its Green Deal Industrial Plan. The Commission says global investment in t...

Following OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT, players such as Google are scrambling to develop their own AI chatbot. It is also rumoured that Baidu is developing a project called ERNIE Bot to rival ChatGPT. With tech giants feeling the heat, will we see the race quickening to build a truly sentient chatbot? The ChatGPT logo is seen in this illustration taken 3 February 2023. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters) Following the launch of the ChatGPT chatbot by artificial intelligence start-up OpenAI (recently invested in by Microsoft), search engine giants cannot stand still. Google CEO Sundar Pichai on 6 February sent an internal memo announcing its own artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot “Bard” to take on its old rival Microsoft. The project has been given top priority, with Google’s two semi-retire...

ELAIDE :Danielle Collins, runner-up at last year's Australian Open, indicated she might be set for another run deep into the year's first Grand Slam with a 6-2 6-4 win over Karolina Pliskova at the Adelaide International 2 on Monday. The American, also a semi-finalist at Melbourne Park in 2019, set off at a canter and led 5-0 before the Czech former world number one finally found some of her once formidable game and rallied to break back. Collins, seeded 10th, would not be knocked off course, however, and converted her fifth set point to take the opening stanza before breaking Pliskova twice in the second to seal the victory. "Hope to keep the good momentum going, I played a good match today," said Collins, who will next meet Jil Teichmann in the second round after the Swiss downed Anas...