Category: Economies

GM Flags Concern Over Renewable Energy in Mexico, Sees Investment Risk

MEXICO CITY—A senior executive of carmaker General Motors (GM) raised concern about the future of renewable energy usage in Mexico, saying that without a solid legal basis for it, automotive investment in Latin America’s No. 2 economy would suffer. Francisco Garza, chief executive of GM Mexico, spoke as debate rages over a Mexican government proposal…


What ‘Peng Shuai’s Letter’ Reveals of China’s Censorship; Behind the Scenes of the Biden-Xi Meeting

In early November, shocking allegations on tennis star Peng Shuai’s Weibo account were leveled at China’s former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli. Peng has since disappeared. The comments and her Weibo account also rapidly disappeared. World tennis champions Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic have publicly expressed their concern for Peng’s safety and whereabouts. They’ve called on…


South Korea to Allow Operation of Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft From Nov. 22

SEOUL—South Korea’s transport ministry said on Friday it will allow the operation of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft starting Nov. 22 after two deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia led to the plane’s grounding in March 2019. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport said in a statement that it had decided to allow the resumption…


Japan PM Confirms Oil Reserves May Be Released to Curb Prices

TOKYO—Japan is considering releasing oil from its reserves for the first time to curb surging oil prices, Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday, as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida signaled his readiness to counter oil price hikes following a request from the United States. However, Japan may struggle to justify such a move, as under its…


US Judge Sets Trial Date in American Airlines, JetBlue Antitrust Lawsuit

The judge hearing the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust case against American Airlines Group Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. has set a trial date for the second half of next year. U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston scheduled the case to begin Sept. 26, 2022, according to court documents filed on Friday. The trial stems…


Nasdaq Ends Atop 16,000 Mark for the First Time on Tech Strength

The Nasdaq Composite Index closed above 16,000 points for the first time on Friday, in its second-straight record finish powered by technology stocks, while pandemic jitters sent the Dow to its fourth losing session in the last five. Both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 index scored a winning week, up 1.2 percent and 0.3 percent…


Biden to Nominate Two for US Postal Board, Replacing Bloom

WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden is nominating two former government officials to serve on the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors, replacing the current chairman, Ron Bloom, the White House confirmed on Friday. Biden announced he intends to nominate Daniel Tangherlini, who was chief financial officer at the Treasury Department under former President Barack Obama and…


Microsoft Sees Growing Iranian Spying Threat on IT Sector

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) has observed multiple Iranian threat actors targeting the IT services sector in attacks that aim to steal sign-in credentials belonging to downstream customer networks to enable further attacks. The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) and Digital Security Unit (DSU) assess this as part of a broader spying objective to compromise organizations of…


Japan Unleashes Record Stimulus Package, Bucking Global Tapering Trend

TOKYO—Japan unveiled a record $490 billion spending package on Friday to cushion the economic blow from the COVID-19 pandemic, bucking a global trend towards withdrawing crisis-mode stimulus measures and adding strains to its already tattered finances. Spending has ballooned due to an array of payouts including those criticized for being unrelated to the pandemic, such…


Analysts Remain Divided Over Amazon’s Crusade on Visa

Bernstein analyst Harshita Rawat notes that Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) would stop accepting Visa Inc (V) credit cards issued in the U.K. starting on January 19, 2022. At the same time, Amazon offered some affected customers £20 to incentivize them to switch to another payment method. What Happened The analyst pointed out that the action does…