Banking giant HSBC on Wednesday said it would end financing for new oil and gas fields, a decision welcomed by environmentalists who nevertheless urged greater action from banks and government.. - 'Strong signal' - "HSBC's announcement sends a strong signal to fossil fuel giants and governments that banks' appetite for financing new oil and gas fields is diminishing," said Jeanne Martin, head of banking programme at ShareAction.
Microsoft announced plans Wednesday to bring internet access via satellite to 10 million people, half of them in Africa, as part of efforts to bridge a digital divide with the developing world.. The latest effort is part of Microsoft's Airband Initiative, which aims to provide internet access to 250 million people, 100 million of them in Africa, by the end of 2025.
The packing machine at Nakobs' Pac factory in the outskirts of Ghana's capital Accra is running at full pace, churning out sachets of treated drinking water.. But all is not well at Nakobs'.
Zara owner Inditex reported Wednesday a jump in profits in the third quarter of its fiscal year despite soaring inflation and the war in Ukraine impacting business costs.. The company has seen manufacturing and transport costs rise, along with other businesses impacted by supply chain bottlenecks after Covid lockdowns and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
British inflation slowed in November but sat near the highest level in more than 40 years, data showed Wednesday, as a cost-of-living crisis sparks fresh strikes.. The news comes amid crippling industrial action by public and private sector workers demanding higher wages, which have been dramatically eroded by rising living costs this year.
Istanbul's popular opposition mayor faced new hearings Wednesday in a politically-charged trial that could bar him from seeking office months before next year's general election.. Prosecutors have charged the mayor with the crime of "insulting" public officials.
With Moscow blacklisted since it invaded Ukraine, Europe's main producer of caviar wants to put an end, once and for all, to the delicacy's traditional association with Russia.. But consumers still associate the two -- a challenge for those who out of solidarity for Ukraine no longer want to buy Russian.
Asian markets rose Wednesday and the dollar struggled to recover as investors welcomed softer-than-expected US inflation data that could allow the Federal Reserve to slow down its pace of interest rate hikes.. Silvia Dall'Angelo, at Federated Hermes, said monetary policymakers would slow the pace of hikes so they could "assess the impact on the real economy from the large cumulative tightening that has taken place since March.
US central bankers open the second day of a key policy meeting Wednesday, with mounting anticipation of a smaller hike to its benchmark lending rate as inflation showed signs of easing.. Analysts widely expect the Fed to adopt a smaller, half-point hike on Wednesday, with Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics calling it a "a done deal" in an analysis.
Phan Thi Nhieu has spent a decade assembling shoes for worldwide brands such as Timberland and K-Swiss, but she is now among tens of thousands of Vietnamese factory workers laid off as Western consumers cut spending.. Taiwanese giant Pouyuen, a Nike shoe producer, has put 20,000 of its workers on paid leave in rotation, while reports said Vietnam's largest foreign investor, Samsung Electronics, has started reducing its smartphone production at factories in the north.
