World

Britain's Cineworld filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States on Wednesday, as the world's second-largest cinema chain operator struggles to rein in its massive debt. The Chapter 11 filing involves Cineworld's U.S., UK and Jersey operations, covering the bulk of its business. Here is a timeline of the company, which operates under the Cinema City, Picturehouse, Regal and Yes Planet brands, and its past and present struggles. 1995 Cineworld founded by Steve Wiener after he left his job as managing director of Warner Bros Europe July 1996 First multiplex opens in Stevenage, England October 2004 Private equity firm Blackstone buys Cineworld from consortium of investors including group's management December 2004 Cineworld buys UGC's cinema operations in Britain and Ireland...

In this article AMAT LRCX KLAC U.S. President Joe Biden speaking during the groundbreaking of the new Intel semiconductor plant on September 9, 2022 in Johnstown, Ohio. The Biden administration plans next month to broaden curbs on U.S shipments to China of semiconductors used for artificial intelligence and chipmaking tools, several people familiar with the matter said. Andrew Spear | Getty Images News | Getty Images The Biden administration plans next month to broaden curbs on U.S shipments to China of semiconductors used for artificial intelligence and chipmaking tools, several people familiar with the matter said. The Commerce Department intends to publish new regulations based on restrictions communicated in letters earlier this year to three U.S. companies — KLA, Lam Research and ...

LONDON : Saudi Arabia and Russia, the de facto leaders of the OPEC+ oil producer group, see $100 a barrel as a fair price that the global economy can absorb, sources familiar with government thinking in the two countries told Reuters. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other allies, known as OPEC+, pumps more than 40 per cent of the 100 million barrels per day of global output. The group has a powerful influence on global fuel prices through its supply policy. OPEC+ does not explicitly state its preferred price level. Top officials in both Saudi Arabia and Russia have said in recent weeks that the group's policy focus is to ensure that global oil supply matches demand, not defend a certain price. "Our focus is straightforward - looking at supplies and dema...

TAIPEI : Taiwan's export orders unexpectedly fell in July on weakening demand for technology and continued economic troubles in its largest market China, and the government said the outlook for tech demand was mixed though not totally negative. Export orders, a bellwether for global technology demand, last month fell 1.9 per cent from a year earlier to $54.26 billion, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Monday. Analysts had expected 3.6 per cent growth. July's drop followed a 9.5 per cent annual expansion in June. April logged the first fall since February 2020, when the pandemic had just begun sweeping the world. Orders for telecommunications products in July slipped 0.8 per cent on a year before on weaker end-consumer demand, but also off a high base from last year, the ministry ...

SINGAPORE: Two former directors of a company that sold gold bars in a buyback arrangement which turned out to be a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme were sentenced to jail on Monday (Sep 12). Iseli Rudolf James Maitland, 63, and How Soo Feng, 48, were each given three years and 10 months' jail for fraudulent trading. They were found guilty of a charge each of being a party to a business for the fraudulent purpose of selling gold bars under a scheme promising returns. The company, The Gold Label, ran a gold buyback business between 2009 and 2011. The firm sold gold bars to its customers at a premium of more than 20 per cent above prevailing gold market prices in contracts lasting three or six months. In exchange, customers were promised guaranteed returns as high as 24 per cent per annum...

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium: Lewis Hamilton took the blame for a first-lap collision of champions with Fernando Alonso that ended the Briton's Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday (Aug 28), and was also given a warning for refusing to go to the medical centre. Alpine's Alonso had called the most successful F1 driver of all time an "idiot" who "only knows how to drive and start in first (place)" after the pair made contact while fighting for second. Hamilton told Sky Sports television he did not care what the Spaniard had said. "Looking back at the footage, he was in my blind spot and I didn't leave him enough space so it was my fault today," he said, apologising to the team. Double world champion Alonso had lined up third on the grid, with seven-times champion Hamilton alongside. Alonso made a...

BEIJING : China's exporters – the last reliable pillar of the world's second-largest economy as it struggled with the pandemic, weak consumption and a property crisis – are warning of hard times ahead as softer overseas markets force them to shed workers, shift to lower-value goods and even rent out their factories. Alarm bells sounded for China's $18 trillion economy when trade data last week showed export growth well short of expectations and slowing for the first time in four months. Those alarms are echoing in workshops across eastern and southern China's manufacturing hubs, in industries from machinery parts and textiles to high-tech home appliances, where businesses are scaling back while export orders dry up. "It is very likely China's exports will slow further or even contract i...

JAKARTA: Zainal Ridho, 41, owns a car rental company in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan. Previously, the day rate for his Toyota Innova, including the price of subsidised Pertalite fuel, was 800,000 rupiah (US$54). Last week, he raised the price to 900,000 rupiah per day, amid the widespread belief that the government would soon increase the price of subsidised fuel. “I must explain to the customers why I have adjusted the rental price,” he said. While he still has loyal customers, some of them try to negotiate a better deal to get a lower price, he said. Additionally, his 20 employees have also requested a salary increase as their expenses have been going up. Last weekend, the government announced that it will raise subsidised fuel prices by about 30 per cent amid rising global prices....

The U.S. solar market will nearly triple over the next five years, after President Joe Biden signed the largest climate bill in U.S. history into law, according to a new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie. The report, released Thursday, projects the U.S. market growing 40% more than prior forecasts through 2027 on the heels of the supportive legislation. "The Inflation Reduction Act has given the solar industry the most long-term certainty it has ever had," Michelle Davis, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said in a statement. "Ten years of investment tax credits stands in stark contrast to the one-, two-, or five-year extensions that the industry has experienced in the last decade. It's not an overstatement to say that the IRA will lead to a new e...

BEIJING : China's consumer prices rose at a slower-than-expected pace in August while the rate of producer inflation hit an 18-month low, reflecting an economy plagued by weak domestic demand and leaving room for further central bank policy easing. The consumer price index (CPI) increased 2.5 per cent from the same month a year earlier, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Friday, slower than 2.7 per cent in July and the 2.8 per cent average forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts. The producer price index (PPI) rose 2.3 per cent, the slowest pace since February 2021, and slower than 4.2 per cent a month prior and 3.1 per cent in the poll, due to falling energy and raw materials prices. "Factory gate inflation is set to fall further throughout the rest of the year thanks to...