World

In this article AAPL Meta Apple and Facebook parent Meta are expected to release mixed reality headsets in the coming year that could finally fulfill the industry's promise to turn head-worn devices into the next big shift in personal computing. But there's one major potential snag: sticker shock. The best-selling virtual reality headset, the Meta Quest 2, retails for $400 and accounted for 78% of the nascent VR market in 2021, according to IDC. Consumers who want the next-generation technology are going to have to spend multiples of that. Meta's forthcoming high-end headset, codenamed Cambria, is expected to cost at least $800, the company said earlier this year. Apple's unannounced device could reportedly cost thousands of dollars. That's a hefty load for products in a category that's ...

(This Sept 13 story corrects spelling of word 'availability' in paragraph 12) By Kane Wu HONG KONG : Hong Kong-based Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) has closed its eighth, and largest, pan-Asia fund at $11.2 billion, the firm said on Tuesday. The final close, which exceeded BPEA's $8.5 billion initial target and is 70 per cent more than its previous fund, also made it one of the largest private equity funds ever raised in Asia, at a time of economic and political uncertainty A total of $97 billion was raised by Asia-focused private equity funds so far this year, compared with 2021's full-year amount of $226 billion, according to data provider Preqin. BPEA's latest fund exceeded Blackstone's $11 billion Asia fund raised in January, the data showed. Jean Salata, the firm's chief exec...

It's an island that is closer to France than to England — yet it is part of the British Isles. It's home to miles of tunnels built during World War II — but by German rather than British soldiers. And it has lower taxes than the U.K. and its own financial rules. The island of Jersey, in the English Channel, is only five miles long and nine miles wide but has plenty for visitors to see, according to Amanda Burns, CEO of tourism agency Visit Jersey. "We pack quite a big punch," Burns told CNBC by phone. "What's really interesting is ... the geological uniqueness of the island, through to the history and the heritage," she said. Located about 120 miles from England — and 14 from France — Jersey attracts visitors who travel to the island via ferry or a short flight. Quirky Jersey Though Engl...

China’s government says it will use the advantages of its “new-type whole-nation system” to catapult technological progress, an apparent expansion of the authoritarian state’s proven ability to mobilize market and academic resources for development purposes. On Tuesday, a meeting of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission, chaired by General Secretary Xi Jinping, approved a document that outlines using China’s “whole-nation system” to develop high technologies. Seeking to raise academic standards, the meeting also approved a document on reforming the system used to appoint academicians to the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, both leading institutions with important roles in tech-related research and developme...

HANOI: The death toll from a fire that tore through a karaoke bar in southern Vietnam has risen to 23, an official said on Wednesday (Sep 7). The blaze engulfed the second floor of the building on Tuesday night, trapping customers and staff as dense smoke filled the staircase and blocked the emergency exit, reports said. Many crowded onto a balcony to escape the flames, which grew quickly as they caught the wooden interior, while others were forced to jump from the building, state media added. Photos showed plumes of smoke billowing out of the bar - located in a crowded residential neighbourhood in Thuan An city, north of commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City in Binh Duong province - as firefighters on cranes tried to extinguish the blaze. "We are still searching for more victims, but the de...

Employees working on an air-conditioner production line at a Midea factory in Guangzhou, China. Jade Gao | AFP | Getty Images BEIJING — China reported data for July that came in well below expectations as the real estate slump and Covid controls dragged down growth. Retail sales grew by 2.7% in July from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday. That's well below the 5% growth forecast by a Reuters poll, and down from growth of 3.1% in June. Within retail sales, catering, furniture and construction-related categories saw declines. Sales of autos, one of the largest categories by value, rose by 9.7%. The gold, silver and jewelry category saw sales rise the most, up by 22.1%. Online sales of physical goods rose by 10% year-on-year, faster than in June, according to CNBC cal...

Srdjanpav | E+ | Getty Images watch now "They're focusing on what they can control," Sethi said of employers. "They're dealing with geopolitics, supply-chain issues, inflation, war in Ukraine, all these factors for which they have to determine what their strategies are." Despite those negative indicators, other data suggest the labor market remains strong. Employers added 528,000 payrolls in July, beating expectations and marking a full recovery of lost jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic. The layoff rate hovered near record lows in June while job openings remained historically elevated. About 250,000 people filed an initial claim for unemployment benefits during the week ended Aug. 13 — an increase relative to the spring but only up slightly from prepandemic levels. "The labor markets are...

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks ended with gains on Wednesday (Sep 14), retracing some of the losses from one day earlier driven by stronger-than-expected US inflation data that sparked fears of more Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. The S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent. The dollar edged down in choppy trade, as oil prices climbed. The US inflation data still pulled European and Asian equities sharply lower, London the heaviest faller in Europe after news that UK inflation had slowed last month but remained close to a 40-year high. US shares were battered on Tuesday by the consumer price index data showing widespread inflation pressures, and though the annual CPI pace slowed in August, prices unexpectedly increased in the month compared to July. The disappointing result left investors bracing...

BERLIN : Germany's economy ministry is considering a raft of measures to make business with China less attractive as it seeks to reduce its dependency on Asia's economic superpower, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The measures could include reducing or even scrapping investment and export guarantees for China and no longer promoting trade fairs and manager training there, those people said. Loans from state lender KfW could be re-directed to projects in other Asian countries, such as Indonesia, in line with attempts to diversify trade and increase business with democracies. The ministry is also considering screening not just Chinese investments in Germany but also German investments in China, one of the sources told Reuters. In addition, the government is considering s...

Let's get you up to speed with the day's stories. Singapore has granted interim authorisation for its first bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine. The Spikevax Bivalent Original/Omicron COVID-19 jab by Moderna comprises two components that target the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and the Omicron BA.1 variant respectively. It is an updated version of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. It is authorised for use as a booster in individuals aged 18 years and above, who have received primary series COVID-19 vaccination. Safety data from the clinical studies showed that the bivalent vaccine was generally well-tolerated. The Health Sciences Authority added that it will take the necessary action and provide updates to the public if significant safety concerns are identified. Just what is a bivalent vaccine,...