World economy
The Fed’s favorite inflation gauge rose 5.2% in March as worker pay fell further behind
Canned goods are displayed at a Safeway store on April 11, 2022 in San Anselmo, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images A measure that the Federal Reserve focuses on to gauge inflation rose in March, likely cementing the central bank’s intention to hike interest rates by half a percentage in May. The core personal consumption […]
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UN deputy secretary-general responds to criticism over Ukraine conflict, says there’ll be lessons learned
Russian is one of five nations that hold a veto power on the U.N’s Security Council. Carlo Allegri | Reuters The United Nations deputy secretary-general has told CNBC there will be “lessons learned” from the war in Ukraine. Speaking Wednesday after the release of the U.N’s “2022 Financing for Sustainable Development Report,” Amina Mohammed said […]
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Bitcoin adopted as legal tender by African country — the second to do so after El Salvador
Bitcoin is a volatile asset, and has been known to swing more than 10% higher or lower in a single day. Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images The Central African Republic has become the second country in the world to adopt bitcoin as official currency, after El Salvador took the same step last year. […]
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Denmark becomes the first country to halt its Covid vaccination program
A researcher works on a vaccine against the new coronavirus COVID-19 at the Copenhagen’s University research lab in Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 23, 2020. Thibault Savary | AFP | Getty Images Denmark has become the first country to halt its Covid vaccination program, saying it is doing so because the virus is now under control. […]
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Standard Chartered reports better-than-expected profit, flags bullish outlook on rising rates
Pedestrians pass the headquarters of Standard Chartered in London on Feb. 14, 2022. Standard Chartered’s first-quarter pre-tax profit rose 6%, beating market expectations, as the emerging markets-focused lender benefited from rising interest rates and flagged a robust outlook. Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images Standard Chartered posted a forecast-beating 6% rise in first-quarter profit, […]
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China’s Xi announces another infrastructure push to boost growth as Covid drags on
China had 37,900 kilometers (23,550 miles) of operational high-speed rail as of the end of 2020, which the country claims accounts for more than two-thirds of the world’s total. Zhang Bin | China News Service | Getty Images BEIJING — As Covid controls drag down growth, China plans to boost its economy with more infrastructure […]
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China’s central bank steps in to slow its rapidly weakening currency, as yuan hits one-year lows
The Chinese yuan has weakened sharply against the U.S. dollar in the last several weeks as the greenback strengthens and investors worry about China’s economic growth. Fotoholica Press | Lightrocket | Getty Images BEIJING — The Chinese yuan strengthened slightly against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, reversing a sharp weakening trend after the People’s Bank […]
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Luxury EV maker Lucid scores order from Saudi government for up to 100,000 vehicles
With 1,050 horsepower, the new Grand Touring Performance edition becomes the most powerful version of Lucid’s electric Air sedan. Lucid Motors Lucid Group said that the government of Saudi Arabia has agreed to buy up to 100,000 of its electric vehicles over the next ten years. Saudi Arabia’s public wealth fund holds an approximately 62% stake […]
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Investment banks slash expectations for China’s economic outlook — one sees GDP growth of less than 4%
Prolonged lockdowns in Shanghai have snarled supply chains and prompted banks to cut China GDP forecasts. Here, a truck leaves a port on April 13, 2022, with healthcare supplies for Shanghai. Tang Ke | Visual China Group | Getty Images BEIJING — In just about a week, several investment banks have cut their China growth […]
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What is the metaverse and why are billions of dollars being spent on it?
The metaverse is all anyone in tech seems to be talking about right now, but what actually is it? Tech companies like Meta are investing billions of dollars into the so-called metaverse. It can loosely be defined as a virtual world where people live, work and play. While there are some early versions of […]
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