World

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,...

For Jackie Cummings Koski, leaving the workforce was the culmination of a financial journey that began when she was just a girl. Raised by a single dad, Koski says that money was "always scarce" growing up and that she and her five siblings "basically lived in poverty." "We barely made it. We barely scraped by," she tells CNBC Make It. "So as I went through college and started my own career, I always had this nagging feeling that I never wanted to be back in poverty again." Jackie Cummings Koski lives in Southwestern Ohio. In 2019, she retired with $1.3 million in the bank. Sam Mirpoorian | CNBC Make It Now 51, and with a 20-year career as an account manager at data analytics firm LexisNexis behind her, Koski is an early retiree and member of the FIRE — or "Financially Independent, Retir...

WASHINGTON : The U.S. Defense Department said a study https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3153449/press-release-on-the-nasem-section-1663-report/ released Friday shows Ligado Networks' planned nationwide mobile broadband network will interfere with military global positioning system receivers (GPS) receivers. The Federal Communications Commission in April 2020 voted to permit Ligado to deploy a low-power network. In January 2021, the FCC rejected a bid by U.S. government agencies to put its decision on hold. The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report released Friday https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2022/09/potential-effects-of-operating-a-terrestrial-radio-network-near-gps-frequency-bands-assessed-by-new-report warned some Iridium Communica...

SINGAPORE: India's decision to curb rice exports is expected to lift world prices of the staple and trigger a rally in rival wheat and corn markets, deepening concerns over food inflation. Rice prices in key exporters India, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar are set to rise, traders and analysts said, hitting food importers already suffering from higher costs due to adverse weather and the Russia-Ukraine war. India banned exports of broken rice and imposed a 20 per cent duty on exports of various grades of rice on Thursday as the world's biggest exporter of the grain tries to augment supplies and calm local prices after below-average monsoon rainfall curtailed planting. "There is going to be substantial stresses on food security across many countries," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness econom...

The U.S. Secret Service returned $286 million in fraudulently obtained pandemic aid loans to the Small Business Administration, the agency announced Friday. The funds sent back to the SBA were obtained via the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program using both fabricated information and stolen identities. The suspects used Green Dot Bank, a fintech institution, to hold and move the fraudulent funds. More than 15,000 accounts were used in the conspiracy, by individuals in the U.S. as well as domestic and transnational organized crime rings, the agency said. Investigations are ongoing and further information about suspects was not immediately released. The investigation was initiated by the Secret Service field office in Orlando, Florida, and Green Dot bank worked with the agency to ...

NEW YORK: The US Department of Labor on Monday (Aug 22) accused a Korean-owned auto parts maker and supplier of Hyundai Motor of violating federal child labour laws at an Alabama factory, federal court filings reviewed by Reuters show. The Department of Labor (DOL) said that SL Alabama LLC, a subsidiary of South Korea's SL Corp, employed underage workers at its Alexander City, Alabama factory, according to filings on Monday with the US District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. Since last November, SL Alabama "repeatedly violated" labour regulations by "employing oppressive child labour" and "minors under the age of 16", the DOL said in a six-page complaint. In a statement to Reuters, SL Alabama admitted children had worked at the plant, which makes headlights, rear lights and o...

Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she visits Cyfarthfa High School and Castle on April 26, 2012 Chris Jackson WPA - Pool | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II was admired at home and around the world during her reign — the longest in British and world history. Having ascended to the throne in 1952 at age 25, Elizabeth became the U.K.'s longest reigning monarch in September 2015 when she surpassed Queen Victoria's record of nearly 64 years. Elizabeth became the world's longest-reigning monarch and head of state when Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej died in October 2016 after he spent 70 years on the throne. During her life, the queen was a patron to hundreds of charities and organizations and was one of the most traveled world leaders. CNBC looks back at some of the B...

SINGAPORE: The setting of a new salary benchmark and other planned changes that will be made alongside the introduction of a new talent work pass do not constitute a relaxation of existing policies, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng in Parliament on Monday (Sep 12). Dr Tan was responding to parliamentary questions about the Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass – a new work pass that will be introduced to strengthen Singapore’s position as a global talent hub. The work pass is meant for talent from any sector who earns a monthly salary of S$30,000 and above, or has “outstanding achievements” in the areas of science and technology, arts and culture, research and academia, or sports, authorities said. It will be rolled out alongside other adjustments to Singapore’s work pass framework. Fo...