BREAKING NEWS: Business (2)

Volkswagen wage deal for 120,000 German workers avoids layoffs

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:11:23 +0000

FRANKFURT, Germany — Volkswagen and its employee representatives said Friday they have reached a wage deal for 120,000 German workers that avoids plant closings and bars involuntary layoffs through 2030. The agreement includes provisions for VW to shed more than 35,000 jobs through early retirement and buyouts by 2030. The deal, reached in drawn-out bargaining

Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:48:16 +0000

Hong Kong, China — Asian markets rose Monday after big gains on Wall Street, with traders welcoming below-forecast US inflation data that tempered worries that the Federal Reserve will take a more hawkish tone with interest rates next year. A holiday-thinned week got off to a healthy start after last week’s sell-off sparked by the

Chavit Singson launches own digital bank, eyes 20M users

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:37:35 +0000

Former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson held a soft launch of his own digital bank, with the ex-politician and senator aspirant targeting 20 million local users. Singson unveiled the digital banking platform VBank in a bid to revolutionize financial inclusion in the country. “This is not just about banking. It’s about giving every Filipino the

Panama rejects Trump’s threat to take control of Canal

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:16:49 +0000

Panama City, Panama — Panama’s president Jose Raul Mulino on Sunday dismissed recent threats made by US President-elect Donald Trump to retake control of the Panama Canal over complaints of “unfair” treatment of American ships. “Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas belongs to Panama and will continue belonging to Panama,”

Fuel price hike up to P1.45/L greets motorists on Christmas week

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:39:37 +0000

Motorists will see higher prices for petroleum products this Christmas week, with oil companies announcing up to a P1.45 increase in prices. In separate advisories on Monday, Petro Gazz, Shell Pilipinas, and CleanFuel said the per-liter price of diesel would jump by P1.45 starting Tuesday. READ: Oil price hike of 80¢/L starting Dec 17 Gasoline

One billion users, but controversies mount up for TikTok

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:11:42 +0000

Paris, France — TikTok’s breakneck rise from niche video-sharing app to global social media behemoth has drawn intense scrutiny, particularly over its links to China. In Washington, the platform has been accused of espionage. The European Union suspects it was used to sway Romania’s presidential election in favor of a far-right candidate. READ: US Supreme

NNIC, JoyRide launch Super Taxi Airport Edition at Naia Terminal 3

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:40:22 +0000

Passengers arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3 now have access to a convenient transportation option with the introduction of the JoyRide Super Taxi Airport Edition. In collaboration with New NAIA Infra Corp (NNIC), the current administrator of Naia, JoyRide offers arriving passengers an affordable and efficient airport transfer service. Unlike Transport Network

What changes should small businesses in US be aware of for 2025?

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:21:44 +0000

For small businesses, the biggest change in the new year will be the arrival of a presumably more business-friendly administration in Washington. But there are other shifts owners should keep on their radar. Among them: changes to state-level overtime and minimum wage rules, the delayed federal FinCEN registration, taxes on payments from third-party providers like

Sweet smell of success for niche perfumes

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:46:24 +0000

Paris, France — They don’t advertise and they are largely unknown to the general public but niche perfumes are able to command prices of hundreds of dollars from men and women seeking to stand out. Produced in small batches with high-quality, natural or rare ingredients, niche perfumes are becoming big business even while retaining their

Bluesky finds with growth comes growing pains — and bots

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:23:46 +0000

Bluesky has seen its user base soar since the U.S. presidential election, boosted by people seeking refuge from Elon Musk’s X, which they view as increasingly leaning too far to the right given its owner’s support of President-elect Donald Trump, or wanting an alternative to Meta’s Threads and its algorithms. The platform grew out of

Iraq PM says Mosul airport to open in June

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:01:34 +0000

Baghdad, Iraq — Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Sunday ordered for the inauguration of the airport in second city Mosul to be held in June, marking 11 years since jihadists took over the city. On June 10, 2014, the Islamic State group seized Mosul, declaring its “caliphate” from there 19 days later after

Honda and Nissan aim to launch holding company with Honda's leadership

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 04:28:13 +0000

‘Shallower’ rate cuts seen in 2025

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:15:21 +0000

Fewer rate cuts are likely on the table for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) next year to give the country some protection from any unexpected flare-up in inflation amid persistent geopolitical tensions, analysts said. In a commentary, ANZ Research said that while there’s still room for further easing, “shallower” rate cuts may be possible

BIZ BUZZ: RE leader

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:14:21 +0000

Ayala-led ACEN is no doubt leading the renewable energy (RE) game with the company winning recognition for its Ilocos Norte wind farm. Thanks to its massive investments in clean power, ACEN dominated the inaugural Department of Energy (DOE) Sustainable Energy Awards 2024 out of 246 entries. ACEN key officials took pride as their 81-megawatt North

