Finance news

Hong Kong graduates at crossroads as AI takes over entry-level jobs, experts warn

AI’s rapid takeover of entry-level tasks is disrupting Hong Kong’s career ladder, leaving fresh graduates with fewer opportunities to gain practical experience, according to experts. Lam Wai-kong, an employee representative on the Labour Advisory Board, said a growing emphasis on immediate productivity, coupled with a reluctance to invest in graduate training, had also led some employers to bypass local young people in favour of imported workers to fill technical roles. He warned that this trend

Japan eyes language, manners training as factor in residency permits

Can 3D-printed coral reefs help the Maldives save paradise?

Japan's Niseko eyes 'Ghost of Yotei' video game to attract summer tourists

'We Asians need to ... broaden beyond what people think of us,' says Ming

Asians worry about being ignored if sitting back, says Steph So

Is super-ageing Singapore headed for population decline?

Five years into her marriage to a finance executive, Clare* is still doing the sums on leaving behind a life unencumbered by the high price of parenthood. At 31, the Singaporean doctor instead finds herself wondering if she will feel different about their “dink” (dual income, no kids) lifestyle in another three years. “The thought of having kids also feels more like an obligation just to complete the nuclear family,” she said. “I see so many more disadvantages about having children, rather than.

New initiative: Paris and London want to secure the Strait of Hormuz with Oman

Following Iran's rejection of an international naval mission, France and Britain are working with Oman to find ways to ensure safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

North Atlantic Pact: Joschka Fischer sees the USA on the way out of NATO

Is there a risk of NATO breaking up because of Donald Trump? In any case, the former Green Party Foreign Minister Fischer is not very optimistic. And says what he believes Europe should do in such a case.

Coalition resolutions: DIW: New sick leave rules could increase absenteeism

The coalition wants to increase the hurdles for sick leave at work in order to reduce the number of sick days in Germany. But the measures could backfire, warns an economist.

Colombia's Oil and Gas Reserves Keep Shrinking

For a decade, Colombia's economically vital oil industry has been caught in a death spiral. A combination of sharply weaker oil prices, rising geopolitical risk and anti-petroleum industry reforms implemented by Colombia's first leftist president Gustavo Petro deterred investment, causing the operational tempo to decline. The main issue weighing heavily on the oil patch's outlook is a dire lack of proven petroleum reserves. These are the result of a lack of spending on wildcat drilling and a poo

Massive Russian bomb attack kills at least 4 in Ukraine’s Sumy

A massive Russian ⁠glide bomb strike on the centre of the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed at least four people, including a child, on Friday and injured 27, Regional Governor Oleh Hryhorov said. Other areas in Sumy region and in southeastern Ukraine, closer to ‌the front lines, also came under Russian attack, killing a total of six people. “At the epicentre of the strike – a high-rise apartment building, a shop and a street,” Hryhorov wrote on Telegram of the strike in Sumy. “There were a

China’s ByteDance discovers new scaling law that could sustain AI boom

Researchers at TikTok parent ByteDance have discovered a new scaling law governing how fast artificial intelligence agents can improve by performing real-world tasks, a finding that could help prolong the AI boom just as traditional development methods hit a wall. In a research paper published on Thursday, ByteDance’s Seed AI team revealed that AI agents – autonomous software that executes tasks on a human’s behalf – can double their learning speed every three months by interacting with...

Can Taiwan fix its military manpower shortage by training reservists in advanced weapons?

Taiwan is requiring its reservists to train longer and harder, introducing drones and US-made Himars rocket systems into a revamped 14-day call-up programme as it races to offset worsening troop shortages amid a demographic decline. One of the biggest reforms of Taiwan’s reserve force in decades, the overhaul reflects growing concern that a shrinking pool of military-age recruits and mounting pressure from Beijing mean the island can no longer rely solely on its standing military. From this...

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce get married in star-studded Madison Square Garden ceremony

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are married. Swift’s publicist confirmed the marriage took place Friday evening inside Madison Square Garden at a star-packed ceremony. The couple did not have bridesmaids or groomsmen, instead opting for Swift’s brother to serve as her man of honour and Kelce’s brother Jason serving as his best man. The wedding between the superstar singer and American football player took place as fans and spectators gathered outside MSG in the blistering heat, eager to be part of

The US has failed to understand China

China is such a giant player in the global economy that understanding how the US-China contest of the century for international primacy will evolve has become crucial. Some Westerners, especially those in the United States, feel so threatened that they have resorted to protectionism, with global fragmentation and perhaps even preparations for a third world war already in the cards. Kishore Mahbubani’s book Has China Won? highlighted deep misunderstandings and structural tensions between China...

Fallout from Venezuela’s quakes turns political, as opposition leader Machado seeks return

The fallout from Venezuela’s powerful twin quakes has evolved into a major test for acting President Delcy Rodriguez, sending her scrambling to prevent the humanitarian disaster from becoming a political one as her mandate as interim leader expires on Friday. A day after Rodriguez angrily defended the competence of her government’s relief effort at her first news conference since the June 24 disaster, her main rival, exiled Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, issued her..

US withdrew forces from Nigeria after operation against ISIS, AFRICOM chief says

AFRICOM Commander Gen. Dagvin Anderson described May’s joint U.S.-Nigerian as a model for future security cooperation in Africa.

Japan probes shareholding reports as activist proposals mount

Kioxia starts shipping next-gen memory as technological lead shrinks

Japan, other middle powers should 'fill the vacuum' left by US: Kevin Rudd

Being true to both identity and work is a challenge, says Jain

Bamboo ceiling more from self-imposed barriers, says Janet Wong

Asian Americans push for wider share of the spotlight as US celebrates 250

Europe has replaced most US cuts within Nato, top commander says

European Nato allies have mostly replaced the assets that the US has cut from its rescue plans in case of a war in Europe, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe John Stringer said in an interview. Stringer made the assurance ahead of the alliance’s summit in Ankara next week, at which allies will try to smooth over recent announcements by the US signalling that it is pivoting away from the continent. “European allies have definitely stepped up in terms of backfilling the adjustment in the US...

Refiner Profits Are Soaring

U.S. crude refiners are enjoying some of the best profit margins in years.

On the 250th birthday of the USA: Mamdani indirectly criticizes Trump's immigration policy

The United States of America turns 250 years old. US President Trump has announced big speeches about this. New York's mayor beats him to it.

Feds seek lower prison term for $100 million New Jersey deli fraudster — but some reasons why are hidden

James Patten is the third person who will be sentenced in the stock manipulation scheme related to Hometown International, a company that owned just one deli.

OPEC Oil Production Jumps, But Gulf Supply Is Still Far From Normal

OPEC's oil production rebounded sharply in June as Gulf producers finally began bringing shut-in barrels back online after months of war-induced disruptions. But despite the impressive headline number, the cartel is still pumping nowhere near where it was before the Strait of Hormuz crisis turned Middle East oil flows upside down. According to Reuters' monthly survey, the 11 OPEC members produced 19.43 million barrels per day in June, up 3.3 million bpd from May, when output plunged to the lowes

250 years of the United States: Have mercy on the Hessians

250 years ago, tens of thousands of Hessian soldiers reached America to put down the rebellion for the British crown. There was a questionable business model behind it.