The CEO’s playbook for ending and starting a New Year like a pro

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:13:20 +0000

From my global experience as a “management guru” and “mentor of the giants,” as Bloomberg and Fortune have called me, I see again and again that most CEOs and owner-operators do not use the end of year in an efficient way. They do not use this important time as a leverage to set themselves —and

Reforming the Philippine procurement system

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:12:21 +0000

Enhancing strategic public procurement has been one of the main initiatives of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in the Philippines. Following the enactment of Republic Act No. 12009, or New Government Procurement Act (NGPA), aimed at enhancing transparency, competition, efficiency, professionalism, accountability and sustainability in government procurement, long-overdue reforms are being undertaken to

Tariff cuts shore up rice supply amid less output

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:11:20 +0000

Despite the anticipated decline in output, the supply of milled rice in the Philippines is expected to rise during the July 2024 to June 2025 marketing year, thanks to lower import tariffs, according to estimates by American researchers. This is predicted along with expectations that the Philippines’ output of milled rice might decrease by 3

Exporters temper 2024 earnings goal

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:10:20 +0000

The head of the country’s largest exporters group projected that merchandise and service exports earnings would reach only $110 billion this year, cutting expectations by a little over a fifth of the original estimate. Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. told this to the Inquirer last week, citing that the original $143.4-billion goal

Malaysia Airlines grounds new Airbus days after first flight, Business Times says

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:10:00 +0000

Malaysia Airlines has grounded its new Airbus A330neo plane within days of its maiden flight due to technical issues, the Business Times reported on Sunday.

ACEN jacks up capital spending to P70B in 2025

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:09:20 +0000

ACEN Corp., the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group, is looking at spending at least P70 billion on its projects next year. The company said the investment may even go “above P80 billion depending on project timing and other factors.” The figures were higher than the estimated P50 billion in capital expenditures for full

Restaurants seen to regain prepandemic vibrancy next year

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:08:20 +0000

The country’s food service sales are projected to grow by 12 percent in 2024 and subsequently surpass prepandemic levels next year on the back of store expansions and increasing customer queues at restaurants. “As more consumers dine out, restaurant chains open new restaurants, cafes, kiosks and bars, as well as franchise international restaurants in the

Sea travel in the Philippines seen beating pre-Covid level in 2025

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:07:20 +0000

Passenger volume going through local seaports is expected to surpass the prepandemic level by 2025 amid the momentum of sea travel demand and expansion of terminals, according to the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA). The ports regulator, in an interview with the Inquirer, said that passenger traffic is estimated to reach over 85.4 million next year.

Personal finance lessons from Warren Buffett’s latest letter

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:06:21 +0000

Last Nov. 25, Warren Buffett announced that he would donate a substantial portion of the shares he owned in Berkshire Hathaway to his four family foundations. In his announcement, he included a letter which contained some important personal finance lessons that we can apply to our own situation. One of my favorites is his comment

BSP to release less than 100M pieces each of new notes

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:05:19 +0000

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will initially circulate less than 100 million pieces of each denomination of the new polymer banknote series to help meet the currency demand of Filipinos during the holiday season. “Since this is an initial launch of the polymer banknotes series, we will have limited quantities in about 70 to

Peza aims to open around 30 new ecozones in 2025

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:04:21 +0000

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) aims to establish more economic zones next year, with the investment promotion agency looking at new growth areas such as Central Luzon, Cebu and Mindanao. “Ideally, we are looking at 30 economic zones that can be proclaimed by the office of the president,” Peza Director General Tereso Panga told

PH external debt rose by 7.3% to $139.64B in Q3

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:03:21 +0000

The total external debt of the Philippines went up by 7.3 percent to $139.64 billion in the third quarter on the back of strong appetite for fresh borrowings from both the government and the private sector, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported. As a share of the economy, the country’s foreign liabilities went up

FEU taps clean energy from First Gen

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:02:21 +0000

First Gen Corp. of the Lopez Group has bagged the deal to supply clean power to two campuses of Far Eastern University (FEU). In a statement over the weekend, First Gen said this fresh power deal with FEU would cover its campuses in Manila and Alabang—involving 600 kilowatts (kW) of electricity for the FEU Alabang

Traders take cue this week from peso movement

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:01:21 +0000

The movement of the peso is seen to dictate investor sentiment at the local bourse this shortened week of stock trading amid the holidays. Philstocks Financial Inc. senior analyst Japhet Tantiangco said traders were on the lookout for the trading of the local currency, which recently hit a record-low of P59 against the greenback. “A

Is this the end of CoinDesk as we know it?

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 01:57:40 +0000

Former CoinDesk editorial staffer Michael McSweeney writes about the recent happenings at the cryptocurrency news site, where the owner ordered the removal of a story and fired three top editors. McSweeney writes, “Yanking a rather inoffensive piece of event journalism at the apparent behest of a major crypto business interest is an affront to all the hard […]

Häfele Thailand Celebrates 30 Years of Excellence

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 01:30:00 +0000

Häfele (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a trusted name in architectural hardware and furniture fittings, proudly marked its 30th anniversary with a grand celebration at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center on November 29th. Renowned for its German-engineered quality and innovative solutions, Häfele Thailand has solidified its position as...

'Adventurous' Honda and 'staid' Nissan explore merger: 5 things to know

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 00:09:26 +0000

Japan's Fukuoka shows new side of its nightlife as event destination

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 00:09:26 +0000

Tourism trade needs additional attractions

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 23:41:00 +0000

With Japan's popularity surpassing Thailand due to its weak currency and readiness to accommodate independent tourists, tourism operators are urging the Thai government to focus on adding new attractions and drive supply quality to draw 40 million tourists.

Thailand stands on precipice of major AI boom

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 23:34:00 +0000

The availability of small language models (SLMs) and open-source AI models, as well as a greater number of skilled workers, are expected to make generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) more accessible to organisations.

Bitcoin buzz reverberates

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 23:32:00 +0000

Bitcoin surged to a record high of US$106,000 following Donald Trump's US presidential election victory, reflecting a significant uptick in a cryptocurrency market long marked by volatility and recent downturns.

Thai credit rating set to remain unchanged

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 22:37:00 +0000

Moody's is likely to maintain Thailand's sovereign credit rating after two other rating agencies -- Standard & Poor's (S&P) and Fitch Ratings -- maintained the rating with a stable outlook, according to the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO).

Southeast Asia's IPOs poised for rebound in 2025, but clouds loom

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 22:27:10 +0000

Japan must bolster digital education to combat 'shady job' crime wave

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 22:27:10 +0000

Myanmar bamboo house builder wins Nikkei Asia Award

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 22:27:10 +0000

China contemplates allowing seafood imports from Japan

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 22:27:10 +0000

Trump says it could be worth keeping TikTok in US for a little while

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 21:54:24 +0000

Trump says it could be worth keeping TikTok in US for a little while

Institutional investors upbeat on outlook

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 21:53:00 +0000

Thai institutional investors see the domestic and global economies on a promising recovery path next year, on the back of anticipated interest rate cuts, as they express growing interest in sustainable investment, a recent survey by the Association of Investment Management (AIMC) has found.

Thai Oil sinks additional $1.7bn into new refinery

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 21:50:00 +0000

Thai Oil Plc, the country's largest oil refinery by capacity, aims to allocate an additional US$1.7 billion (63 billion baht) to support the development of a new oil refinery in Chon Buri's Si Racha district under the Clean Fuel Project (CFP), which is near completion.

PTTEP allots $21.2bn to 5-year strategy

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 21:48:00 +0000

PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP) is preparing to allocate a budget of US$21.2 billion to fuel its core business and support decarbonisation plans over the next five years.

Bolt to invest B400m in Thai expansion

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 21:44:00 +0000

Estonia-based ride-hailing company Bolt plans to invest 400 million baht in 2025 to expand its presence for a period of two years.

Live: Foxtel sold for $3.4 billion, ASX makes strong gains

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 20:39:46 +0000

Pay TV platform Foxtel is sold for $3.4 billion to a British streaming outfit, while the ASX 200 has made strong gains. Follow the day's events and insights from our business reporters on the ABC News live markets blog.

Unifor members ratify new agreement with Canadian National Railway

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 19:24:01 +0000

Unifor said on Sunday that its members at Canadian National Railway (CN Rail) have ratified a new four-year collective agreement, averting a potential strike action.

'Very different for different people': The divergent, crushing economics of 2024

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 18:58:18 +0000

It has been a year where people have experienced vastly differing fortunes. Leading economists say 2024's conditions centred on the impact of interest rates being used to tame inflation, and a "per capita" recession.

IPO boom: Record Rs 1.6 lakh cr raised in 2024

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 17:38:03 +0000

Fundraising momentum is expected to accelerate further in the New Year, potentially surpassing 2024's record figures

FPIs pull out equities worth Rs 976 crore

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 17:34:56 +0000

After two weeks of buying, FPIs turned net sellers in Indian equities this week, with a net withdrawal of Rs 976 crore amid a strengthening US dollar and steady rise in US 10-year bond yields, impacting investor sentiment.Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) began the week on a positive note, investing Rs 3,126 crore in equities during the first two trading sessions (December 16-20).